Salut Bar Américain

Address: 
5034 France Ave. S., Edina, 952-929-3764, salutbaramericain.com

The Scene
The busiest new restaurant in town sits in the cavernous space that housed Ampersand on Edina’s glitziest corner, 50th and France. While Edith Piaf blares over the sound system, enjoy a bowl of traditional French onion soup amid the hustle and bustle of a modern brasserie. Tables are festooned with black-and-white-checked bistro cloths and the chairs, tabletop, and artwork are all spot-on. The walls are done in warm tones of red and yellow and covered with large vintage bistro posters and painted mirrors touting the day’s oyster catch. There is a big bar serving smart cocktails to mobs of middle-aged and older members of the west metro Mercedes station wagon set.

Our Take
Salut keeps getting better, and Phil Roberts and his coterie of concept-driven cohorts seem committed to making it work for everyone. French onion soup, seafood soup, shellfish from the raw bar, Lyonnaise salad, and steamed mussels all came to the table simply prepared with little fuss. Entrées such as grilled steaks, chops, and fish are served with a choice of simple sauces or compound butters and couldn’t have been tastier. Salut also has one of the best burgers in town, featured five different ways, all with incredibly delicious double-dipped frites that I insist you not miss. Duds such as the inedible gougères, billed as “Le Cheesy Puffs” (sigh), have thankfully disappeared from the menu, and formerly unremarkable dishes such as the walleye meuniére and herb-roasted half chicken have done complete 180s. Fingers crossed, several classic French standards desperately in need of a fix will soon be reworked as well: The cold and lifeless tarte tatin, a flavorless seared duck breast served with bitter demi-glace (billed as “Duck a l’Orange”), and a croque monsieur, featuring sliced ham indignantly dipped in hot water to get the chill off. Service is harried and surprisingly inconsistent, considering the restaurant’s pedigree and the herd of managers working the floor.

Reality Complex
After an uncharacteristic misstep with the kitschy, and now closed, Girarrosto Toscano and the less-than-thrilling Stella’s Oyster Bar, Phil Roberts may have struck the perfect chord in his quest to build the quintessential neighborhood eatery that pokes fun at itself, pays homage to a classic restaurant archetype, and still manages to execute a quality food-and-service experience. Francophiles may bitch that there is no pâté and that his brasserie serves pizza, not pissaladière, but Salut is everything the local diner wants in a restaurant. Roberts knows who his customers are and offers them plenty of choices, stylishly presented, with a minimum of pretense. Salut!