‘Bread and Salt’ in DC

This new place brings a little pizzazz to Tenleytown!

Bread and Salt is a modern restaurant located a short walk from the AU shuttle stop, which opened its doors on October 9th, 2014. I dined there this past week and was both satisfied surprised by what I found.

I discovered that the meaning behind the name Bread and Salt is very methodical. “In bread, life is sustained; in salt, it is preserved.” This lead me to believe it would be a very family-oriented restaurant. Expecting a comfortable environment I was surprised to see a more stark and contemporary layout. There is an abundance of stonework, water features and plants paired with somewhat ill-fitting Jamaican music.

Photo by Hanna Lundgren

The staff was friendly, but I was curious as to why at 6 pm there was only one other occupied table. Regardless, I was eager to taste the food because I had heard good things. What I found EXTREMELY shocking was that at a place called Bread and Salt, there was no bread brought to the table before the meal. I repeat, NO BREAD. In fact, it was a whopping $5 on the appetizer menu.

I ordered the Bread and Salt burger with fries. The homemade brioche bun was scrumptious and shimmered from the butter. The beef patty was perfectly seasoned and accompanied by lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers.  However, the burger itself lacked a signature sauce to tie it all together. The french fries were perfectly crispy and seasoned while still maintaining the meat of the potato.

Photo by Hanna Lundgren

I was also able to try some of the Spaghetti Pomodoro that my roommate had ordered. Quite frankly, I was very jealous of her dinner: linguini elegantly tossed in an earthy marinara with 2 garlic toasts on the side. All pastas at Bread and Salt are homemade and tasted as though it was straight from a Tuscan kitchen. Each bite had an artfully doughy consistency while still remaining al dente.

Photo by Hanna Lundgren

Bread and Salt also offers delicious pizzas, sandwiches, salads, pastries, cakes or entrees.

Pro tip: This cafe also offers take-out for days that you are to busy to sit down.