Cheap eats: Salt of the Earth

Salt of the Earth offers a veggie sandwich (foreground) with Asian slaw, a ham on rye sandwich with hard-boiled eggs and a bowl of curried vegetable soup. (Credit: Pama Mitchell)

Drivers whooshing by on busy Red Bank Road could easily miss Salt of the Earth, tucked into a small office building on a hill overlooking the roadway.

My interest was piqued a couple of years ago by an article about chef/owner Jim Jennings' vegetarian options, and I stopped in to try some of his gourmet-to-go offerings. Recently, my friend and I decided to check in on the place again.

Jennings spent more than 20 years as a well-regarded chef in the Cincinnati area before opening Salt eight years ago: While he was chef at the Celestial, the restaurant received its only Four-Diamond rating from AAA. But that life was not as satisfying as the one he's found at his own establishment.

"Working in the kitchen, you didn't get to meet and know your customers," he says. He's designed the room with an open kitchen where "I get so much more feedback, and we can gear our food to what customers want."

Salt of the Earth delivers a variety of savory dishes for eat-in or carryout, making it perfect for people on a lunch break or wanting to head home with a dinner ready-made. The rapidly growing, mostly commercial Madisonville neighborhood has plenty of office workers to provide a steady flow of hungry patrons.

Based on a friend's recommendation, I tried the veggie sandwich, a mainstay on the lunch menu ($6.95). Layers of grilled eggplant, roasted red pepper and fresh spinach are topped with a generous dollop of creamy goat cheese. The sandwich has a light portion of balsamic vinaigrette and comes warmed in a soft-on-the-inside, crunchy-on-the-outside "sweet Bellagio roll."

My companion went with a ham sandwich ($6.95) on rye with lettuce, tomato and spicy mustard - too much mustard, she said, although she praised the flavor of the house-roasted ham.

Each sandwich comes with one side - not an easy choice, since there are at least five tasty options from the deli case. I selected an Asian-accented cabbage slaw with crispy bits of snow peas, while Jean chose a couple of hard-boiled eggs.

We both had a diet root beer ($1.50 each) and also split a bowl of curried vegetable soup with chickpeas, rosemary and ginger.

Along with the sandwich and sides, the good eats include a changing selection of meat and fish entrées, a quiche or frittata and numerous salads and pastas.

There's also a small, well-chosen selection of wines and beers for carryout - Jennings does not have a license to serve alcohol - and a few grocery items, as well as desserts.

The sweet treat I find irresistible here is a house-made version of s'mores: a square of delectable dark chocolate over a graham cracker crust topped by a massive homemade marshmallow ($3.50). It's mouth-wateringly delicious.

Email pamamitchell@cinci.rr.com; blog: www.healthyfoodies.blogspot.com

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