Neotomic

Strewth! #24: The Best Little Pour House Infectious

I’m from New Jersey, as you have surmised by now, and anyone in such an awkward area as New Jersey like Ottawa or Florida, will know very well that bands and musicians often skip over us when touring. While it’s often because some places are completely devoid of life, with NJ it’s because bands assume that we can just as easily skip over to NY for the show, but NY is like Delaware, just because I’m in close proximity to it doesn’t mean I want to go there. 

Part of the problem is that NJ just doesn’t have any great venues anymore. As I’ve said before, the Stone Pony has gone to the wayside, complete with 8-year old guitar “prodigies,” but if there is any hope at all it is the brainchild of Brad and Laurie Boyle: Salt Gastropub, the first gastropub in New Jersey. 

By definition a gastropub is: “A public house that serves high-quality food.” Located up north in Byram, they’ve created one of the most innovative restaurants in New Jersey, brilliantly mixing delicious artisan food with a low key atmosphere, so much so that it automatically feels like home as soon as you step in. 

Now I can drool over for hours about them putting goat cheese and spinach on top of their portabella burger, or how sexy their mac n cheese is with its bread crumb topping, but no, I must get to the heart of the matter —even if their tofu burger was so delicious it made me a vegetarian. But before I move on I feel I must say one more thing: they understand that food can be made by world class chefs, and look beautiful, while still being large enough to fill you up comfortably, and not look like Wolfgang Puck pooped out a tiny little perfect aubergine egg that you end up framing because it looks so pretty.

What is so exciting about Salt Gastropub is that they have recently taken to hosting concerts, already having such illustrious, but nevertheless cult acts such as Dan Bern, Chris Barron, David Johansen, Steve Forbert, and resident house musician and crowd favourite Briz. All of these acts suggest that they want to be as far away as possible from those 8 year old prodigies. Even more so, they have even begun recently asking Salt goers about if they’d be interest in getting the lead singer of punk group The Dead Milkmen. It’s great when you get a venue that actually cares about what you, the fan, wants to see, and I have the utmost respect for Salt on that alone. 

It isn’t the musicians nor the food alone that make Salt so great, it’s also the atmosphere that you couldn’t fake even if you wanted to. It’s not a suit and tie place, unless you want it to be, but neither is it some cheap dive bar out of Seaside Heights. It may be the only place where you may, if not watching yourself, walk into a mounted subway door, only to then walk into a giant Greek statue, all while being greeted by Harry Chapin records adorning  walls. 

And the company you find there on any given night is just as inviting. It’s a place where almost everyone knows each other, but by no means is it hostile to newcomers. Even if you know no one there, you’ll find yourself making friends in a matter of seconds. It’s not uncommon to hear someone babble endlessly about the theories of luminary Marshall McLuhan, only to overhear moments later a serious debate break out over whether or not the series finale of Seinfield was a fitting one, all while nursing any of their gazillion beers at hand, including $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon. And yes, you can quote me on the figure: a gazillion. 

Now is the time for you to go out of your way, no matter how far you have to travel to get to Salt Gastropub, because they are waiting for you. It is one of the most exciting restaurants in a long time, and gives new hope to New Jersey’s sheer state of musical derelict. You can check out their site at: http://www.saltgastropub.com/  All are welcome. 

…God that’s a sexy steak. 

P.S. Now I’m not one to use my soapbox for my own personal gain, and I’m not saying I am, but if there ever were a place to have a solo John Cale show, it’d be at Salt. *hint hint.