The perfect appetizer teases. Instead of gut-busting nachos that fill you up, an ideal starter packs texture and flavor into simple, shareable bits that prep your taste buds for what’s to come. Pastina Rustic Italian’s smoked salmon chips ($9) is one of those perfect precursors. Chef Josephine Todd delivers with just 4 ounces of smoked salmon on five or six chips. After a brown sugar brine and an ice bath, the salmon is smoked on pecan wood for an hour, giving the fish a pleasantly subtle smoky flavor. But first, chipotle-pepper-and adobo-lime-infused cream cheese is smeared on thinly cut, crispy house-made potato chips. Cutting the spread’s heat and the salmon’s smoke is a topper of vinegar-pickled red onions, capers and chives. “Because it has a total of five ingredients, you take the time to take care of each ingredient itself,” Todd says. “We’re not just throwing something on there. We’re trying to build the most perfect chip.” 9354 Mentor Ave., Mentor, 440-255-3117, pastinarusticitalian.com
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Best Of Cleveland: Salmon Chips
Pastina Rustic Italian in Mentor has a smoked-salmon appetizer that nears perfect-bite territory.
