Phantom Gourmet: Upscale Comfort Food At Salt

IPSWICH (CBS) -- Ask any chef what their most important ingredient is, and the answer is probably salt. Ask people in the town of Ipswich what their favorite restaurant is, and they'll probably also say Salt.

Located in the heart of this historic town, Salt Kitchen and Rum Bar boasts a warm comfortable dining room and large, welcoming bar. According to owner Dave Gillis, it's the kind of restaurant that makes you want to kick back, relax and just hang out for a while.

"The way we treat it here is that you might as well be coming into my own home," Gillis said. "I want you to be comfortable, I want to give you some good food, have a couple drinks, and have a good time."

And customers certainly do, thanks to more than 40 rums behind the bar and a bounty of creative seafood and upscale comfort food coming out of the kitchen.

"It's kinda the food that we all grew up with -- meatloaf, fried chicken, but we kind of take it to a different level and make it extra special," Gillis said.

There are starters like grilled oysters with herbed butter and crispy prosciutto, delicate puff pastry stuffed with lobster and corn, and smoky buffalo wings that are grilled and tossed with sauce.

While entrees include everything from an overstuffed lobster Reuben, to a mouthwatering burger served on a pretzel roll and topped with a farmhouse egg, to an enormous platter of chicken and waffles featuring half a bird, bacon infused waffles and chipotle rum maple syrup.

"So between the bacon and the chipotle and the rum in the maple sauce, and the whole half a bird, I mean it's just good food," Gillis said.

Good food, good drinks and good vibes -- that's what Gillis hoped for when he opened Salt, and that's exactly what this restaurant has become.

"I love the feel of it," Gillis said. "You know when I walk in everyday people are happy to come to work, people are happy to come and have dinner, and the comfort food is there, the cocktails are there and it's just a great place to come."

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.

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