Imagine for a moment you have a Swedish grandmother—a Mormor, as some are called. In the kitchen, Mormor always has something wonderful to serve—fragrant little meatballs bubbling in a pot on the stove, lingonberry jam preserved in glass jars, and small buttery cakes for snacking.
Now, let’s imagine Mormor does a stage at Noma. She’s hanging out with Björn Frantzén, perhaps taking in a few nights with Grant Achatz at Alinea. She gets into classic French technique and modernist cooking, learning to use tweezers and a sous vide machine.
Now you have an idea of what’s happening in the kitchen at Hildur (5 Front Street, at Old Fulton Street) a French bistro with a Scandinavian heart that opened in Dumbo in February. Elise Rosenberg and Emelie Kihlstrom, who also own Colonie and Pips, closed Mexican cantina Gran Electrica in the very same space after 13 years. For the next iteration, they brought in Colonie alum Brennan Taulbee to run their bistro, drawing inspiration from Emelie’s Mormor Hildur, who cared for her often during her childhood in Täby, a small town 20 minutes north of Stockholm.
While it’s true Taulbee is neither Swedish nor a grandmother, his menu is an unexpected marriage of opposites that work: the nostalgia of Mormor Hildur’s classic recipes balanced with modern French cooking that incorporates mother sauces and tweezered fennel fronds. Here’s what to eat.
Dining solo
At the bar, you’re in the care of Bathtub Gin alum Abraham Zumba, who created a list of inventive cocktails — martinis in particular. A favorite is the Salt & Pepper, a martini that’s not just dirty, it’s downright filthy — a savory mix of olive gin and herbed vermouth, with lots of saline and pink peppercorns. On the opposite end of the flavor spectrum, he’s crafted a frothy drink based on a Swedish ice cream pop called the KØBE, a creamsicle-as-cocktail that tastes like it belongs poolside at the White Lotus between spiritual alignment sessions with your health mentor.
Then, have a glass of Gruner Veltliner ($15) and a half-dozen oysters ($18). Why order oysters when you might test the kitchen’s talent with something a bit more impressive? Because they are from Peconic Bay, perfectly shucked and plump, drizzled with a dill oil that adds a jolt of freshness to the salinity. Also, have the bread service ($11). The Danish rye is dense and dark, sourced from the New York City branch of Fabrique in Sweden.
For dinner, have the Swedish meatballs ($29). Yes, you have loved them after hours of walking the winding IKEA path from KALLAX to BRIMNES to TÄRNABY, but here they have shed their freezer-section facade and transformed – airy, richly flavored, brightened with sweet-tart lingonberry, cozied up to a mound of buttery whipped potatoes and a tangle of fresh quick pickles. I am going to use a word that has never been placed next to meatballs before. The word is glamorous. These meatballs are not made for elastic waist athleisure-wear. They demand fancy denim, pants with zippers. Pearls!
The meatballs at Hildur.
Liz Clayman
Dinner for two
To the bread and the oysters, add the pickled herring ($19), a fillet with a jammy egg, tart crème fraiche, crisp fried rye, sharp red onion, warm nutty brown butter, and dill, the final note. I’d follow up with a mid-course here, the charred cabbage ($18), sliced in half, its outer leaves charred and decorated with pink pops of trout roe and grassy fennel fronds. The surprise comes when you slice into it and find the interior leaves are left tender and green, so they retain a little more bite and personality and add a counterpoint to the luscious puddle of beurre blanc on the plate.
For a main course, add the Atlantic halibut ($31), bathed in so much butter it forms a delicate golden crust on the fish, almost like it’s wrapped in a potato chip. The fish is served in a sauce made from toasted lobster shells, cognac, and cream. You will swear Eric Ripert is back there cooking with Mormor Hildur, too.
Three-, four-, and more-tops
You’ll want to add a few items to start here: first, the warm crab dip ($16), an ode to one of Emelie’s favorite things – spinach and artichoke dip reimagined with crab, Meyer lemon, trout roe (naturally), and rye crackers from Fabrique. And consider the lamb belly ($21), which is cured overnight in a fragrant mix of peppercorns and herbs, then cooked in its own fat. The meat falls apart like a Bridgerton in the face of the Duke of Hastings.
For dessert, get the Princess Cake ($16). It’s small, perfect for one (do not share), the shape of a small breast wrapped in a homemade cotton candy pink marzipan shell around a cloud-like cake filled with blueberry jam and crème diplomat. It’s so ethereal and light, you’ll eat it and wonder if it really happened.
Sign up for the
newsletter
Eater NY