Sharon Vanorny
The Salty Dog at Sardine, 617 Williamson St., is simplicity at its best: freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, vodka and salt. A classic cocktail — a Greyhound with a salted rim — the Salty Dog is served over ice in a highball glass with a wedge of grapefruit. It’s on the brunch menu at Sardine, an airy and elegant space in Machinery Row that used to be a warehouse; now people flock to the spot on Saturday and Sunday mornings to imbibe coffee or cocktails (or both) and nosh on herb and Gruyere omelets. On a Sunday at mid-morning the restaurant is alive with chatter and the sound of white-button-up-shirt-clad bartenders shaking cocktails.
A less popular brunch drink than the Bloody Mary, the Salty Dog is a refreshing alternative to its savory and sometimes filling alter ego. The Salty Dog also pairs better with sweet brunch items like the buckwheat waffles with cherries, the bitterness of the grapefruit nicely accentuated by the crunchy salt. Traditionally the drink can be made with vodka or gin, but at Sardine they always use vodka (Svedka, unless requested otherwise), which is smart because it allows the grapefruit to shine. It is still citrus season, after all.
