Restaurants
The Black Hoof
After opening to rave reviews, this city's newest hit is The Black Hoof, 928 Dundas Street West, and I was dying to pay them a visit. So last night with three companions in tow we descended upon the teeny charcuterie joint with empty stomachs and panache for some straight up meat.
Warning: this restaurant is not suitable for herbivores (unless you're content eating bread and cheese for dinner), the faint at heart (think piggy ears and bone marrow), if you suffer from high cholesterol, if you have no patience (we waited an hour for a table at an unknown bar across the street that had no heat) or if you have no money (cash and debit only).
None of the above pertained to us so we whole heartedly and excitedly ordered a bottle of wine and half the menu - serious. Their menu is confidently small and compact and I admire its' no nonsense approach. First came bread from Thuet's bakery ($4) and olives ($4) avec a cute little pit bowl. It's about time someone clued into the fact that pits on your side plate are not only gross but they compete for space when trying to eat something else off the same plate. Smart.
When she brings the charcuterie ($23) we practically squeal like the little pigs that have graciously blessed the platter. It's a farm on a plate. Horse sausage, foie gras mousse, venison brasaola, duck prosciutto and a rainbow of pork products like pancetta, salami and chorizo. All made in house with the exception of the pancetta. It was a carnivore's dream come true. With each sampling, came an element of pleasant surprise. It was salty and earthy and natural. It went so fast someone almost lost a finger.
A platter of marinated vegetables makes an appearance. They were sweet but bring on the meat.
Next up was the cabbage soup and bone marrow ($6). They were stationed side by side and the soup was good but who cares? The marrow was the best I have ever had. The only word to describe this marrow is outstanding. So outstanding that it got ugly as we gnawed and sucked at these bones till every drop of luscious marrow had been conquered. So outstanding that I woke up this morning thinking about it and have continued to think about it all day. Even more outstanding is it's price tag - do they know how good this stuff is? It was perfectly cooked. It was not hard or mealy but rather gooey and kind of wet.
The duck confit sandwich ($12) that followed was brilliant. The meat was a stringy, juicy, greasy mess and the crunchy bun was hard to cut in half but a best friend to the succulent duck meat.
Oh, the pork belly pastrami ($12). Who in their right mind doesn't like the belly? With its' fatty goodness and tender texture, I have to say that I am a big fan. They serve it up with a mini pickle, a little sauerkraut and the dish makes you smile.
We are happy.
We want meat for dessert and I'm secretly hoping for bison ice cream or some other animal concoction. Instead we are told they don't do coffee and dessert is some sort of tart. Like the vegetables, dessert is useless and we call it a night.
The service was great and the wine list affordable. The only negative is the washrooms. The stalls look like your grandpa made them at his work bench. We love The Black Hoof's "made in house" philosophy but they could've ordered in the bathroom. Oh well.
Overall, the experience was satiating and I can't wait to go back and order the other half of the menu.
Writing by Rita Ricchio. Photos by Rita Ricchio and Tim Shore.
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I've got my own duck prosciutto in the fridge right now.
After an hour of hanging around the sketchy dundas west/oss area, mostly outside in the cold (friend really wanted that meat platter!), we went back inside to follow up. The hostess again ignored us for 10-15 mins, we noted that 80% of the people inside were the same ones as when we first came, they weren't eating they were just sitting, enjoying being seen someplace "cool". When we finally got the attention of the hostess again, she said "there are still three parties of four ahead of you, we're not even sure we will seat you tonight. We will call you when we're ready for you, our policy is to let people stay as long as they want" so we went to another bar, sat and waited.
Finally we got mad because our other friend had to leave (it was his birthday, even) and we just hopped in a cab and went to a pub in my neighborhood. The Black Hoof then called us about an hour and a half later asking us if we would like to come back and I said, "no thanks." This also applies to my friend who is a restaurant industry journalist, who said it was the worst service she'd seen. As for myself, I understand these situations happen but this one made me mad enough that I will never go back there.
Great snacks for after a long day at work......so casual.
I will be back.
keep trucken Black Hoof
R.
Not even sure where to begin here, so if you want the quick version, skip this over-hyped poor attempt at a restaurant and go to Cava. Or Atelier Thuet. Hell, even The Drake does better charcuterie than this place.
However, if you're interested in the worst service you could possibly imagine, coupled with a filthy environment and attitude galore, go ahead and check it out.
