by Michael Vyskocil, photography by Nikola Tzenov
Saltwater Kitchen & Sushi
6212 Ridge Rd., Mount Airy
240-801-0648
SaltwaterMD.com
Nestled amid the rural southern Carroll County landscape is a place where your taste buds can be transported beyond Maryland to the Asian continent. At Saltwater Kitchen & Sushi Mount Airy, guests can explore the treasures and traditions of Asian cuisine by land and sea.
In the seven months since Saltwater Kitchen & Sushi opened its doors in the south Carroll community, it has cultivated customers from all corners of the county — and as far as the District of Columbia. Here, guests find traditional Chinese and Japanese specialties with a modern twist in a chic yet cozy dining environment that echoes the carefully appointed décor of the great sushi and sashimi restaurants of New York City. Comfortable seating amid personalized dining spaces within the restaurant — including an inviting, glass-enclosed “sunroom” at the rear of the building —conveys a feeling of home and warmth.
Dining at Saltwater is a personalized experience that begins when you’re greeted at the door by Lexie Hardesty. Since joining Saltwater on the ground floor of this restaurant startup last fall, Hardesty has rolled up her sleeves and pitched in to help wherever she’s needed, from serving as hostess to managing the restaurant’s social media presence.
The Asian fusion theme carries forward into Saltwater’s menu, where you’ll find specialties such as sushi and sashimi along with more traditional dishes such as grilled salmon and ribeye served with seasonal vegetables and fried rice. This menu diversity, Hardesty says, is designed to give every guest something to enjoy. Saltwater takes a farm-to-table approach in its culinary preparations, sourcing the freshest seafood and ingredients from some of the highest-quality purveyors.
A bevy of chef’s special rolls resounds with flavors and ingredients one would come to expect in a sushi roll but with creative twists on tradition. The Mount Airy Roll pays homage to the restaurant’s adopted hometown. This deep-fried roll features smoked salmon, cream cheese and a crabstick.
Part of Saltwater’s allure lies in the culinary artistry that comes to the table. Its staff, many of whom have worked at several high-caliber sashimi and sushi restaurants, execute each preparation from the kitchen and the sushi counter with great skill and a careful eye for presentation. If you order the Sashimi Moriawase for you and your party, you’ll be treated to an edible masterpiece that’s almost too beautiful to eat. Perfectly sliced vegetables take their place amid the sashimi assortment presented in a decorative serving bowl and adorned with nonedible decorations that add whimsy and color to a feast fit for all the senses.
Rounding out the dining experience at Saltwater, the Asian fusion specialty cocktails on the beverage menu are not to be missed. Take the lychee martini, for example. This Asian-inspired cocktail combines lychee juice, Grey Goose vodka and Limoncello, accented with a lychee garnish.
In addition to the cocktails, Saltwater also serves a selection of sake. Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice, water, koji (a fermenting agent) and yeast. Ozeki Hana Awaka (Sparkling Flower) is a delicately flavored sake worth sampling. The light, bubbly sake with its delicious peach flavor is refreshing with any menu offering.
In keeping with its Asian-inspired influences, Saltwater’s desserts offer a subtly sophisticated way to close out your dining experience, as is the case with the Matcha Parfait made with matcha (green tea) ice cream and served with a sprinkling of sweet mochi rice cakes.
In addition to hosting lunch and dinner service, Saltwater can also accommodate private parties and special events by reservation.
Reflecting on the whirlwind of the last several months of opening, Hardesty appreciates the work she’s been involved in to spread the word about Saltwater in the community. “I feel like Mount Airy deserves something like this that’s fresh and new,” she says.
