***Some of the dishes I had at Salt of the Earth were a little underwhelming, but there were still good things on the plate and the ribeye and salmon (with the skin on) looked very good***\n\nSalt of the Earth is a popular and relatively new restaurant in Pittsburgh. Salt of the Earth is in a great space. There are two floors of dining areas and this combined with the high ceiling really opens up the dining room. The downstairs dining area is very simple and comfortable, but it is also sleek and modern with a good use of blonde colored wood. There is a great chalkboard on one wall, which lists up the menu (the menu seems to be very spontaneous with frequent changes).\n\nI really like the upstairs dining area because you get a great view of the downstairs dining area as well as the kitchen as they both cook and plate.\n\nThe menu features a lot of good ingredients with several interesting flavor combinations. I started with the octopus, which was served with white bean puree, chorizo, crisp radishes, crunchy almonds, a cilantro pesto, and oranges. The octopus was very nicely done. It was incredibly soft and had a very interesting texture. The octopus almost shredded like crab or braised meat.\n\nI did not like the chef's choice for the other ingredients on the plate though. Everything was fine, but I was just not sure if all the flavors went together that well. The white bean puree was also a little cold.\n\nNext came pork loin with a poached egg, farro and chorizo risotto, green tomato jam, pickled okra, and mustard seeds. Like the octopus, the cooking of the pork was very good. The pork was very tender and had a good amount of juiciness. Once again, I was not a huge fan of all of the garnishes, which kept this dish from from being exceptional. I also did not like the color of the dish. Still, the plate definitely showed the talent in the kitchen.\n\nI did happen to see their ribeye special and salmon special and both dishes looked excellent. The skin on the salmon looked crispy and flavorful while the ribeye had a great thickness and color. The garnishes there also looked more traditional so those two dishes might have been better representations of what the Salt of the Earth kitchen can put out.\n\nFor dessert, I had zucchini bread, which came with crunchy sunflower seed brittle, rhubarb sauce, brown butter powder, and fennel ice cream. The zucchini bread was good--nothing exceptional but good. The brown butter powder was interesting and I really liked the fennel ice cream--good, unique flavor and very creamy. It was not my favorite dessert, but like a lot of the dishes at Salt of the Earth, it really shows the potential of this restaurant.\n\nService was great--very personable and attentive. The food came out at a quick pace.\n\nPrices were very reasonable given the high quality ingredients used and the generous portions.\n\nSalt of the Earth shows real potential. There were definitely elements in each course that I really liked and I think if you order right here, you could probably have a very good meal. There is definitely good sourcing of quality ingredients, a seasonal approach, talent in the kitchen, and a contemporary approach to the menu. All of these pluses make Salt of the Earth one to consider for an upscale but still casual dinner in Pittsburgh (while I did not love Salt of the Earth, I would definitely give them another shot if I lived in Pittsburgh).\n\nYou can find metered parking on the street.
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