Visited Salt because the chef is a James Beard award semi finalist. While small plates dining is still relatively newer in the Cleveland food scene, which sets Salt apart, the actual dishes do leave more to be desired. I had the cauliflower, scallops, duck leg confit, and lamb tenderloin.
The cauliflower was almost like a cauliflower three ways dish but really ended up being cauliflower two ways because the brown butter cauliflower was more of an afterthought on the plate. The charred cauliflower tasted like it sat out for too long while waiting to be ordered off the menu and plated - missing the texture. The scallops were overcooked and I had a hard time finding the pickles chilies even though I was expecting that to be a more nuanced flavor. The "confit potatoes" were really more like home fries, too much bite and not enough tenderness. The duck leg confit was probably the dish that best met expectations. It was tender as confit should be. However, the fat was not fully rendered and rather salty. The pickled onions can also benefit from more flavor profiles - for the current version, they screamed just acidity!
Perhaps the most disappointing was the lamb tenderloin. The tenderloin had a thick ring of well-done meat with a sliver of medium-bordering-on-medium-well. Instead of a minty punch, I got a greasy companion from the bok choy. The pairing has potential but flavor ratios and techniques need to be reimagined. For now, the ingredients taste more dissonant than harmonious.
I hate giving this establishment three stars and wanted to like it. The ideas are there but execution has room for more work. I suppose the good thing is that this place changes menus every 10 weeks to provide a natural way to select for successful dishes. Even so I would have appreciated better curation and more attention to details.