100 BEST ’15: SMOKED WHITE FISH SALAD at MAIDEN LANE

I’m counting down the 100 best dishes I tasted in 2015…

Maiden Lane is trying to demystify the stigmas of eating fish from a can or a tin. They have bars just like this one all over Portugal and Spain where you can make a three-course meal from preserved sardines, mussels, and octopus. I love that they’re doing this here and I urge you to pop open a tin over a craft beer. But as a nice entryway into the world of preserved fish, try Maiden Lane’s excellent whitefish salad as an open-faced sandwich. It’s creamy and mildly salty and works wonders with cucumbers, pickled onions, and capers. Price: $12