EAT: SEA SALT, CARLTON
Both fresh and light, I often associate seafood with the perfect summer feed. And while this is still very much the case, my recent encounter with seafood eatery Sea Salt opened my eyes and taste buds to a whole new world of winter comfort created with seafood.
We started lunch with some seafood tacos; a crispy tempura fish and panko crumbed calamari. Both flavour profiles were quite similar with a tasty balance of sweetness to herbed flavouring but the added textural crunch from the panko crumb had me siding with the calamari over the fish.
The non seafood fans are also catered for with a beef and chicken burger on the menu. One mama of a burger, The American Chicken Burger comes with quite a generous serving of buttermilk fried chicken. The fried exterior was spectacularly crunchy; the flesh juicy and succulent. Flavour-wise, there was quite a bit going on, and my taste buds were often bombarded with the sweet punchy flavours of the Southern BBQ sauce and sriracha mayo.
We next sampled some dishes available as part of Sea Salt's winter specials menu. The house-made seafood chowder was a delicious and creamy blend of hearty comfort, served with fresh tender bites of green prawn cutlets, local fish and mussels. Perfect for winter, oh yes. But it was the marinara sushi pizza that won my taste buds over and over again with each bite. Crispy nori sheets topped with sushi rice, fresh seafood, a flavoursome tomato paste and oozy melted cheese. It's a clever concoction of pizza meets sushi meets nachos. Salivating? I am.
With only a month or so left of winter, be sure to check out Sea Salt for some of their winter comfort additions and/or their usual fresh and tasty seafood fare. I have my fingers and toes crossed that the marinara sushi pizza will stay on post winter...
Sea Salt
364 Lygon St,
Carlton, Victoria, 3053.
(03) 9347 4777
Disclosure: I dined as a guest of Sea Salt. All opinions expressed in this post are based entirely on my experience and observations made during the time of my visit.