SaltShaker
Casa SaltShaker has it’s own press page
Book review of Don’t Fry For Me Argentina, The Argentina Independent, May 3, 2013
Interview – Dan Perlman, Expat Chef: Closed door restaurant owner and prolific blogger, Buenos Tours, May 2013
“When the blog SaltShaker was chosen by our community as one of the top 50 Food Blogs of 2011 we were not surprised. Dan’s nature and passion for food and wine comes out in every blog post. He also appeals to the escapist in all of us.” Blanca Valbuena, FriendsEat, November 2011
“Perlman, a cheerful Wisconsin native who attended a New York culinary school, knows those arrangements firsthand. He operates his own restaurant, Casa SaltShaker, out of his apartment in the old-money neighborhood of Recoleta and is a food student (“my passion”) and sommelier. His “SaltShaker” blog maybe the definitive guide to Buenos Aires dining and Argentine food.” Wayne Bernhardson, Buenos Aires: A City of Style—and Sizzle, National Geographic Traveler, February 2010
“It is difficult to think of anyone else who has had such an impact in the local food scene. Dan has made an impact through his excellent closed doors restaurant to his very well written and authoritative blog as well as his numerous articles in various food and wine magazines. He is a professional through and through and single-handedly responsible for making the best handmade Chicago style deep dish pizza I have ever had anywhere, period.” – Frank Almeida, Partner, Sugar & Spice, March 2009
“I can unreservedly recommend Dan as a food writer (his restaurant review blog saltshaker.net is probably the most useful English language website about Buenos Aires that’s out there), a wine critic, a chef, and a business person. If anyone else has delved deeper into the culinary culture of BA than Dan, I haven’t met them. As a human being, he scores pretty highly too.” – Matt Chesterton, Editor-in-chief, Time Out Buenos Aires, January 2009
“Good guy, great friend, smart writer, solid educator, fine taster, serious cook, and major sommelier… Dan is an inspired host, committed to promoting excelence in food and wine at all levels: two thumbs up!” – Andres Rosbert, President of the Argentine Sommelier Association, January 2009
“Dan contributed his professional insight to an article I wrote for Time Out Buenos Aires for Visitors. As a chef and general culinary connoisseur of our city, he was a reliable, professional source of information. I’ve called on Dan for guidance on regional wine and fine cuisine a few times over the past two years in BA, after becoming a fan of his blog Saltshaker, knowing he’ll provide an expert, detailed response with respect and passion for the culinary arts!” – Eve Hyman, writer for Time Out Buenos Aires, January 2009
“I’ve known Dan and his welcome contributions to food and wine since Manhattan in the mid ’90s. He brings to whatever he does in depth knowledge and hands on experience of an international scope. Here in Argentina he’s shown himself to be highly self motivated and original in using his background to bring forth a unique dining experience. His command of the resources in Argentina is impressive and equal to his ability to express it well in writing.” – Michael Fallow, Global Wine Source, January 2009
“Saltshaker is ostensibly a foodie blog, but the hunger-enticed reader, once on the page, finds him/herself basking in the glow of Dan Perlman’s critical knowledge of Argentine social mores, Buenos Aires geography, and a hodgepodge of valuable tidbits that keep thousands of regular readers enthralled. Glistening photos and fitting quotations accompany in-depth observation on restaurants, dishes, and preparation from complex recipes. Saltshaker is a seriously dedicated blog for the food-lover in you, carnivorous or otherwise.” – VOS: The Pulse of Buenos Aires, August-September 2008
“For another account of what it was like in Buenos Aires in March go to the blog by Saltshaker, aka chef and sommelier Dan Perlman. Check it out while you’re at it, as it’s the most interesting English-language site, perhaps the most interesting site period, on the contemporary food scene in Buenos Aires and has lots of non-food postings as well.” Rachel Laudan, Soy and Politics in Argentina
“While we had access to multiple guidebooks (Lonely Planet, Timeout, Fodors, etc.) the best guide to restaurants in BA we found was the blog Saltshaker – it’s a great blog run by Dan Perlman, a BA transplant from NY, wine expert, chef, foodie etc – a really helpful resource for visitors to BA.” – December 22, 2007, TravelPod
