Since then, the restaurant -- which is owned by chef Bradford Heap, who also owns Niwot's stellar Colterra -- has stepped up its game, pushing more creative dishes on its menu, putting together a thoughtful and local wine list and stepping up execution. It's certainly headed in the right direction, and one of its vegetarian entrees recently blew me away.
A carnivore at heart, I rarely forgo the meat in a meal, but since a vegetable tasting was the best thing I'd ever eaten at Salt, I was inspired during a recent lunch visit to order the quinoa and chickpea fritter sandwich. And after my first bite, any lingering second thoughts about skipping the sausage or duck confit vanished.
The herb-flecked fritters, which were fried perfectly crisp around the edges, were hot and soft within, served on a swipe of yogurt imbued with lemon and mint and sided with pickled onions, greens and hot, wood-fired flat bread. Shoving all the elements in that pocket of bread was like making a falafel sandwich -- a really delicious falafel sandwich. But honestly, I could have eaten about a hundred of those fritters with a side of that yogurt for dunking and been totally happy.
I'm glad I gave Salt another shake.
