Spring Hill Celebrates "Salted" with Mark Bitterman Sunday

No doubt about it: America loves salt. And it's everywhere - in snack foods, in artisan caramels and in almost everyone’s kitchen. But how long have you really spent thinking about and really tasting salt? If the answer is "not at all", Mark Bitterman, Selmelier (which means expert salt-taster) has you covered.

The proprietor of The Meadow (a specialty shop in Portland), and author of the fetish-inducing volume Salted is coming to Seatown for one evening to share a plethora of tremendous salts he’s procured and documented in his James Beard-award winning book which is billed as "a manifesto on the world's most essential mineral."

Bitterman is collaborating with Chef Mark Fuller and his crew at Spring Hill to offer a family-style meal showcasing the spectacular and often unexpected world of artisan salt. Even if you're "not a salt person", this menu is enough to make you one:

• Black plum sangria cordial, maboroshi plum salt
• King clam sashimi, lemon peel relish, amabito no moshio seaweed salt
• Spruce cured Loki sockeye salmon on an alder smoked himalayan salt block, crème fraiche, blini
• Newaukum Valley Farm beets roasted in salt, herbed citronette
• Whole fish cooked in coals bathed in Kauai saltwater, komatsuna bundles with pickled ogo
• Bread service, whipped pan drippings, red alder smoked salt
• Horseradish salt crusted prime rib of beef, patina potatoes, corn on the cob and Walla Walla onions, natural juices
• Little Giant’s handmade chocolates & brown butter mochi with haleakala ruby salt, shinkai deep sea salt, black diamond salt, & djibouti dew salt

Sure, it's a bit of a sodium (and silver) splurge. Including wine, the dinner (which is on Sunday, Sep. 18) will set you back $86.00, plus tax and tip. But if you think you can spring for it (and you should if you can), call in for reservations at 206-935-1075.

If you can't make it, but you're still interested in sampling Mark Fuller's innovative fare for yourself, you can catch him in the field creating a farm-fresh feast at Dog Mountain on Sept. 24. For details, visit their website.