I took myself out to the Hoof last night for my birthday. This makes my third visit in the last year. In fact, my first visit was my birthday last year. Overall the food at the Hoof tends to be exquisite. I think, however, based on my experience last night that the foods are best enjoyed in a small group. My fairly modest meal was more expensive than I would have liked by far.
The good:
The Southern Fried Sweetbreads. (15) I love that they smoke their sweetbreads. It adds so much body to the flavour. They cook these to perfection I love the crispy exterior and chewy interior. The creamed Collard greens and cornbread were a nice accompaniment to the dish. Hot sauce and apple cider vinegar reduction worked very well.
The bad:
The Foie Gras. (24) Last year on my birthday I got the foie gras. It was perfection. Two large chunks of lobe seared to dripping buttery perfection on a brioche round with a tangy caramelized onion compote. The last two times I have visited they have turned foie gras into a dessert. I don't like it. In my opinion, it should be a savoury dish. There should be something acidic to cut through the buttery luxury of the foie. I disliked this cookie crumble vanilla mascarpone crap they served with it this time around. The foie was perfectly cooked as per usual but the portion was tiny. It was about half of the portion I've received before. Until they get it right I won't order this again.
The Interesting:
I arrived at 6:10 on a Friday night and there were 2 seats available at the bar. The whole place was filled with a 45 minute wait list. Clearly they're not hurting for business.
The Booze:
I like the selection of alcohol here. I had an Innis & Gunn (6.50) and a Ricard (8).
I like the Hoof a lot but I felt that $60 before tip was a bit vulgar for the meal I ate. Regardless, I will be back and I'll continue to plead with them to improve/restore the Foie Gras.