Sea Salt - Minneapolis, MN

TheDoctor likes to send me txt messages at 12:30 asking me if I’m available for lunch immediately. Generally, I’ve eaten or have some sort of meeting at work and am unable to make it. Once he figured out this strategy had him eating lunch at home with his dog, he began to book me in advance. This is how I got to go to lunch with the best lunchmates ever. TheDoctor said he and Smallz were planning a lunch outing at Sea Salt, since they had heard amazing things about it. The real reason, as I found out later, was that Surly Brewery was holding a new product launch for its new “Hell” beer this day. I had also heard good things about Sea Salt, but not being a seafood guy, I ignored all of those recommendations. However, not one to ignore a challenge, I agreed to met them and invited D.Rough as well. Sure, there’s something I can eat that’s not seafood-related, right?

[This is where you start to ignore everything I say about Sea Salt, since I don’t like seafood. However, skim down the review a little bit where D.Rough, TheDoctor, and Taco give a real perspective of the food. Smallz ended up not going, so his opinion doesn’t matter.]

Sea salt is what one can safely describe as an upscale seafood-snack shack in the middle of Minnehaha Park, right next to the Minnehaha Falls. It’s in the refectory building, which is basically a large covered pavilion with an open seating area for picnic benches and events. You’ll notice the line of people before you notice anything else. This place packs people in. In fact, we waited in line 35 minutes (seriously – I was timing it since I was NOT on a long lunch break, or so I thought). So it packs them in, it just doesn’t move them along.

There aren’t a lot of options for non-seafood eaters. In fact, there is one option: Red Beans and Rice. Which is what I got. I also have had decent luck with crab cakes at many places. I mean, they’re fried, right? So I got a crab cake basket as well as the RB&R – I ordered double fruit since I’m also not a cole slaw guy. It was the Surly Hell launch party, but I’m not a beer drinker, so I stuck with a lemonade. So yes, you’ve got that right, I don’t like seafood and I don’t like beer. Why am I at a seafood restaurant that’s hosting a beer product launch again? Hahahaha.

We waited another 35 minutes for our food to arrive. Again, I’m not joking. I had read reviews stating the place was worth the wait – I was about to find out, since I was likely to have a LOT of free time on my hands when I got back from my three-hour-lunch and was told not to come back tomorrow. My food looked quite good, though. A large crab cake in a basket with two half slices of honeydew – I guess that’s the “double” fruit I ordered. It also has a nice light corn salad/salsa as a garnish for the crab cake.

The crab cake was good. One of the better ones I’ve had in fact. It was, in MY opinion, a little fishy compared to some I’ve had. But when I shared bites around the table, everyone raved about it and then berated me for saying it was just “pretty good”. So listen to my asshole friends, not me. It did taste much better when paired with the corn salad, so hooray for the chef that paired that together. The honeydew was fine, but difficult to bite due to it being cut thick/wide and having the rind still on it. The red beans & rice looked really good. I said LOOKED really good, but are not able to be eaten easily when presented like a sno-cone/sundae. You try to get the rice with the beans and it ends up all over the plate. It’s a pain really. There isn’t a way around this unless you serve it in a larger bowl - which it then looks like you didn’t get very much. It’s a no-win for the restaurant that serves rb&r, truly. And the rb&r were just ok. In fact, I’ve had better at most places I’ve gone – and yes, I mean at Popeyes Chicken. They were fine and edible, but I probably wouldn’t order them here again, especially since they’re pretty pricey for what they are.

When I looked at the clock to see what time it was, I figured I was already going to be fired, so I might as well enjoy a nice stroll with D.Rough down by the falls. I’ve always wanted to go see them, and since I was already well past the two-hour mark on lunch, now was as good a time as any. We headed down the long staircase to the bottom of the falls and were pleasantly surprised how awesome they were. Right here in the middle of the metro area is a really nice serene waterfall. The temperature was hot enough outside that we really were tempted to both call in to work and kick off our shoes and get in the water. It is beautiful.



So beautiful that I didn’t want to go back to work and stay until 8pm… Ouch.

