Sel de Mer

Sel de Mer doesn't have a liquor license yet, but who needs it when you've got these delicious watermelon mint coolers?



The flavor doesn't end there.  When a girl friend and I stopped in for a light dinner this week, we were blown away by the taste and quality of each dish as well as the friendly vibe and gentle prices.  We started by splitting the fried green tomatoes.  I'd had them at The Brooklyn Star and wanted to do a back to back taste test. It turns out they were of different worlds.  The Brooklyn Star tomatoes were small and fried in a cornbread batter.  They were little, dense hockey pucks.  And they came with a dipping sauce.  At Sel de Mer, two large medallions were crisped with panko crumbs.  They were light and airy and they nestled into a mound of frisée.  They came as a composed salad, with a slab of melty brie.  They were more artisanal seeming I guess!



The saffron aoili smear was the real nod toward gourmet. I went for the smoked trout salad with apple, pear, blood orange and arugula as my main.  It was a wonderful blend of said ingredients and a good portion at that.



My friend got the fish cake sliders - the real tour de force.  Sliders they were called, but sliders they were not.  Two english muffins were toasted and stuffed with the fish cakes (also hockey puck-sized), a tomato, arugula and tangy sauce.  A hefty portion of purple slaw came alongside.  We ended up taking home one of the "sliders" and enjoyed it the next day warmed in the oven.



We skipped dessert and went up the street to support Ralph's - my favorite local ices haunt recently being threatened by Louie G's.  NYMag got to this before I had a chance (poo). In any case, Sel de Mer is wonderful.  It's a low-key but gourmet addition to Graham Ave.  Prices ranged from $8-$15 for apps and mains.  It's currently cash only but that may change as they get things up and running more and more.