A Shop Worth its Salt
Dour city officials may have declared sodium a public enemy last year, but that didn’t stop Portland, Oregon–based salt shop the Meadow (523 Hudson St between Charles and W 10th Sts, 212-645-4633) from opening an outpost here in the fall. Thirty-plus countries are represented in the store’s collection of more than 100 salts, each painstakingly sourced by owner Mark Bitterman. Perennial chef favorites like delicate fleur de sel, flaky Maldon and quartz-like slabs of Himalayan pink are well represented. But the real treat is chatting with the shopkeepers and tasting their colorful, far-flung finds, contained in glass canisters lining the shelves. A new arrival, the Alaska Pure (bright, sweet flakes with a mineral crunch) works with everything from moist fish to winter green salads, and the magenta-pink Maboroshi Plum Salt, made from the vinegar of salt-preserved plums, has an acidity that plays well with sautéed vegetables, pork and poached eggs. Bitterman calls these crystalline beauties “elemental pleasures,” and the same can be said of the rest of his offerings: Flowers—including amaryllis and tulips—fill the space, ready for an impromptu arrangement; bitters, like local upstarts Bittermens and Regan’s, are arranged on hemlock tables; and an entire wall of chocolates emphasizes rare and single-origin varieties. We favor Byrne & Carlson’s stunning, limited-production bars decorated with crystallized violets, and the Sahagun Sun Drops—dark-chocolate balls oozing sunflower-seed butter and raw blackberry honey. We can’t help but think that a handful of these, and an upgrade from Morton table salt, might be just what some curmudgeonly legislators need.
A friend shared one of the most beautiful items on earth, The Meadow's Black Truffle Sea Salt, with me last year and I now I can't live without it! It's forever a kitchen staple and one of my most treasured joys. 11/10 Recommend!
I was happily shocked by the intensity of flavor in this one. Avocado? Amazing. Eggs? Hell yes. A time bit atop cottage cheese? Yup. I just keep finding things to add it to and haven't found one that I didn't love yet.
This product is "Technically" not a scam in the sense that the dimensions for ONE specific item is listed in the description, not only is the picture on the site intentionally using a much smaller box in the pic to make it look bigger, in addition it took 2 weeks until it even shipped. You could say that's my fault for not reading the fine print, but what isn't my fault is the description describing the Kala Namak which is most of the reason I bought this as a 1-3 lbs chunk of salt, what I received was a 8oz box of little pieces, half of the lowest estimates given for it. I would NEVER have bought this product as anything they give you could be picked up from Walmart for 20$. Considering cancelling my 1yr club subscription, I really don't want to but if it all ends up like this then I never would have payed for it, they haven't even sent this months box yet and it's 10 days after the given date. Standard sized pen for reference. The only reason I give it 2 stars and not 1 is because it is my fault for just taking this site at face value.
A house guest gifted us a box of this recently after visiting Portland. I had some purple sourdough and just made a new batch because this was past its prime. I made croutons and dusted them with Bitterman's Parmesan Truffle Salt. Ooooh Mommy! This stuff is the bomb! I hope my guests come to visit again soon on their way back from Portland.
