You can’t accuse Kyle Bailey of not listening. After Maryland customers at the chef’s same-named seafood stops in the District and Virginia told him they wished they didn’t have to make the drive, he followed up in July with a Salt Line in Bethesda, Md. — the biggest yet, with 150 seats and several new dishes that might entice fans from the older establishments.
Friends and I dropped anchor recently in a room-size booth in a bustling dining room, dressed like the other Salt Lines with antiques purchased in New England by the owners, Long Shot Hospitality. There’s a harpoon here, a miniature sailboat there, plus cozy alcove tables whose mirrors show the patina of age.
The menu reads much like at the sibling seafood draws. Look for mostly local (and well-shucked) oysters, cod in a delicate crust of crushed Ritz crackers, and desserts with mass appeal. The youngest of my companions entertained himself with a tiny pirate flag, plucked from a barge of a banana split, while his parents and I occupied ourselves with the lighter blueberry icebox cake, fashioned from Maine’s finest and pastry cream atop a graham cracker crust. Lemon zest, ginger and spoonfuls of whipped cream add to the fun.
Only in Bethesda will diners find a split toasted bun cradling fresh peekytoe crab, bound with mayo, minced celery and citrus-y yuzukosho, and what Bailey considers his favorite dish on the menu: a salad composed of grilled giant squid from the Pacific, biting arugula and hot cherry peppers atop a swab of garlic aioli. Another delicious difference from the other Salt Lines is an appetizer featuring blushing-pink yellowtail cured in kombu (kelp) and combined with chopped leeks and pistachios, everything moistened with a coriander vinaigrette.
Eric McKamey, 39, serves as executive chef. “His resume reads like a dream,” says Bailey. Copy that. Before Salt Line, McKamey cooked at Rose’s at Home, Obelisk and the late Momofuku.
The father of two young children, McKamey says kids should have options beyond chicken tenders and condiments beyond ketchup. My young guest gave his golden fried shrimp and catfish, accompanied by hand-cut french fries and cocktail sauce, the thumbs up. I see more “waterkids” platters in his future — and more trips to this Bethesda crowd-pleaser in mine.
7284 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, Md. 240-534-2894. thesaltline.com. Open for indoor dining and takeout. Sandwiches and entrees, $18 to $54.
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