“Over the last two years there has been a new culinary trend in Buenos Aires, with more and more Argentines becoming interested in international food. Thai, Moroccan, Indian and Japanese cuisine, among others, have been slowly creeping into the city’s restaurants from Palermo to La Boca. And as the economy has gradually improved, this exotic cuisine has become accessible to more and more Argentines. Just as this movement was starting to take shape in Buenos Aires, Dan Perlman – an expat from the United States – began his now legendary blog, Salt Shaker, where he critiqued and explored the foodie scene in Argentina’s Capital. Known for his sometimes critical, but always honest remarks, Saltshaker attracted a loyal readership of fellow expats and locals alike that trusted his opinion on all things edible.” Lucy Cousins, Chronicles of On The Road Travel, November 1, 2007
“Dan is one of the most talented people I know in the industry. His extensive wine knowledge, culinary skill and journalistic flair serve him well in this dynamic industry. I recommend him highly and know that he would bring the full force of his experience, expertise, and passion to any endeavor.” – Jerri Banks, Wine Consultant, November 2007
“Comfortably the best English language restaurant and wine blog in BA.” Time Out, Summer/Autumn 2007
“Apart from being a wonderful Chef and great host, Dan is a great source for information on how to avoid tourist traps and where to find those hidden gems in Buenos Aires, a city that Dan now calls home.” – Alejandro Audisio, Proprietor, ArgEnology Wine Merchants, September 2007
“With restaurants both chic and cheap, we are out every night perusing the myriad options… A great dining resource is saltshaker.net, where Dan Perlman’s objective reviews of the city’s restaurants are broken down by category, with a Spanish-English dictionary for those who don’t know their acevía from their acerola. A New York restaurateur who moved to Buenos Aires two years ago, Perlman also hosts one or two small dinners weekly in his home. Reserve your chair at dan@saltshaker.net.” Viia Beaumanis, “Jetsetter Culture: Latin Lover”, Fashion, November 2006
“Eat. Drink. Write about it. Repeat. It’s a tough life being a food writer, so we must be grateful for troupers like Dan Perlman whose blog this is. Dan, a happily displaced New York chef and wine expert, updates the site daily and has had more hot dinners than you and I have had, um… you get the point. It’s a particularly useful resource for those desperately seeking ethnic eats in steak-centric BA.” Matt Chesterton, “Online Wisdom”, Time Out Guides reprinted in the argentimes August 2006 issue
“I was reading SaltShaker the other day, very well written site by the way if you have not come across it yet. Actually before I go further, if you want the dish on restaurants and cuisine in Buenos Aires – with a dash of tourism, a dollop of culture, and a heaping spoon of humor – I highly recommend you checking it out. He must go out to dinner every night for how many restaurants reviews appear each week.” Asado Argentina
“Putting together a solid city food blog is a delicate process, involving the jenga-like concoction of restaurant reviews, snarky cultural observations, local history, recipes, and food porn. Down in Buenos Aires, Saltshaker.net has gotten the combination just about right. Saltshaker blogger Dan Perlman veers from the meaning and use of matambre (which means ”kill hunger”), to spread-leg food writing (“the glistening slices of fresh salmon gravlax”) to a review of restaurant/club Maat that tells you what you really want to know.” Ian Mount, “SaltShaker.Net”, gridskipper: the urban travel guide
“Back in Buenos Aires for a single night before heading home, I went to dinner with Dan Perlman, an American wine writer and blogger who now lives in Buenos Aires. He led me to El Sanjuanino, a small and animated eaterie that offers up traditional rustic fare such as locro (a hominy and squash based stew). But, of course, I was mostly interested in the empanadas. I wolfed down three or four of them, along with a couple of glasses of house red wine, before turning my attention to the rest of the menu. Not a bad way to wind up a trip to Argentina.” Marguerite Thomas, On The Empanada Trail, Tribune Media Services
“Saltshaker has by far the most comprehensive coverage on each restaurant that he reviews. The best reviewer of them all.” Argentina forum, TripAdvisor.com
