Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City
It is still unknown when and how New York will start re-opening restaurants. There will obviously be major changes to operation to ensure safety and health.
But when they finally do start coming back, I imagine places like The HiHi Room will be most in demand.
This ambitious eatery opened just a few months before they were forced to close like everyone else. The pedigree is impressive: Chef Walker Stern formerly of Battersby and Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross from Court Street Grocers. Both are local spots that have hit it home (although Battersby unfortunately succumbed to the usual financial strain in the industry) and the collaboration made sense.
The HiHi Room eventually opened for both lunch and dinner and put out this very friendly local vibe with hearty nourishing food. Some of the menu is inspired by Cincinnati dishes, specifically the famous spaghetti topped chili.
I stopped by on a quiet weekday morning before one of my tours in the neighborhood. I assumed this would be the first of many visits, but of course the current state of the world has prevented that from happening.
So I’m going to talk about the one dish I tried that was really delicious and would be a great way to start a meal with friends. If we are ever allowed to share food with other people again.
The whitefish salad is not the biggest component on the plate but it is the center of the dish and certainly the richest.
Around the white fish salad are warm buckwheat waffles cut into triangles. They are the perfect vessel to dip and scoop up the creamy, smoky salad. The whitefish is also topped with bright circles of whitefish roe (caviar) that add one more textural component.
The HiHi Room seems like the kind of place that is welcoming to the community and its neighbors. The place you would hang out with friends potentially all day long if necessary. And I think those are the people and places we will be clamoring for the most. Price: $18
| THE HIHI ROOM |
| 138 Smith Street (between Dean and Bergen Street), Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (917) 262-0550 |
| hihiroom.com |
