| rev:text
| - My friend and I happily feasted three mains and an appetizer. That's not to say that the portion sizes aren't generous - because they are! It was just that good. Instead of picking two out of three entrees that we really wanted, we just tacked on another plate. You gotta make the visit count, right?
Excited to Hoof-it-up, I got there a bit early and was surprised to find a line quickly gather behind me. Luckily, I was relaxing on the bench & enjoying the Sunday morning otherwise I wouldn't have gotten a table (not that the bar would've been bad). By 9:45AM, quite a few fellow brunchers were eagerly peering through the window in anticipation of the 10AM opening time.
The cafe itself is quite small, so go early if you want to avoid a wait or would prefer a seat by the window. Similarly, I arrived at Black Hoof right when they opened at 6PM, and just managed to grab a table. I wouldn't mind sitting at the bar though, they have fantastic cocktails and the service is jovial and chatty. However, for a group of more than 3 people a table is clearly better.
Bone Marrow Strawberry Beignets
Winning Combination: Cinnamon, Sugar, Bone Marrow, Strawberries & Long Peppers
These delicious little bone marrow pastries are coated in sugar and cinnamon. The donuts were hot, fresh, and filled with a sweet strawberry and long pepper jelly. Deep fried bits of joy, these were the perfect size and a tasty $5 appetizer. More please!
The two other starters are currently available for $5; a pastry filled with bacon as well as ribs in a beer sauce. While curious about the others, these donuts were a winning choice. Well...honestly based on the entire meal, I'm convinced that anything would be a solid option!
Beef Tongue Grilled Cheese
When I spotted this on the menu, succulent memories of Beef Tongue on Brioche from Black Hoof wafted through my mind. Slathered and fried, the buttery bread had toasty grill marks and neatly sandwiched an extremely tender and generous portion of beef tongue. I needed to erase the disaster that was Friday's T&T's rubbery beef tongue from my mind and this just blew it away. Hello satisfaction.
Packed with comforting flavour, every bite made me stop to savour the combination of Provolone, Brie, crispy-buttery bread, and amazing thinly-shaved beef tongue. The little piggy-skewer with 4 pickles was a nice touch, similar to Black Hoof's Beef Tongue on Brioche Sandwich. Between the two, I'd say that this was better...but trust me...they are both delicious. Not bad for my first grilled cheese sandwich!
Suckling Pig Eggs Benny
Perfectly runny egg yolks, light Hollandaise sauce over pickled jalapeño
The Eggs Benny was perfectly poached. Warm yolk slowly oozed out when pierced with a fork, and every bite was covered in heavenly Hollandaise sauce. The sauce wasn't too rich, and did not mask the wonderful porky flavour on top of the fresh biscuit. The suckling pig had a barbecue flavour, and reminded me of very tender pulled pork without the sauce. The arugula had a lemony zip and the dish was surrounded by pork rinds. I could be wrong, but the rinds tasted like they were made a bit earlier as they were a bit soft rather than hot and crispy. They were spiced with barbecue powder. While a nice touch, I didn't care so much for them.
I recently told a friend that my next food-hunt would be for Toronto's best Eggs Benedict. However, I'm pretty sure that now I've tasted this, there is no need. Even without the suckling pig, this eclipses all other Eggs Benny dishes I've ever had.
Brioche French Toast with Foie Gras
O-M-G.
I could easily leave the description as that, because that is all that was running through my mind when we received it, while I was eating it, and after it was done.
The Brioche French Toast was perfect - the thick French bread was perfectly battered & fried, covered in sweet-syrupy goodness, roasted macadamia nuts, a dollop of creme fraiche, and bright red strawberries. Oh, and quite possibly the largest serving of Foie Gras that I've ever seen i my life.
Words can't describe how great I thought it was - sweet syrup, hot fresh brioche, seared Foie Gras, macadamia nuts, creme fraiche, and fruit. How could this not be amazing?! Now I want every restaurant to start making French Toast with brioche. Like the Eggs Benny, this wins the C&T prize for Toronto's Best French Toast. Sorry Kalendar, but your banana & mango stuffed French toast was just trumped BIG TIME.
A $26 plate French Toast might sound quite steep (it's $12 for the French Toast and $14 for the Foie Gras) but I definitely think that it's worth a try at least once. Go with a few friends and split it if you need to...
Everything about the the meal was great. From the upbeat and friendly service to the colours and presentation of each plate.
Pics : http://cookiesandtomatoes.blogspot.com/2010/08/hoof-cafe-charcuterie-brunch-love.html
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)