“Saltshaker’s been at it again. First it was the Spanish/English food dictionary (a great resource), now he’s got a great restaurant review list going. There are a lot of restaurant guides available but at least he’s telling you what you can expect from the food, not just where to find it!” Laura Zurro, Moving to Argentina
“…the city’s most thorough online (and off-line, probably) restaurant guide. Hours of serious eating have gone into professional chef Dan Perlman’s assessment of Buenos Aires’ eateries. … Foodies will love this site.” Emma Balch, May 6, 2006, Argybargy.biz
“New York’s AZ is a first-time victor. “Exclaims one judge, I love this wine program,” which includes a list that is “extensive without being overwhelming, engaging without preaching, ” and includes a “brilliant use of Chinese symbols,” which relate to wine styles. Beverage Manager Dan Perlman created AZ’s engaging list to pair with Executive Chef Patricia Yeo’s innovative pan-Asian cuisine.” – Winner, Fine Dining category – The 5th Annual Wine & Spirits Hospitality Awards – Santé magazine
“Service is intelligent and attentive. Mr. Perlman’s wine savvy and stock is worth plumbing.” – Bob Lape, Crain’s New York Business
“AZ boasts the most innovative wine presentation of the year.” – Wine & Spirits magazine
“Wine director Dan Perlman is intimately acquainted with every bottle on his list and is thrilled to make canny recommendations” – Tom Steele, Out Magazine
“One of the most exciting features of AZ is its extensive global wine list” – J. Walman, WEVD Radio
“If you wanted to be really sure to get the right bottle of wine, could you do any better than to consult the I Ching?” – Moira Hodgson, New York Observer
“fab cocktail and global winelist” -Paper magazine
“The wine list is categorized not only by country and by grape, but also according to style, set forth in Asian terms with symbols for the sun, wind and earth. It may sound a little confusing, but with many uncommon choices, it’s worth exploring.” – Florence Fabricant, Wine Enthusiast
“How do you organize a list of more than 500 wines? By color? Done. By type of grape? Done. Dan Perlman, the wine director of AZ, a new Asian-fusion restaurant at 21 West 17th Street, consulted an ancient Chinese guide, the I Ching, or Book of Changes, to help sort things out. The I Ching has symbols, or trigrams, made of solid or broken horizontal lines, representing qualities of nature that are supposed to govern daily life. In his leather-bound book, Mr. Perlman’s silky soft reds, like pinot noir, are listed under the sensual mist symbol, full-bodied merlots have the balanced mountain symbol and some sparkling wines are grouped with the subtle wind symbol. And what about oddball grapes like negroamaro, baga and plavac mali? They get the thunder sign, for experimentation. The I Ching is also used to interpret the future. Forget tea leaves. Perhaps that sediment in the bottom of the glass might be worth a second look.” – Florence Fabricant, New York Times
“The smaller list, while not having the depth or variation of the large list, can certainly be a lot more creative. This is not only limited to the choices but the list’s presentation. Instead of the classic format, fun and interesting categories can be selected. What Dan did at AZ by using the Te-Ching I thought was brilliant.” – David Singer, Libation Education, Boston, in Starchefs.com
“Dan Perlman, Wine Director at AZ and Pazo in New York, says many underestimate consumer acceptance of cork alternatives: “I do it with sake, I do it with liquor bottles, it’s not like my customers have never seen a screwcap before.” – Swirl magazine
“One great innovation in wine lists as of late is the grouping of wines by their weight – light body, medium body, and heavy body. This kind of list is great for the beginner who might not recognize names of producers (or even varietals) because it helps them to find the right balance by matching the weight of their wine to the weight of their food. It’s sort of like Grrranimals for wine and food pairing. Dan Perlman of AZ restaurant in New York put together his wine list in just this way, so as not to stagnate his list by region and to make the list more user-friendly for his patrons.” Tony DiDio & Amy Zavatto, Renaissance Guide to Wine & Food Pairing
