FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 28, 2017 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 55
dining out
The Highwater cocktail bar is
a summery oasis in Astoria
BY SEAN CURRY
Th e Highwater — the latest cocktail bar
to grace Astoria’s Broadway strip — is an
oasis of summer lifestyle as the weather
gets chillier.
Much like clothes on the hottest of
summer days, any scrap of pretension
is stripped away in favor of fantastic
drinks, amazing food and an inviting
atmosphere.
With a surfer vibe interior that would
be just as at home at Rockaway Beach as
it is on Broadway, Th e Highwater drips
with both familiarity and novelty, and
co-owner George Spilke says that’s entirely
the point. He wants to create a neighborhood
hangout where people can be
exposed to new things in a setting that
feels right at home — a “new experience
that feels familiar,” in his words.
It was bar manager Gabriel Colom-
Rocha who clarifi ed their mission. To
him, creating a cocktail menu that pushes
people’s boundaries is more important
than serving up a new take on something
you’ve had a hundred times before. Aft er
all, why have yet another bloody mary
when you could discover a new brunch
favorite altogether?
And that’s how Th e Highwater began: a
group of friends aspiring to create something
accessible, but completely new,
come hell or high water.
One drink was personally recommended
by self-described “OG waitress” Bianca
Rodriguez: Riker’s Riot, a cocktail that
came about by accident but hits your
tastebuds with a purpose. Cucumberinfused
rum mixes with a delightful citrusy
syrup in a creamy splash of summer,
and it was born when someone on
staff mistakenly put rum in a drink that
was supposed to have gin in it. But hey,
it works, and I wouldn’t have gotten to
try it if I had come in wanting more of
the same.
Happy though I was to keep drinking
whatever they put in front of me, I knew
I had to eat something at some point, and
started asking aft er their dinner menu.
To get me started, they brought out two
all-season dishes: chili edamame and taro
fries, a french fry made from an Asian
root vegetable called the taro. Th e edamame
was lovely, but it was the taro fries
that stood out to me — soft yet still possessing
the crunchy exterior characteristic
of a well-fried fry. Be sure to try them
with the sriracha aioli.
I also picked two all-season mainstays
off the menu: a pork belly taco and a fi sh
taco.
I love pork belly, and this taco didn’t
disappoint. It was savory and tender with
smoky notes, and the sriracha aioli reappeared
here to really shine.
Th e fi sh taco, made with whitefi sh
breaded with panko crumbs and a secret
seasoning, was a new twist on fi sh tacos
for me. Chef Dionne’s fi ne dining resume
mixes with his love of comfort (previously,
the chef was at Per Se and BarBacon
in Manhattan) and really shines through
with these tacos.
Last for the night was a hanger steak
with mashed taro. Basted in a citrus soy
ginger marinade, glazed with balsamic
and paired with the wasabi aioli, this
steak almost fell apart before it made it
to my mouth. It’s shareable, all right —
if it lasts long enough for someone else to
grab a piece.
Beyond being shareable, though, Th e
Highwater’s menu makes an eff ort to
encourage you to play around. Have you
ever gone out with friends and ordered a
few appetizers so everyone could try a little
of everything? Eating at Th e Highwater
is like that — don’t come here to eat one
good thing. Come here to try four awesome
things.
Photos by Joselynn Cortes
D I N E R & R E S T A U R A N T
Happy New Year
From Our Award Winning Staff
DINNER DINNER INCLUDES
Choice of Appetizer or Cup of Soup or Juice, Celery and Olives,
House Salad with Choice of Dressing, Entree, Vegetable and
Potato, Pasta or Rice, Challah Bread and Rolls, Any Pastry and
Beverage, Dried Fruit and Nuts
APPETIZERS
• Stuffed Grape Leaves
with Rice ...............................included
• Half Grapefruit
Maraschino .....................included
• Fruit Salad Cocktail
Supreme ...........................included
• Spinach Pie ......................included
• Jumbo Shrimp
Cocktail ......................... extra 12.95
• Mozzarella
Sticks ............................... extra 7.95
• Baked Stuffed
Clams ...............................extra 8.95
• Chicken Fingers .......... extra 7.95
SOUPS
• Cream of Turkey • Manhattan Clam Chowder
• Chicken Consomme with Rice • Noodles or Matzoh Balls
ENTREES
ROAST PRIME RIB OF BEEF Au Jus, pot & veg .............................................................. 34.95
VIRGINIA HAM STEAK served with Wild Berry Ragu, pot & veg .............................................29.95
ROAST MARYLAND TURKEY with Apple Raisin Dressing, pot & veg ..........................28.95
CHICKEN PARMIGIANA with Spaghetti .........................................................................27.95
CHICKEN FRANCAISE with artichokes, pimento and lemon sauce, pasta or rice ..........27.95
FETTUCCINI ALFREDO with Chicken (with shrimp +$6.00 ) .........................................28.95
MADRID STYLE PORK TENDERLION Sauteed pork tenderloin
with spicy red beans, spanish rice, tomato and green pepper ..............................................................27.95
PASTA al FRUTTI DI MARE: Angel hair pasta with shrimp,
scallops and calamari in marinara sauce ............................................................................... 32.95
SHRIMP & CRAB CASINO: Jumbo Shrimp and Snow Crab
in garlic butter and mixed peppers with rice pilaf ...................................................................30.95
BROILED FILET OF SOLE ALMONDINE topped with Roasted Almonds, pot & veg ..35.95
VEAL CHOP Au Poive with light demi glazed sauce garnished
with roasted peppers and mushrooms ..................................................................................... 34.95
BROILED HEAVY NEW YORK CUT SIRLION with Mushroom Caps, pot & veg ...... 39.95
BROILED STUFFED FILET OF SOLE with Crabmeat Stuffing, pot & veg ...................37.95
BROILED FILET MIGNON with Mushroom Caps, pot & veg ......................................... 42.95
BROILED SEAFOOD COMBINATION:
Shrimp, Scallops, Filet of Sole, Halibut and Baked Clams, pot & veg ........................................ 42.95
BROILED LOBSTER TAILS with drawn butter, pot & veg ..............................................48.95
BEEF & REEF: FILET MIGNON & TENDER ROCK LOBSTER
served with salad, potato and vegetables ................................................................................. 49.95
VEGETABLES: • Corn on the Cob • Sweet Peas • Broccoli Spears
• Creamed Spinach • Glazed Baby Belgian Carrots
• Green Beans Almondine
POTATOES: • Baked • Mashed Potato • French Fried • Candied Yams
CHILDEREN’S MENU
ROAST TURKEY with Apple Rasin Dressing ........................................................18.95
CHICKEN FINGERS with Honey Mustard and French Fries ....................................18.95
CHEESE RAVIOLI Topped with Mozzarella .......................................................................18.95
CHICKEN PARMIGIANA with Spaghetti ........................................................................18.95
BEVERAGES
Soda, Juice, Coffee, Tea
DESSERT
Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Cheese Cake,
Assorted Danish, Chocolate Layer Cake, any Pastry
All Baking done on Premises • Private Parties Available
86-55 Queens Boulevard • Elmhurst • 718-651-9000
(one block west of Queens Center Mall) Large Free Parking Lot