The Salt Line
A twelve-seat counter where the menu is whatever came off the boat that morning, written on butcher paper at four in the afternoon.
$$$ Raw bar
Portland, Maine
Cook it tonight. Drive for it Saturday.
We cook every recipe here until it works in an ordinary kitchen, then we go eat somebody else's cooking and tell you whether it was worth the gas money.
8recipes, all retested this year
31states eaten through
0paid placements, ever
The recipe index
Sorted by how long they take, because that is usually the question. Every one has been cooked at least three times in a home kitchen.
Worth clearing a weekend for
Longer cooks with a payoff big enough to justify the afternoon.
Bourbon Glazed Short Ribs
Braised low until they give way under a spoon, then glazed hard in a reduction of their own braising liquid.
Heirloom Tomato Galette
An August recipe. Ripe tomatoes, a layer of whipped ricotta to keep the pastry dry, and a crust that shatters.
Smoky Harbor Clam Chowder
New England chowder with smoked bacon, littlenecks and a broth that stays creamy without turning into wallpaper paste.
Where we ate last
Six months of driving, condensed. We pay for our own meals and we do not call ahead.
Delta Rooms
Hot tamales, catfish and a jukebox that has not been updated since 1978. The kitchen closes when the cook decides it does.
$ SouthernEmber & Ash
Live-fire cooking taken seriously without the theater. Ask for the brisket end cuts if you get there before seven.
$$ BarbecueMariposa Cocina
Red and green chile ground in-house, blue corn tortillas pressed to order, and a patio worth the wait in September.
$$ New MexicanPier 9 Oyster Co.
Cold Pacific oysters, an unfussy wine list and windows that fog up when the fog rolls in.
$$ SeafoodOne email, every Thursday
A recipe we actually cooked that week, one restaurant worth a detour, and nothing else. No affiliate roundups, no twelve-item listicles.