“It’s crucial, as it always is with wine and food pairings, to take the cooking technique and garnish of the dish as much into account as the main ingredient. When thinking about poultry, this comes as second nature to most sommeliers, since pairing a wine with chicken, “the tofu of the animal world,” is generally all about the sauce. “Since poultry is often accompanied by a sweet or fruit-based sauce,” says Dan Perlman, the wine director of AZ and Pazo in New York City “it’s important to consider the sweetness of the wine as well. You need a wine that will stand up to it, and is a little sweet itself. Otherwise the sauce will seem cloying and the wines will seem flavorless.” An off-dry white like a Riesling or a Gewurztraminer is a good choice. Red wines, Perlman says, will also work, “but they should have a lot of fruit, which might not be sweet in terms of residual sugar but will have a sweet perception on the palate.” His suggestions? A Zinfandel or a Barbera. For a simple preparation, such as a roasted bird with a browned crackling skin, white Burgundies or other barrel-aged Chardonnay will complement the caramelization.” – Melissa Clark, Wine Enthusiast
“Dan Perlman, beverage director for AZ, a stylish restaurant in New York City, as well as for the soon-to-open Pazo, says the economic downturn has reduced the number of people who are drinking, but those who are drinking are splurging on alcohol and being more extravagant about it. “There are fewer of them out there, but those who are out there are spending more,” he says. “Generally people seem to be treating themselves better.” Customers who used to spend $40 on a bottle of wine seem more willing to spend $60 these days, he says, and they’re experimenting more. So instead of the safe Chardonnays and Merlots, more customers, in New York at least, are sampling Barberas, Zinfandels and more obscure wines from places like southern Italy and Spain. His customers also are requesting darker beers, “bordering on stouts,” he says, noting that he’s never witnessed that before.” – Nation’s Restaurant News, 4/22/02
“”We wanted to do something different,” said Dan Perlman, the beverage director at AZ, in the Flatiron district. In the restaurant’s first-floor lounge, three heavy glass kegs with stainless-steel spigots loom above the bar. One is a tawny Chinese five-spice rum, with cinnamon stick, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise and fennel seeds floating in it. A dozen Meyer lemons are curing in crystal clear vodka in another. And a third contains a rusty-tinted Seville-orange tequila. They’re dry, razor-sharp infusions and will be served neat to anyone who asks. But the bar prefers to mix each infusion into house drinks like the peppery ”Dark & Ztormy,” a mix of the five-spice rum and ginger beer.” – Matt & Ted Lee, New York Times, 8/16/00
“Wine Director Dan Perlman has compiled a list of approximately 450 bottles, most priced under $100 a bottle. The focus of the list is on wines from the Mediterranean region – primarily wines from Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece as well as special vintages from the Middle East and Northern Africa. A selection of reserve wines from the classic regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, Piedmont, Rioja and Ribera del Duero is featured along with a short reserve selection of American wines.” – NYC.com
“One look at the stunningly ecumenical, deliciously idiosyncratic, yet sky’s-the-limit wine list, and you know you’re surrounded by intense oenophilia. A word to the wise: Let the sommelier choose. He can entwine grape to meal better than any pairing Gene Rayburn ever commended on The Match Game).” – Hal Rubenstein, New York magazine
“Because at Veritas, the wine is more important than the food. It is, in fact, so important that the place could be called a wine cellar with a restaurant attached. It is so important that wine snobs have been known to sit for hours poring over the amazing document that is the wine list.” – Ruth Reichl, New York Times
“Veritas – as in the age-old phrase in vino veritas – truthfully is just too tiny for its own good. It needs more room for seekers of New York’s most riveting wine list and exceptional food.” – Bob Lape, Crain’s New York Business
“The wine list, by Dan Perlman, features a marvelous selection of Reserves from the owners’ own cellars & a fascinating & eclectic collection from around the world. Mr. Perlman is that rare wine-director, one who knows what he’s doing & prices the wines intelligently, so that customers can afford to order a second bottle.” – J. Walman, WEVD Radio
