Garden dining is great - but, still, I miss restaurants. I miss bars. I do miss the food and drink - but I what I miss most is the people. The serendipity of a conversation with the person sitting at the table or stool next to mine or the person stirring and shaking behind the bar. I have forged many a friendship in this manner. And, even the fleeting conversations and connections had over a single drink can be fortifying.
It's why a recent visit to the HiHi Room was so darn satisfying.
New York Magazine might be kvelling about their Sliders (they are really good), but I am here to shout out about much much more - mostly the people. One person in particular - their bad-ass bartender Izzy Tulloch - had me at "hi" (how apt!) when we started talking about her drink menu, going down a cocktail nerd rabbithole that led me to trying the Wail Call.
Now, I am not usually a proponent of Mezcal. Too smoky for me. And, in my experience, most cocktails using it end up tasting like a charcoal briquet. The exception to this would be drinks made by Phil Ward (damn, I miss Mayahuel!). Any which way, with Mezcal as the base spirit, I was more than a bit reticent to take a sip.
And then...Well, hello...
The Madre Mezcal gave the cocktail the subtlest edge of smoke, which was beautifully rounded out by cucumber, Aperol, citrus, and a hint of chili.
As I said, Izzy is a bad-ass and this drink is proof positive that she has gifts. Pictured up top (sans mask for the photo, which was snapped from well-over 6-feet away), she started her career in deepest, darkest New Jersey at the Park Avenue Club, but I am so glad that she now has a bar to tend in the wilds of Brooklyn. The bar itself might not be open for business, but there is imbibing going on in HiHi's garden and front patio.
That said, look forward to the day I can sidle up to the bar for a round. I think you can safely assume that I'll be ordering a Wail Call.
P.S. And, must also shout out to the HiHi kitchen's Chef Sandy, with whom I talked biscuits at length. (Yeah, the Sliders are good, but you gotta try the Fried Chicken and Biscuits!)
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