Salt & Cleaver's Sausagefest Coming To Hillcrest

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Eater stopped in to check out the progress of the new Salt & Cleaver, previously known as Abe Froman's, in Hillcrest. Why the name change? The three owners figured that everyone might not get the Ferris Bueller's Day Off reference; the new moniker is meant to evoke a classic butcher shop and be more easily recognizable, should they someday try to multiply the concept.

And that concept is sausages of the world. Salt & Cleaver's chef, Carlos SanMartano (Searsucker, Gabardine), who recently spent a few months in the Napa Valley staging at Redd and Bouchon, says he'll be making some of the links in-house, while sourcing others from Orange County's Europa Specialty Sausages and artisan purveyors across the country. Highlights from the menu: a traditional Nuremberg bratwurst with house made sauerkraut, a jalapeño and green chili-stuffed rabbit sausage and a quinoa-fortified veggie version that's wrapped in a cauliflower leaf, then steamed and grilled.

The restaurant's got the prerequisite communal table, sidewalk patio, a few cozy booths and seating around a central bar, which will serve 5 to 6 signature cocktails and dispense 20 beers on tap (lots more in bottles); owner Galen Zanetakos, a former bartender at Gabardine, says the brew menu will not be IPA-heavy.

When it debuts in April, Salt & Cleaver's hoping to get a slice of the neighborhood bar scene; they'll be open until midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
· Salt & Cleaver [Official Site]
· All Plywood Reports on Eater [~ESD~]