“Veritas hopes to become NYC’s biggest wine scene this winter, offering selections from more than 1,300 producers worldwide. Dan Perlman, formerly of Felidia, runs the list, and is backed by four wine-crazed proprieters: Gino Diaferia and Scott Bryan (of Siena and Indigo), and Park B. Smith and Steve Verlin, two collectors who are opening their private cellars (totalling 66,000 bottles) to diners. The result ranges the world at $18 to $20,000; a perfect playground for wine-heads in the burgeoning Flatiron district.” – Tara Q. Thomas, Wine & Spirits
“Veritas is the new standard for wine-rich restaurants in New York.” – Bob Lape, New York Law Journal
“This is really a unique situation,” said wine director Dan Perlman. “We are in essence buying wines from our owners, which allows us to offer wines that are normally only available for exorbitant sums at more honest markups.” – James Molesworth, Wine Spectator
“Also set to open on January 4 is Veritas, a wine-lover’s fantasy restaurant. Between them, collector/owners Park B. Smith and Steve Verlin have more than 66,000 bottles of wine they want to share with people who will really enjoy them. They’ve partnered with chef Scott Bryan (Indigo, Siena, & Luma), Gino Diaferia, and wine director Dan Perlman (Felidia) to offer contemporary American food paired with an unbelievable 1,300-plus labels of value-priced wines.” – Dateline, James Beard Foundation
“Extraordinary wine list” – J. Walman, Punch-In
“Boasting 30,000 bottles in its cellar and an 800-entry wine list, Felidia has enjoyed Grand Award status for a decade. Anyone looking for the latest new-wave bottling from Castello di Volpaia, a classic Barbaresco from Angelo Gaja or a vintage Barolo from Pio Cesare is sure to find it here. Lidia’s son Joseph and wine director Dan Perlman comb international expositions and local auctions in search of interesting new labels or hard-to-come-by rarities.” – Peter D. Meltzer, Wine Spectator
“Felidia’s longevity has allowed the growth of one of America’s top cellars of Italian wine; the restaurant earned Wine Spectator’s Grand Award in 1988. Dan Perlman oversees the 25,000-bottle inventory and the 500-selection list; since joining the restaurant last April, he has cut prices by about 20 percent across the board. The list opens with a page of recommended specials, with descriptions and background information. There are savvy California selections and heavy hitters from France, including Bordeaux back to the 1970s. But its heart is a true encyclopedia of Italian wines, from current favorites to Barolos back to the 1950s. This is a list that offers something for everyone, and skillful attention to wine temperature, decanting and stemware enhances their appreciation. Perlman says not everyone understands Felidia’s approach to Italian cuisine. “I’ve had customers walk out because we didn’t have veal parmigiana on the menu.” But Lidia wants everyone to be happy. “If their heart is set on it,” Perlman adds, “we’ll make it for them.” – Tom Matthews, Wine Spectator, 1997
“Dan Perlman, wine master of New York City’s Felidia, which has one of the most extensive wine cellars in the country, offered some tips to help you find the wines you want. “We deal a lot with auctions, of course. These are reliable but very expensive. You should remember that wineries, here and in Europe, often keep library stock and if you contact them directly, they may have vintages available and will be happy to ship it to you special order. You must be in contact with your favorite wineries because sometimes they re-release bottles, and you want them to remember them when they do.” Personal relationships, Perlman says, are key. Take full advantage of the opportunity presented when winery representatives visit your restaurant. That personal connection may pave the way to some bottles at a reasonable cost. There are also some retail merchants or wine consultants who are first to hear when vintages become available. “We often get calls from people who want to unload their personal cellar,” says Perlman. “Tempting but too risky. But buying a cellar from reputable restaurants or wine shops that are getting out of the business is a good bet. Make sure you know how the wines were stored. If you know where they come from, this could be a great opportunity.” – Alice Feiring, Beverage Net
“I use credit cards when I eat out. The food at the Second Avenue Deli and the Kitchen Club are the only meals so good I’m willing to pay cash for them.” Al Goldstein, publisher, Screw magazine