Abe Froman's, I mean Salt & Cleaver + Chocolat Cremerie

A few days ago, I was able to try a fairly new restaurant in the heart of Hillcrest with Kirbie...

The restaurant was actually supposed to be called Abe Froman's, but they changed it, obviously. I read somewhere that they changed their mind on the name because they didn't think people would get the reference...


Here's is what appears to be a vintage commercial (possible from the 80's) referencing Abe Froman as "The Sausage King of Chicago":

Real or not real?

Now here's the restaurant scene in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" which references Abe Froman:

"May I help you?"

That would have been cool if they kept the name as Abe Froman's!

Salt & Cleaver had their Grand Opening last Wednesday, July 24th but had a soft opening in late May. This is the locaton of the former St. Tropez Bakery.

I got there a little early and sat out in their front patio while waiting for Kirbie. The server told me they revamped the menu from last month. I guess they figured out what worked and didn't work. His t-shirt was black with a design that looks like sausages are draped around his neck. It's a white silhouette of sausage links, not a photo realistic design. Very cool it was.

Salt & Cleaver is next to Kasi, an Indian eatery. It's also a few doors down from Wich Addiction and a small independent bookstore.

You may see their menu online here:

You can create your own sandwich or order one "their way". I didn't feel like being too creative that day and ended up ordering the Pork Belly sandwich. Kirbie ordered the Lobster Roulade. Her first choice, the Duck Duck Pig, was out.

They make their own sauces here.

Our sandwiches plus the S & C fries ($4). I liked the cone as well as the angled metal boats in which our food was served.

We both really liked the S & C sauce, which had roasted tomatoes, two types of peppers and garlic. Very tasty.

Kirbie's Lobster Leek sausage sandwich ($12). As you can see, it had A LOT of mustard in it plus tarragon aioli and fennel slaw.

I really like her sausage. All of the flavors really went well together.

This was mine - the Pork Belly sausage sandwich ($10). It was hard to taste the "bacon" in the sausage.

The relish was also described as "lemongrass ginger" but I couldn't taste the lemongrass at all. I did like the thinly sliced radishes on top as well as the sambal vinaigrette. This was a really juicy sausage with a bit of a kick.

We both liked the look of the grillmarks on the housemade buns. I only ate a half so that TC and Bert cold enjoy it later. I was on  a tight schedule that day. After lunch, I went to meet up with Superman along with Bert and TC. After that, we had a surprise party to go to. Whew, I had to pace myself. As much as I wanted to finish this, I had to leave some room!

I still had some time left so Kirbie and I walked across the street for a tiny bit of dessert at Chocolat Cremerie. She hadn't been to this location yet, just the one downtown.

Their desserts (not pictured) were on the pricy side ($7.95 and up) so we thought we would try some gelato.

We tried a sample of that vivid Pineapple Pitaya (dragonfruit), which had a nice flavor to it. In retrospect, I think I would try that flavor in the future.

I adore this blingy chandelier!

You can only get one flavor for $3.95. If you want two flavors, then you have to pay $1 more. I'm not sure if the quantity is increased if you order two flavors though.

These were pretty big for one scoop!  Kirbie had the Macadamia while I was boring and got the Stracciatella. You can't see it since it's buried underneath the gelato, but there were ribbons of chocolate in there. I liked digging for the chocolate shards!

Who else went to Salt & Cleaver?

Of course, my lunch companion, Kirbie went during this trip. Read her "hot off the press" post (and see better pix) here!

Salt & Cleaver
3805 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 765-6677

www.enjoysausage.com

Reviews:
"First Bite" - SD Union-Tribune, May 29, 2013
San Diego Eater
Thrillist
The Missing Link - San Diego Magazine (August 2013)

And just so you don't think I was making up the Abe Froman thing, here's two articles that reference the restaurant's original moniker:
Incoming - Abe Froman's - San Diego Magazine, Winter 2012
and this one, the pruriently titled, Sausage Fest coming to Hillcrest - San Diego Eater, March 2013

Previous visits to Chocolat Cremerie:
January 2010 when Bert, TC and I had dessert after Bert's belated birthday dinner at the now defunct Kemo Sabe
November 2010 - where I had lunch with the Prof at the now defunct Banana Leaf South Indian Kitchen
October 2010 - where I had lunch with Mr. TJ and MFH

I thought the sandwiches were pretty tasty. The prices were what I expected for Hillcrest ($10 and up). The service was also good, but then again, they weren't that busy that Saturday around noon. I'm not itching to go back again (since I hate parking in Hillcrest) but if I did, I'd like to try a few of their other sandwiches like the one Kirbie had (Lobster Roulade), the Duck Duck Pig and the Ribeye.

And now one last commercial:

This makes me wonder if this was a joke and that Abe Froman wasn't real at all!