SALT strives to deliver Rockford an upscale dining experience with 'wow'

Posted By: Chelsea
October 26, 2023 @ 6:05 am
Business, Featured, Restaurants, Rock River Current, Rockford, Top Stories

Salt Rockford — Josh Johnson, center, dines with friends in the bar at SALT during a soft opening event on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The owners of Rockford’s newest fine-dining establishment have set out to create an experience that will leave you with a one word review:

Wow.

“Let’s make Rockford wow” is the purpose statement behind SALT, an upscale restaurant that opens Friday at 6860 Spring Creek Road after extensive renovations to the former Josef’s Steakhouse & Oyster Bar.

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Executive Chef Michael Turley has built a menu centered around seasonal ingredients and locally sourced produce that’s artistically plated before it’s placed on the white quartz tabletops. Beverage Director Greg Callahan has a playful and creative drink menu with nostalgic flavors and conceptual drinks. General Manager Zizi Altamore aims to offer an unmatched customer experience and dining that will be worth traveling to.

“The vision is to really elevate the image of Rockford in the Illinois region and really put Rockford on the map outside of Illinois as well,” said Altamore, who grew up in the restaurant industry as her family ran Altamore Ristorante on North Main St. for 40 years before it closed in 2016. “We want to be able to bring people even from well outside Rockford and make Rockford really a destination spot for a nice night out.”

Beverage Director Greg Callahan pours a drink on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, during a special soft opening event at SALT on Spring Creek Road in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Turley, Callahan and Altamore operate the restaurant and own it along with David Stern, the cofounder and CEO of the urgent care software company Experity.

Stern said he and his wife, Kelly, wanted to give Rockford an upscale experience it can take pride in.

“The goal is to create something that’s a gift to the people of Rockford,” he said. “It’s to be wow for the people in the community, for the people who visit, and for business people to be able to take people out and say, ‘This is Rockford? Wow.”

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The menu will change quarterly or more frequently, Turley said. At the top of the menu now is a massive prime dry-aged ribeye that comes with Harrison Market Gardens-grown Adirondack potato galette with bordelaise sauce for $89. There’s also Duroc pork tomahawk with fondant sweet potato, spinach coulis and aleppo maple mustard for $58. There’s also rack of lamb, black cod, lobster tortellini, lamb ragu and peri peri romanesco.

“We want to make sure that when people come in here, if they’re paying their hard-earned money to be here, we want to make sure it’s a really memorable experience,” Altamore said. “From the time that they enter to the time that they leave … we have put so much thought and detail into making sure they feel special and welcomed and well taken care of, providing an increased level of hospitality that is almost unmatched.”

A lobster tortellini sample is served on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, at Salt in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Small plate options include hamachi tiradito ($23) with yellowfin tuna from Japan, leche de tigre, coriander, aji amarillo and sweet potato chip. Desserts include caramel apple alfajores, basque goat cheesecake and pumpkin torte.

Altamore said that Turley has earned his reputation as one of the best chefs in the region.

“He’s so talented. We’re so lucky to have him,” Altamore said. “He really brings an elevated level of fine dining with his type of cuisine.”

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SALT also offers a chef’s table experience with private dining for a personalized eight-course meal crafted to showcase ingredients from around the world as well as local, seasonal produce from places like Harrison Market Gardens in Winnebago and Barelli Family Farm in southern Wisconsin.

FBNTS (Fruity But Not Too Sweet) is made with Barnstormer vodka, Apologue Aronia liqueur, lemon oleo saccharum, brovo pink and cava. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Signature cocktails include a Coffee is for Closers, which uses Rockford Roasting Co. coffee liqueur, cold brew, demerara syrup and vanilla. Among the most popular drinks during soft-opening events has been the Amalfi Sunrise, which uses limoncello, Barnstormer vodka, brown butter tincture, lemon and vanilla to create a nostalgia-inducing taste.

“The idea for that was to make a cocktail that tastes like a lemon bar,” Callahan said. “Whose mom hasn’t baked them lemon bars? It’s just a joyous thing.”

SALT also has a humidity-controlled wine storage cellar that can store 1,000 bottles. Callahan said there will be both classic and obscure wines, as well as a few natural wine options.

“Every time you come in we want you to leave happy and have a memorable experience,” Callahan said. “We just want you to have the absolute best time that you possibly can.”