Saltine gets creative with seafood classics
- chrisleague
- Oct 7, 2014
- 3 min read
Who: Jesse Houston, chef/owner
Where: Saltine oyster bar and restaurant, 622 Duling Ave., Jackson; located in the west end of the Duling School Building in the Fondren Arts District
Contact: (601) 982-2899
saltinerestaurant.com
facebook.com/SaltineRestaurant
Twitter: @saltineoysters
Influences: Jesse Houston, age 34, and his wife, Rachel, age 31, opened Saltine, an oyster bar and restaurant with vintage nautical and old school décor, on Aug. 19.
“My wife and I designed it,” he said. “We want people to feel like they’re in a different city.”
Vintage school lockers, repurposed chalkboards, classic books such as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” and “Moby Dick” and a mural by local artist Justin Schultz set the tone for the dining experience where menus are presented in brightly colored file folders. The restaurant seats 140 people, and there’s a patio with 10 tables.
Oysters are a mainstay, including gems from the Gulf of Mexico, East Coast, West Coast, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand and ranging in price from $1.50 for a Gulf oyster to $8 for a New Zealand oyster. “Those are considered to be the best in the world,” he said.
Houston encourages diners to choose a variety of oysters because different waters lend different tastes; eight varieties of oysters are usually available. A selection of 31 beers is available to accompany whatever you pick.
Houston’s fascination with oysters is tied with fond memories of the late Jackson restaurateur Craig Noone, who opened Parlor Market Restaurant in downtown Jackson in September 2010 and died in an car crash in October 2011.
“We had a small oyster bar at Parlor Market,” Houston said. “Craig and I met in the oyster bar at Stephan Pyles Restaurant in Dallas.”
Houston, a graduate of the Texas Culinary Academy now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, moved to Jackson to assist Noone with the opening of Parlor Market. Houston worked at Parlor Market for 2½ years and then moved to Oxford where he briefly worked with James Beard Award-winning chef John Currence, who is responsible for the Oxford restaurants City Grocery, Bouré, Big Bad Breakfast, Snack Bar and Lamar Lounge.
“John invited me to come work for him,” Houston said. “It was a cool opportunity to learn new techniques and Southern recipes.”
The Saltine menu is built around seafood, including redfish on the half shell, mussels, calamari, peel-and-eat shrimp, crab and seafood sausage. Po-boys filled with fried catfish, Gulf shrimp, oysters, hot ham and Swiss or roast beef make a good reason to visit at lunch. Craig’s Oyster Stew, so named for Noone, is on the menu.
The menu changes seasonally and includes creative dishes such as Roasted Butternut Squash with White Pepper Crème Fraiche. USA Today and Southern Living have recognized the restaurant for its inventiveness.
Houston buys from local producers as much as possible, using lettuce and tomatoes from Salad Days Produce, shiitaki mushrooms from Mississippi Natural Products, butternut squash from Cooper Farms, catfish from Simmons Farm Raised Catfish, milk from Progress Milk Barn and craft brews from Lucky Town Brewing Co.
What he’s cooking: Roasted Butternut Squash with White Pepper Creme Fraiche
What he likes about it: It’s a seasonal dish.
Roasted Butternut Squash with White Pepper Creme Fraiche
1 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 medium butternut squash, split in half
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Salt to taste
In a glass mixing bowl, combine heavy cream and buttermilk. Whisk to combine well, and then secure a piece of cheesecloth over the top. Allow it to sit at room temperature for eight hours or until thick. Refrigerate.
Meanwhile, drizzle the butternut squash halves with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. Scoop out the seeds after roasting.
Add the cayenne and white pepper to the thickened creme fraiche and season with salt to taste.
Plate the squash and eat with a dollop of white pepper creme fraiche.
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