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| - After reading so many reviews, i was nothing less than thrilled when my friend invited to join her and a few friends at the often tried and reviewed Black Hoof.
Arriving an hour late, after hopping on the subway, streetcar and shuttle bus, nothing was going to come in the way of my long awaited tasting of the infamous well talked about joint.
As i arrived, my party had already devoured the majority of the house cured meat platter which was comprised of various types of salami, prosciutto like pork, andouille sausage,and bone marrow. Everything served on the wooden style platter was delicious, all the way down to the side of mustard.
Also saved for me was a creamy light whipped chicken liver served with a side of chives/parsley soaked in olive oil and a small slab of sweet confit.
As i was barely making a dent in what was saved for me, the waiter brought over our smoked meat tar tar served with a raw egg york on top. This was served with some oven toasted crouton liked slices of bread. The beef tartar had a delicious fresh herb flavour and a hint of ponzu sauce. The whole concoction just melts in your mouth.
Few minutes later, the horse carpaccio was served with succulent thinly sliced mushroom and some arugula type greens. The whole dish was drizzled with olive oil.
Next, came the pork belly filled perogies, served with a creamy sauce, some seaweed shavings, and some brown sugar on top. They were very flavourful and tasty. Although I might have done ok without the creamy white sauce.
Although our stomachs were already getting filled (we had devoured three servings of bread), the waiter served us with what was called sweat bread. It tasted a little like smoked peameal bacon. It was served over small sliced mini potatoes, a creamy sauce and some greens. We were all wondering what it was made of but none of us knew. At the end of dinner, we asked our waiter what was in this mysterious dish, he said it was the calf's thymus gland. Glad I didn't know before i ate it. This was probably my least favorite dish of the evening. The bone marrow being my favorite (at $9, it doesn't disappoint), the meat platter my second favorite, and the beef tartar and horse carpaccio next, in that order. The perogies, then the sweat bread last.
By the end of the night, after much interesting and controversial conversation sitting in the outback patio, our stomachs were filled, our curiosity and appetities were satiated, and after an order of sangria, we were ready to head back home. The ambiance is certainly very cozy and low key. The wait staff was attentitive and very polite.
The meal came to $157 plus tax and tip for 4. My share was around $43 which is reasonable. You would think given the size of the portion and the odd animal parts that are being served that some of the dishes must have pretty good margins.
Overall, i think everyone should atleast go to this restaurant once, unless you are vegetarian, in which case you only have two menu options - beets and sweet potatoes.
On my way out, i was surprised to see that there were only 3 people preparing food in what seemed to be a condo size kitchen. They were cooking over a regular stove such as the one i have at home and with a regular frying pan. Given that alot of the items are raw or pre-processed, there isn't as much cooking as you would expect from most restaurants.
They definitely created a menu that is unique, not for the faint of heart or those that fear anything that comes from parts of animals that isn't eaten in the mainstream. You definitely won't find the best cuts of meat in this joint such as striploin steak or rib eye.
One last mention is that they don't take credit cards there. To my relief, they do accept debit. I didn't bring alot of cash, I didn't think I had to since i wasn't going to Chinatown.
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