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| - I dined at The Black Hoof last month as part of a 'five dinners in seven hours' food safari around Toronto.
The popular charcuterie bistro has built up a formidable reputation among locals since opening in 2008 and was deemed a must-eat by everyone we encountered.
The reason? Chef Greg Van Gameren smokes and cures his own meats and offers everything from rabbit rillettes with cinnamon and nutmeg to elk salami to horse tartare.
Yes, the exoticness of the protein was a tad frightening at first but where else would I find anything like this?! Besides, I couldn't think of a better way to cap off our restaurant crawl than by enjoying cold deli cuts.
We order the charcuterie platter of eight items and wait with bated breath to see what the chef will serve us. The menu changes daily, depending on availability, and you don't really know what you'll get until it arrives at your table.
Five minutes later, we are presented with a slender wooden platter that features such a wide range of red hues, it should act as an inspiration for L'Oreal's next lipstick range.
Today's selection includes a delectable-looking foie gras parfait with whipped butter, curious-sounding buffalo and blueberry salami slices, fennel pollen salami slices; black truffled salami slices; smoked summer spicy sausage and lardo horse mortadella.
We are instructed to make our way from one end of the board (milder tasting cuts) to the other end (the horse mortadella) and are left to our own devices.
Spurred on by the momentous occasion and my curiosity, I decide to have a bite of at least each cold cut, including *gasp* the horse mortadella!
For the record, it didn't taste like chicken. I can't actually describe what it tasted like but let's just say it wasn't one of my favorites. The truffled salami, however, was simply spectacular.
Other notable mentions must be given to the subtly sweet buffalo and blueberry salami and the intriguing-tasting fennel pollen salami.
A small bowl of pickled cauliflower, onions, daikon and carrots also accompany the platter but I was so full, I didn't even sample any of it.
Read more and view photos at http://www.gloriousgluttony.com/toronto/food-safari-1-five-dinners-in-seven-hours
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