Every now and then, a New Orleans restaurant will open with a menu combining the food of our city with that of the Delta Country of northwestern Mississippi. Because they are connected by the Mississippi River's busiest segment, a cultural connection formed two centuries ago between our city and Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville and Memphis--the main ports of the Delta Country. Eat in any of those places, you'll notice many dishes and flavors in common with New Orleans eats. We never had a lot of Creole-Mississippi Delta food here. Indeed, it is some time since the last restaurant flagrantly purveying that cuisine: Cafe Atchafalaya, during the hegemony of Iler Pope, in the 1990s. It wasn't until 2011 that High Hat took the baton. It was the perfect time for such a place to open. The city was still regrouping after Katrina. And, more important, there was an astonishing efflorescence of new restaurants in the stretch of Freret Street between Napoleon and Jefferson Avenues. Everybody wanted to see that development grow, and the restaurants did well. High Hat was (and remains) like the neighborhood cafe you remember in a neighborhood you never visited before in some little Southern town you happened to drive through. Add a feeling that it's 1949, and you have an accurate image of High Hat and some--but not all--of its food.
In 2011, High Hat took over the space where the hallowed Bill Long's Bakery operated for fifty years. Omnipresent owner Chip Apperson came from Memphis, where the name of an old bar--Cecil's Hi-Hat Lounge--stuck in his head. Cocktail remain part of the heritage here, with a nice old bar making good drinks.
The big windows, high ceilings and earth-shade tile floors will bring a chill of nostalgia to former Bill Long customers. Where the counters were is now a bar, over which hangs the old sign from Cecil's Hi-Hat Lounge. (Chip salvaged it just as the old place was coming down.) In the back is a semi-open kitchen. The servers blend perfectly into the retro atmosphere in their dress and personalities, although this may have been just an accident.
The best meals I've had here were composed entirely of appetizers, which intersect the entree list somewhat anyway. Hamburgers and sandwiches are better that you expect; the daily plate specials not quite as good.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 1 |
| Hipness | 2 |
| Local Color | 2 |
| Service | 1 |
| Value | 1 |
| Wine | 0 |
