Eating Out

So, here I am again. Apologizing for infrequent writing and zero footage of my cooking or eating adventures.

I also realize that I've actually neglected to write about my eating adventures, of which there are many. I love to eat. I love to eat out. And I love Hoof Cafe and Black Hoof in Toronto.

I had been to the Hoof Cafe and enjoyed a most decadent brunch of toast, roasted bone marrow, fragrant vanilla-rhubarb jam, charcuterie and pig tails & grits. I will remember that meal for a long time, mostly because I enjoyed it with one of my favourite people, Yani Kong, but definitely because it was so gosh-darn delish. Melt in your mouth salami, creamy & gooey marrow, to-die-for jam and the best grits I have ever had in my life. I am a grit believer because of the Hoof Cafe.

Hoof Cafe opened after it's parent restaurant, Black Hoof. The incredible popularity of Black Hoof led to the opening of the Cafe across the street, intended, I believe, to serve as a holding tank for patient diners waiting for a coveted table at the no-reservation-policy Black Hoof. After enjoying lovely meals at each location I am tempted to say that the Hoof Cafe does more than serve as a comfortable (and tasty) place to wait in line... it may be better than it's original, the Black Hoof.

On Saturday Roland and I dined at Black Hoof. We waited about half an hour on a very rainy night for a table. The staff were incredibly lovely. They made us feel very wanted and were appropriately apologetic for our wait. Unfortunately, Hoof Cafe was closed for a two week summer holiday (I understand the Black Hoof will close for the same holiday later this week), so we couldn't even have a delicious cocktail of house-infused liqueurs & fresh ingredients that the Hoof Cafe is so well known for. There were no free seats at the bar either, so we waited under the awning until graced with a table.

I started with a cocktail called Violet Gin Sour - a pretty sweet and sour flip of gin, violet syrup, lemon lime and egg white. We started with charcuterie, perhaps what the Hoofs are best known for - that, and their brilliant use of off-cuts. Beautiful smoked duck breast salami, fluffy creamy duck liver mouse, duck liver pressed pate, horse mortadella, chorizo, fennel-spiced salami and at least three other variations I can't remember. Served with hearty house-made crusty bread, tangy grainy mustard and house pickles. The meat was, once again, melt-in-your-mouth delicious. We followed our platter with crispy pig tail salad and sweetbread with peas & chanterelles.

Crispy crackling-like pieces of pork topped a salad of radish, greens, lovage and buttermilk dressing. The dressing was good, but something I think I could pull off at home. The vegetables were fresh, seasonal and crisp and the pork was fantastic. Perfect summer shelled peas and meaty chanterelles may have been the stars of the sweetbreads dish. The sweetbreads (which is what we call the thymus gland) were cooked well; creamy and tender. But those beautifully cooked peas! They really made the dish for me... that and the tasty jus pooled around the whole thing.

Cheese was the last thing we indulged in. A well curated board representing British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec paired with house-made fruit compotes and more of that crusty bread.

The meal was really good, but it wasn't the best meal I've had. It might not make it into my top ten (however, the Hoof Cafe brunch does), but it was worth the wait.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Black Hoof is the fact that the cooks are working out of an open kitchen no larger than my (relatively small) washroom and with a run-of-the-mill domestic electric stove. Given these conditions, that meal was remarkable.

It occurs to me that my blog needs some photos... and that I need to write more.

It's hard to think of something worth while to post on a regular basis.

As we come to the sticky middle of the summer, I'm looking forward to the tomatoes. Those little plants that we started from seed in our living room window are nearly as tall as I am. We're waiting patiently to see what colour each tomato ripens to. This year we bought a mixed packet of heirloom seeds and I have no idea what is planted where. The anticipation is amazing!

For my next Pearl Magazine article I'll be writing about canning and preserving. Two things so new to me, but activities I'm hoping to become an old hand at. Going to attempt a quick pickle over the next week or two, and I will photo document the event.

Visions of pepper jellies, ketcup, jam and crisp & tangy vegetables...