Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City
SADLY, HEMLOCK IS NOW CLOSED.
I walk by Hemlock multiple times a week while leading the Tenements Tales and Tastes tour. I remember when it opened (about a year ago) and have always wondered what happens in there. It looks very hip and breezy but is not open for lunch, which is the hour at which I find myself nearby.
Well, plans finally brought me down to this neighborhood after normal work hours when they are open for dinner and I decided to sit at the bar and check out a few dishes. Glad I did because the food I had was really good. Especially the loaf of bread I ate.
I’m not sure this bread’s meant to be eaten by one person in one sitting, but it was so darn good I just could not stop. And I didn’t really want to share it with the strangers at the table next to me.
As is often the case nowadays this bread was not complimentary. But how could it be when so much care and time was put into it?
The sweet crusty potato bread is baked in house (possibly to order) and is served warm. Inside a crusty smoky exterior, there is a sticky starchy center that is loaded with sweet and sour(dough) flavors and a hint of yeasty earthiness. It’s served beside a schmear of quality butter spiked with burnt potato leaves.
To be honest, the butter wasn’t even necessary. The bread was so warm, soft, and moist that it didn’t even need butter. And that’s saying a lot. I thought bread always needs butter.
Now when I walk by Hemlock with the tour groups, I have much more to say about it. It doesn’t immediately tie into the story the tour tells about the historic immigrants in the neighborhood. But it’s part of the changing neighborhood and serves better bread than what most of those early immigrants could have imagined. Price: $6
| HEMLOCK |
| 65 Rivington Street (between Eldridge and Allen Street), Lower East Side (646) 649-2503 |
| hemlocknyc.com |
