| rev:text
| - Opening Remarks:
-The restaurant officially opened about 2 weeks ago, but had already incurred quite the buzz even before any critics or bloggers came through their doors. Using the most ingenious media technique I have ever heard of, Hudson Kitchen hosted exes Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston on two separate occasions- wow, for a restaurant without a reputation, that's a pretty impressive feat.
-Located at Dundas and Palmerson where they took over three former spaces- the Palmserston Café, an art gallery and one of Jamie Kennedy's old spaces.
-Owned by Borys Chabursky and Vince Antonacci, with Executive chef Robbie Hojilla (of Woodlot and Ursa) in the kitchen.
Ambiance:
-The space feels more like a cozy neighbourhood joint than your typical Hollywood hot spot. And I really respect that seeing as "glamour" isn't really a hot Toronto trend like, let's say "hipster" is.
-The dining rooms feature light coloured exposed brick, hardwood floors, an engraved tin ceiling, a full-wall plaster mural by local artist Harley Valentine on one wall, and a mirage of wonky vintage framed food referencing artwork on another. One of the gentlemen told us that they intend to continue to fill up some of the empty frames with photos of menu items- I think it will be a really nice touch.
-In addition to 70 seats indoors there is also a private dining room in the wine cellar and a fairly generous 45 seat street-facing patio for the warm months. Believe it or not, even in mid October I saw a few tables out there having dinner. Wow, that's dedication.
-The room was packed with mid 20- early 40 year olds (likely heavy on the 30s range), dressed in everything from stunning sexy backless black dresses, to T shirts and jeans, to business suits. But wherever people wore, they all looked fabulous.
-My only criticism of the place was that it was ridiculously loud. The tables are placed very close together- so much so that the only staff member who could likely get to us without putting their ass in some other tables face was the gorgeous super slim hostess. We also happened to be sat beside a table of 7 (which I was told was an anomaly) so the noise level was likely a little higher in our cozy quarters than elsewhere. Just something to consider if you're sensitive to noise.
Service:
-The service was professional yet casual. Our server made sure to check in on us at each course to ensure everything was up to our standards and made strong recommendations on menu items. I also appreciated that despite how tight it was in there, the staff still made the effort to consistently refill our water glasses, and replenish cutlery and side plates between courses.
Drinks:
-The drink menu is printed on the main menu and features about 30 International bottles ($30-250) and 6 wines by the glass ($6-9).
-The 6 item cocktail menu takes classic cocktails and really elevates them with seasonal flavours and unique preparations. Think Pear Syrup, Clarified Lime, Orange Flower Water, Cream of Earl Grey, Tiki Bitters (whatever that is), and Xanthan Gum. I also found it interesting that in drinks requiring an egg white froth that the ingredient was labeled "albumin" - the globular protein found in egg whites. Maybe the technical term is more diner friendly than a raw egg white? Well, I've taken food science courses so I don't really care what they call it, I just know it's delicious in my drink and I wanted to try it out.
Food:
-HK's website describes Hojilla's food as "Progressive American" and embodying a Leaf to Root philosophy that preserves the nutritional value of fresh ingredients and celebrates "food and all its possibilities".
-Just a quick scan of the menu and the local, seasonal, fresh, light and healthy slant is clear. Actually, the menu reads almost spa like, touting a near grocery list of fresh produce and unique "trendy" whole grains like amaranth, rye berries and quinoa. But where HK differs is in how those health-food ingredients come together on the plate- with innovative elegant plating techniques, and of course, with its sumptuous flavours. If this is health food, than consider me on the HK diet.
-The menu is very simply divided into starters, mains and desserts- designed to support a simple 3-course square meal in contrast to the small plate trend of its west-end neighbours.
|
![[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)