HONEY SALT

It's taken a while for me to post one of my best meals in Las Vegas over Christmas.  Honey Salt  opened in late 2012 and is owned by an impressive bunch of people who have worked in the Vegas food industry for many years.  It's location in bourgeois Summerlin is perfect - lots of parking, a sunny outdoor seating and a large airy indoor space that totally fits with the local residents casual chic style.

We went for lunch on a Thursday (booked via Open Table) and walked into a full restaurant filled mostly with Vegas locals including food aficionado John Curtas of Eating Las Vegas and Luis who owns nearby coffee hot spot Sambalatte in Boca Park.  We were seated immediately and given menus.  Before we ordered, I looked around and admired the touches that only real professionals knew how to create - the brown paper place mats stamped with the Honey Salt logo, the kitchen towel extra large linen napkin, salt and pepper grinders and a basket of crispy lavash with a spicy dip that was served as soon as we sat down.  The lunch menus have quite a selection: some starters, half a dozen salads, a few family favorites, several sandwiches and pizzas. We all chose something different from the menu so we could all taste each other's food.  One sister had the Tuscan Cannelini bean soup ($7) - a large bowl of chunky soup filled with beans, tomatoes and kale and served with a cheesy Parmesan baguette.  Another sister had the Backyard Favorite Burger ($13) with tomato jam, a butter pickle and french fries.  I went for a starter the calamari and shisito New England Fry-Up ($14) which they now do with clams as well, which was hot and crispy and served with a tangy lemon aioli.  J, the only child in the group, opted for the biggest main course - the 12oz. Cedar River Farm NY Strip ($31) (which is no longer on the lunch menu but only on the dinner one), which was a perfectly seared pepper crusted hunk of meat which came with yogurt creamed spinach, crispy hot fries and a perfectly tart Bearnaise, which he polished off on his own.  Service was seamless and it was a joy to see the waitstaff and managers all working together as a team and walking the floor often to check that all was well with all the tables.

We were pretty full already but as the food was so good, we couldn't resist sharing two desserts (all $9): the triple layer cake - a humongous wedge of alternating layers of caramel swirled vanilla, chocolate fudge and a chocolate ganache in between topped with a vanilla butter cream frosting and the warm bread pudding with bourbon toffee sauce and and the signature honey & salt whipped cream.  I had two bites of each then proceeded to down my excellent espresso.  It was a superb lunch in an off-strip restaurant that knew what it was doing.  Honey Salt is the way to go for Vegas.  Finally, there are restaurants off-strip offering good food, great service and creating a local vibe. Honey Salt also serves brunch  on weekends, an extended menu for dinner, an afternoon menu and even a kid's menu.  Didn't I tell you they knew what they were doing?
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Honey Salt
Rampart Commons
1031 S. Rampart Blvd.
Las Vegas NV 89145
Telephone: +1 702 445 6100
*Bookings via Open Table
*Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Brunch menu on weekends.