I will probably be back to Sea Salt sometime. Despite not liking seafood, D.Rough’s Crawfish Po’Boy was much tastier than mine and it would probably impress people who know about my non-seafood-eating habits. It’s worth going to, but I still don’t think it’s worth the wait time or the price. Yikes to both.

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Now for people’s opinions who matter – seafood lovers!

D.Rough’s Review
After looking at the menu online, I had come to no conclusion on what I wanted to eat at Sea Salt, since almost everything sounded delicious. I'm a huge fan of Coastal Seafoods and that's where they get all their fish. While waiting in line, Dan said that Rocky and someone else (I can't remember) were raving about the crawfish Po' Boy. With that, I decided to stop thinking and go with the Po' Boy. To accompany my sandwich, I got the new Surly Hell. I was not disappointed with either of my selections. The crawfish was piled high on a fresh hoagie, so much so that it was difficult to close and eat. It was crispy and flavored with just the right amount of what had to have been Creole seasoning. The tomatoes and lettuce were fresh and you could just taste the mayo, but it wasn't globby or overused. A thin line of hotsauce ran through the whole thing, making it just spicy enough. Similar to a Chipotle burrito, I didn't want to set it down for fear of ruining the structure of the sandwich. With each bite, a mischievous crawfish would pop out, but not go to waste (they give you a fork for this, but fingers work just fine). To keep it all together, I hand fed bites to Dan and Chad. I think even the non fish-lover enjoyed it. The Surly washed it all down nicely. Sometimes Surly beers are a little too strong for me, but this new one is good for those who aren't huge fans of the bitterness of Coffee Bender or Furious, perfect for a summer day overlooking the falls.

TheDoctor’s Review:
After hearing many, many recommendations from Smallz and Rocky, I found the perfect reason to finally go to Sea Salt. The Surly Hell release was going to be held there. Sea Salt is delicious. The corn tortillas created the perfect base for some Tilapia, Cilantro, Salsa and little else. It really puts the emphasis on the individual ingredients. The Tilapia was fresh but a little undercooked and that's a tough hurdle to overcome. I probably preferred D.Rough's Crawfish Po'Boy to my fish tacos and definitely prefer Tin Fish's Mahi tacos to Sea Salt's. The Surly Hell was a great beer to pair with lighter fish-fare, for the record. I'll go back when I'm in the neighborhood, but will probably get either the aforementioned Crawfish Po'Boy or try the Catfish Po'Boy. If I want fish tacos, I'll probably just go somewhere else.

Taco’s Review:
If you’re going to the Sea Salt Eatery, I strongly recommend having your friends order for you and showing up 15 minutes late. First, this is probably the most efficient way to handle the crowd. I have never been to Sea Salt on a nice day when the line hasn’t extended out the door, and, on days with poor weather, there’s hardly a reason to want to spend time hanging out at Minnehaha Park. Second, this then means you’re having lunch with friends outside near the Falls, which is impossible to not enjoy (unless you’re broken inside).

This time around, I kept it simple (in part due to literally phoning in my order) and had the grilled tilapia tacos. Also ordered by my group was one of the po’ boys, which are always overflowing their bun, and the crab cakes. My tacos were simple and delicious; a nice tortilla, some salsa, and tilapia grilled perfectly. If there was one lesson I could ask of the cook at Sea Salt, it’d be on grilling fish. All of this said, as a forethought, the menu is a bit overpriced. But with good food and good company, it’s hard to find complaint except in thorough retrospective.

Lastly, Sea Salt is supposedly known for its oysters. These are one thing I have yet to try, but I look forward to it someday. This will probably be around the time teleportation is invented, because if anything I eat should be ridiculously fresh, it’s oysters, and until Scotty can beam me a half dozen straight out of Buckley Bay, nature did not intend good oysters to be in the Midwest.

Top 5 things about Sea Salt – from a non-seafood-lover listening to other people’s opinions
1. Crawfish Po’Boy
2. Crab Cake (with the corn salsa)
3. Very nice atmosphere in the middle of a serene park
4. They host Surly product launches
5. This place serves serious other beer and wine

Bottom 5 things
1. Long wait in line to order
2. Long wait to get your food
3. Really pricey for a snack shack
4. Red Beans & Rice
5. Undercooked Tilapia in the fish tacos

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