Salt Shaker deli, Lunenburg NS

Salt Shaker Deli, Lunenburg NS
We ate here two nights in a row. First, Vive and I ate here after reading that it was owned by the same people that own Fleur de Sel which is one of the fanciest places in town. We weren’t up to another fancy place after Lot 30. The menu was very eclectic and it was right next door to our hotel so it worked out perfectly. It’s a small deli with red checked table clothes (that aren’t changed after diners leave), tables that are pretty close together, a great view over the harbor and an efficient if somewhat distracted wait staff. The place was bustling Friday evening with people being turned away.
We eyeballed the other diners food (which was easy, given how close the tables are) and tried not to discuss anything we didn’t want overheard. We ordered the smoked fish chowder and a greek salad to start. The smoked fish chowder was very flavorful with smoky, rich, creamy taste and a mixture of scallops, shrimp, mussels and smoked haddock. It was so rich that I couldn’t eat much, although Vive didn’t mind. The greek salad was pretty ordinary but the olives were a bit soggy in a strange way but I still liked them. Vive thought the dressing wasn’t as full flavored as it should be.
The mains were a margharita pizza (thin or deep dish style) thin style and a meatloaf sandwich. The pizza was quite nice with a crispy, slightly burnt crust, a tasty sauce and fresh mozzarella. I liked it better than I thought I would. The meatloaf was not very flavorful but it was adequate. We also ordered panna cotta for dessert. The panna cotta has the texture that I like, which is creamy as opposed to jelled but it wasn’t quite sweet enough for me (and I like things not really sweet). It had lots of blueberries in it which was okay (they were fresh), they just weren’t full flavored.
We also samples some beers, trying two beers that were local, a red beer which was good and a porter which was smoky and tasty.
Asha and I went back tonight a bit earlier and the place wasn’t as crowded, hectic or distracted. We had a mushroom pizza which was very good with balsamic sauce and brie cheese and Asha had a pasta bowl with pork and fresh veggies that I didn’t think was as flavorful as I would have liked but was perfectly adequate. We also had panzanella which, I must say, while not like a traditional panzanella with the bread cubed and tossed with the salad, was the best dressed we’ve had with a light vinaigrette on the arugula and nice slices of fresh mozzarella.
I was surely missing Vive's presence but was glad that I had Asha here to eat with (it would not work to take kesh out for dinner).