Salts

Salts - 798 Main Street, Cambridge (Central/Kendall)

Salts is a hidden gem of the Boston restaurant scene. It is certainly located out of the way, tucked in to an old industrial area behind Central Square. However, once you step inside the atmosphere is both warm and inviting, aided in no small part by the gracious hosting of co-owner Analia. It is great for either a romantic dinner or a small group celebrating a special occasion with the price point higher than any other restaurant I have yet reviewed.

The cuisine is French-inspired but the ingredients are locally sourced, which means the menu turns out to generally be a taste of New England. This was certainly true with Ann's squash soup appetizer, which we both described as tasting like fall. This is a place that foodies would love, with special attention given to an uncommon combination of ingredients as well as diligent preparation. Between appetizers and the entree, we were given a free sample of artichoke soup with I believe foamed parmesan on top. I was having a hard time keeping up with the ingredients, but the results were superb. The highlight of the evening was the roast duck for two, which Salts is famous for and we were lucky enough to secure one of the final two late in the night. The entire duck is presented on one platter along with vegetables and fruits and the waiter carves it practically at your table. The first bite was perhaps better than anything I had ever tasted before and we both ate as much we liked and were still left with a healthy portion to take home (Note: there is also a tasting menu offered at $75 per person where they ask what you do and don't like on the menu and then come out with six courses tailored to your specific tastes. This was highly recommended by my friend Olivier who suggested the restaurant, but Ann and I didn't feel quite ready to try it out).

Everything about Salts was fantastic, with exceptionally friendly and personal service and fabulously prepared and presented food.

FRA Shuns Northeast Corridor

I read in the Globe today that none of the $8 billion in stimulus money that was set aside for high speed passenger rail is going to be directed to the nation's only functioning high speed corridor, the NEC. Apparently the issue is that the Federal Railroad Administration, which controls the funds, has said that it will not allow funding for projects until a full environmental review has been conducted. Since the planners along the NEC weren't preparing for this, there is not enough time to complete a full review and apply for this year's funds and probably not enough time to apply for next year's $2.5 billion in high speed rail money available next year. To not fund necessary upgrades to the corridor most supportive of rail travel in this country is short-sighted. The Acela high speed train was the only line in Amtrak's entire system to turn a profit last year. The proposed upgrades, which are shovel ready, could decrease travel time between Boston and DC by as much as an hour! If that doesn't get more people riding, I don't know what will. To require a full environmental review for an existing 450 mile corridor that travels through eight states and the District of Columbia because of a few upgrades is byzantine and ridiculous.

That is not to say that other areas of the country are not perhaps more desperately in need of transit funding. In particular, California is a huge potential market for high speed rail and really needs it to improve air quality and reduce sprawl. The silver lining in this announcement is that infrastructure upgrades in other areas could increase the constituency for rail travel and make continuous future investment more of a guarantee than it has been over the past 3+ decades. However, I firmly believe that we should prove the ability for high speed rail to succeed in the US by demonstrating it in the Northeast while the rest of the country improves its infrastructure.

Here is the full article.