When leaving, the hostess asked me how our meal was. When I did not reply, she pressed. I commented that I was not as pleased as I had hoped I'd be at which point she got defensive and really pushy. Hoping that she would just let us leave in peace (we were getting our coats on), I told her that the food was tasty. Sadly, this did not satisfy her -she wanted more and pushed for it. So, I told her what I really thought: while the food was good, it was way overpriced; the atmosphere uncomfortable; the service slow and the staff seemed to go out of their way to ignore customers. Overall, I found the place to be pretentious without any real reason for it. The hostess sucked her teeth at us, made a snotty comment about me not understanding "fine dining," turned on her heel and stomped off. The guy on the prep table asked if everything was OK and gave me a look that seemed to suggest that he had seen this sort of behaviour out of the hostess before. I thanked him for the dinner and we left.
Toronto is full of great places to eat; we certainly won't waste our time at the Black Hoof again. Snotty hostess girl might do well to remember that her customer is paying her wage. Further, don't ask your customer about his dining experience if you don't want to hear the answer.
Some totally awesome dishes: the stuffed pork snout was delirium, truly awesome. The duck confit sandwich -- I had to try to replicate that at home; alas, mine was not up to the quality.
Have found the service honest and humble: three women out for dinner can sometimes not get the best service. We had no service issues either time.
Oh -- it's summer, and they have a patio out back. It's a nice place.
1st - The Service
A good friend of mine has taken me to the Hoof a few times when I had visited Toronto and I do admit that there Hostess is a little rough around the edges when its busy. I would suggest that, if the host/hostess is going to offer a timeline in the future, the host/hostess state an approximate time and then ADD THE CAVEAT "but as we have no control over how long our guests decide to stay, it may be shorter or longer". This would work well for them as they have a phone call on table opening policy, which I have no issue with. I have had to wait up to 2 hours for a table at the hoof before, BUT, it was well worth it in the end.
As for the service itself, I find it excellent. There is one server (Knowledgeable, Tall and Sexy) who has served us each time. She is always smiling, friendly and knows her stuff. Attitude was GREAT as always. Even when errors have occurred (they once forgot one of our dishes - PB and J FOIS!) they have been quickly resolved without question and with great speed.
2nd - The Scrumptious Num Nums (aka The Food)
I have eaten Charcuterie for many many years. As a child I was fed Salami and Corned Beef like many a Jewish Child. As I grew older I have been lucky enough to try many many types of meats in many forms and by many different cultures. I am by no means the King of Meat, but I would like to consider myself knowledgeable on the subject.
The Hoof is producing and serving some of the BEST Charcuterie that can be found in Toronto. There use of ingredients that many people consider "throw away", are prepared skillfully and with artistic regard. The flavor profiles that they put together can sometimes be viewed as crazy, but on the palate work beautifully.
I would stongly suggest the PB and J Fois Gras, Tongue on Brioche, and the very well put together platters of Charcuterie. I have heard people announce that they would leave there spouse for more of the Pork Belly Pastrami. For those of you willing to step further into the land of meat, the fantastic Raw Horse with Hot Sauce was delightful. While my foodie in crime was put off a bit by the texture, I loved the way the raw egg mixed with the meat, forming the wonderful sandwich that I would love to try again and again.
I would strongly suggest that anyone and everyone interested in this style of food give the Hoof a try. This is a Toronto Gem and worth the trip!
I shall be going in the near future and will then add my 2 cents for what its worth...
The spreads with the cheese plater are incredible
Hello fellow diners!
Last night some friends and I dined at The Black Hoof. When we walked in I definately got the whole "trendy" Toronto restaurant vibe. It is very cozy and simply decorated. We sat down and order some drinks. I tried a vodka jasmine thyme drink first which was great. My friend ordered a violet gin sour which was delightful so I started ordering those after my first drink ;)
A few friends order these famous assorted smoked meats that come with olives, pickles and bread as a starter. I tried some and it was delish. I ordered a pasta meal with an almost creamed salami. It was very flavourful and salty. I loved it. For dessert I had a vanilla cake with homemade peach sorbet. It was a beautiful end to a beautiful meal.
Here are a couple things to note. There are no tangible menues, everything is written on a black board, which was fine for me but not my near sighted friend. No biggie though. Be prepared to wait for your food. Again, not a problem for me because I rather enjoy taking my time with friends while enjoying a meal. But my starving friend was growing cranky and impatient. Portion sizes are not huge which is pretty normal when fine dining. Our server, although very informed of the menu, was busy and didn't attend to us the way I would have liked, but that's what you get when you go to a trendy restaurant on a Friday night.
