Salty Tart on a Sunday ... St. Paul's Lowertown Delivers!

Salty Tart in Lowertown ... wonderful!!

What a great Sunday for a visit to the Salty Tart for lunch.   It's a little bit overcast, so the big windows make the space pleasant and inviting...at any table in the place.

What to order at Salty Tart?

We squeaked in on the Brunch menu which provided some interesting options.   (See our review of the Coop.....I was thinking about creating a green shakshuka).   So, as I do the first perusal of the brunch menu, I immediately see 'green shakshuka' and point it out to John.....who immediately orders it (I guess I'll have to use my long fork reach across the table to give this dish a try).

 

I moved toward the bottom of the menu and spotted curried chicken salad.   That sounded like a good contrast to what I was going to steal from John's plate (insert evil emoji here).

John chose a made-to-order cucumber lime soda; I opted for a cold brew.....because I have to compare them everywhere.

Now, the hard part.....grab a table along the bench at the north end, near the windows and big, plush pillows... or a cute round table in the middle of the room....we opted to locate close to the double doors that head out to the farmers market spot and CHS field.  We had the view from the east windows and the windows on the south, plus the big doors that opened every time a coffee and treat-seeking group made their way in to look over the baked goods counter and grab an espresso drink.

 

Our Lunch at Salty Tart

Lunch arrived relatively quickly, and John was immediately giving his lunch in the beautiful handled ramekin the once over.   He took the first bite...and wasn't quite sure.  So, he dug in...and struck gold (maybe green gold!!).    There was baby thin asparagus, baby broccoli, edamame, the mostly thinly sliced zucchini...all nestled in a base of slightly spicy green chile sauce with 2 sunny side eggs smiling up through the green sprinkling of herbs and baby veggies that adorned the dish.   John said the eggs were perfectly cooked....a nice edge with a touch of browning, with nicely cooked yolks.   John's lunch was accompanied by 3 slices of Salty Tart baguette....a generous portion of crusty bread with a great-textured interior and wonderful flavor.  The nicely sized veggie pieces in the shakshuka were prepared to make it easy to get an assortment of flavors on your fork.   The only weak spot in the dish was the average tasting green sauce....but the balance in the rest of the dish made that fairly unimportant in the overall composition and flavors.    This was not the green shakshuka of my imagination (mine would, of course, include some tart, citrusy tomatillos---roasted until they started to brown slightly, and exuded their juices which thicken on the baking sheet), but it was a really good spin on green shakshuka....we'd order it again any time.  

My curried chicken arrived on a Michelle Gayer bun, its top jauntily perched at an angle...revealing a mound a fresh baby arugula with some oh-so-tender golden raisins and thinly sliced almonds.   The top of the bun had a beautiful ring of browning around the edge, and upon inspection, was smeared with a beautiful herbed aioli. Thick-sliced chicken pieces were curry golden on the outside and tender and moist in the middle.  The portion

was more than adequate...in order to actually pick up the sandwich, I encourage eating 1/3 of the 'filling' with a fork in order to preserve your sandwich's integrity once you lift it off the security of the plate.   Also, dip your fork-bites into the aioli...both to get the 'total package' of flavor, but also because the aioli will not all make it to

the inside of your face if you leave it all on the sandwich once you've removed 1/3 of the ingredients....napkin truly necessary!   The bun was tender with that little crisp-grilled edge, flavorful and with great texture.   The curry was not strong or overpowering...sometimes curried chicken leaves you with no chicken flavor.   This one could have carried a tiny bit more curry, and still not have been overpowering.  A wonderful sandwich.

The drinks were not quite as good as lunch, but certainly serviceable.   John's cucumber lime soda was a bit too sweet for me....however, after we let it 'steep' for a few minutes after several thorough mixings with the straw, the sweetness was better dispersed.   We think a little more lime would have balanced it out perfectly.  My cold brew was good....but I've had so many tremendous cold brews...that this one didn't stand out from the pack.   But certainly, a nice accompaniment to the curried chicken sandwich.

Salty Tart Ambience

This was John's first visit to the Lowertown Salty Tart (their Mpls location has closed).   I was surprised at how much he enjoyed both the soothing, comfortable surroundings and the interesting lunch options.   He said he could make it a more frequent future dining stop...if only St. Paul could figure out more parking/shuttle/easy walking options. 

Salty Tart and the Challenge of Lowertown

I haven't been panhandled in a while, but we were able to grab the last parking spot right across the street from the building.  In my 10 yard walk I was panhandled, and as I turned to step into the crosswalk (with the 'walk' option in our favor), not one but two cars turning left tried to take me out. 

My recommendation for St. Paul....instead of having all of those parking enforcement cars that circle the blocks endlessly in Lowertown (although I have seen some pretty weird places that people thought were 'parking' on busy Saturday and Sundays there) during the Farmers' Market, add a couple of 'here's where to park' helpers that can direct people to parking (or some alternatives that the city might create to make access to the market more pedestrian-friendly) and give greater priority to pedestrians.....people from outside the city apparently 'forget' what a crosswalk means since pedestrians at busy intersections in the 'burbs are almost as rare as veggie-based food there. 

I'd love to spend more time in Lowertown, so having the City designate some parking areas near the Green Line to encourage us to ride light rail from somewhere outside of downtown (without clogging up streets in someone's neighborhood), would give us more  time to linger there, and maybe even some 'outside the box' ways to transport your summer bounty of Farmers' Market goodies back to your car (I usually have way too many bags that are flopping around...even re-usable bags seem to flop around A LOT...I would drive my fellow light rail riders crazy as my veggies fell out and rolled down the aisle once the train was moving!!!) would make this popular place even more accessible for all ages.  A shuttle from the Flats (there's lot of empty space there) could include a stop at Catrina's  or Babani's for lunch on the way back to load up your car with the bounty of summer.

But that's all beside the point today.  We drove to Lowertown, dealt with a panhandler and made it through the 'walk sign' without injury, and enjoyed both the high-ceiling beautiful space occupied by the Salty Tart, but also had two great lunch options that were both unlike any we've eaten in the past.   They had their own spin on similar items elsewhere---making them an enjoyable 'discovery'!

 

Dessert To Go From Salty Tart

p.s.  We couldn't come home empty-handed.   A 'plain' croissant, a savory onion tart, and a salted caramel chocolate tart await the return of our appetites later today.   They all look wonderful.

Details:
Menu:           http://www.saltytart.com/menu
Website:        http://www.saltytart.com/
Location:       Google Maps
Date of Visit:  Sunday 4/28/2019