Over all ... I give The Black Hoof a 9 out of 10.
Yeah, you're going to wait 45 mins, but so what go have a drink across the street and relax if you're in a rush go eat fast food. You'd wait over an hour at Terroni and that's just ridiculous to wait for regular pasta. Black hoof is meat art.
As for the service, I've only ever had excellent service. Staff always knew their stuff, busboys cleaned our table in between every plate and the owner Jen has always been great (the first time I was there she was my server and didn't even know she was the owner).
highly recommended for food lovers. If you want a steak go to the keg. If you want to eat something not on any menu elsewhere eat the hoof.
always get the charcuterie, the bone marrow and anything with sweetbreads. (drool).
Our server actually told us we might still be hungry after ordering $70 worth of food.
I got the surf turf and surf. Tiny thin little cuts of beef heart and fish that was gritty and cold.
My fiance got the pig face taco and that was great however again minuscule.
We both got the charcuterie plate which was alright but nothing really phenomenal.
Its a shame. By the way the cafe version of this place we tried right before going to the hoof and that was probably the worst service I've had in quite a while.
Happy its near by.
Also Joe, please advise me where I can get tounge, horse, and heart. Im being serious, I love the hoof but obviously its not an everyday place, if I can bring even a b-rate version of it into my everyday life I'm all ears...
My argument is not formed as a comparison. I'm simply stating that it might have been a better choice and its never put a foot wrong.
As for " bring lots of cash, sit back relax and enjoy eating countless things you never knew could taste so good" Why bother. Its hardly worth the bother. My food was not great by any means (gritty and cold scallops among other dissapointments) and there are much better Charcuteries to eat at.
Let this be known...Horse meat is not regulated. The horses that go to slaughter and end up on "your" dinner plate are peoples once loved pets, race horses and riding horses. They are refered to the "unwanted" horses of the world, and are not bred and/or raised for people to eat. Check out the list of drugs that are legal to administer to racehorses....that should be enough to make you sick.
An additional note to add..these animals are not being slaughtered humanely. Don't believe me?....check out: http://www.defendhorsescanada.org/Articles.html
Feel sick yet?
The drugs that are administered to these animal are not regulated, and are not by any means fit for human consumption.
This all happens in your "backyard"..slaughter plants are located in Alberta and Quebec.
Please, I ask if a manager and/or cook of this restaurant reads this posting that they remove this item from the menu immediately, not for the fact that horses are intelligent, brave and loyal creatures, but also for the safety of their customers.
Thank you.
Let this be known...Horse meat is not regulated. The horses that go to slaughter and end up on "your" dinner plate are peoples once loved pets, race horses and riding horses. They are refered to the "unwanted" horses of the world, and are not bred and/or raised for people to eat. Check out the list of drugs that are legal to administer to racehorses....that should be enough to make you sick.
An additional note to add..these animals are not being slaughtered humanely. Don't believe me?....check out: http://www.defendhorsescanada.org/Articles.html
Feel sick yet?
The drugs that are administered to these animal are not regulated, and are not by any means fit for human consumption.
This all happens in your "backyard"..slaughter plants are located in Alberta and Quebec.
Please, I ask if a manager and/or cook of this restaurant reads this posting that they remove this item from the menu immediately, not for the fact that horses are intelligent, brave and loyal creatures, but also for the safety of their customers.
Thank you.
Let this be known...Horse meat is not regulated. The horses that go to slaughter and end up on "your" dinner plate are peoples once loved pets, race horses and riding horses. They are refered to the "unwanted" horses of the world, and are not bred and/or raised for people to eat. Check out the list of drugs that are legal to administer to racehorses....that should be enough to make you sick.
An additional note to add..these animals are not being slaughtered humanely. Don't believe me?....check out: http://www.defendhorsescanada.org/Articles.html
Feel sick yet?
The drugs that are administered to these animal are not regulated, and are not by any means fit for human consumption.
This all happens in your "backyard"..slaughter plants are located in Alberta and Quebec.
Please, I ask if a manager and/or cook of this restaurant reads this posting that they remove this item from the menu immediately, not for the fact that horses are intelligent, brave and loyal creatures, but also for the safety of their customers.
Thank you.
sure you do.
much more pictures this would be perhaps even better.
Thanks ,Rolland