The Black Hoof

Last night, I went to 'the Black Hoof' and had an Amazing Meal. I actually exclaimed, 'Wow', after 2 dishes. Not only was the service great, but the food was fresh, different and very, very tasty.

The Black Hoof serves small plates that are meant for sharing. It's like tapas, except the portions are slightly bigger (actually, I had just gone to 'Cava' last week and they served some great tapas. We ordered about 3 items per person, as suggested by the waiter. We did the same thing at Black Hoof, only to discover that their portions are much, much bigger).

There were so many items I wanted to try, but in the end, this is what we ordered (based on reviews and suggestions by the waitress):
1) Cabbage Soup - thick and creamy, no chunks. I wasn't expecting it to have the consistancy of carrot soup - I thought it was more of a broth with lots of veggies. It was a very nice surprise.
2) Chacuterie - the main reason we wanted to come to the Black Hoof in the first place was for this platter. Duck liver and many different types of cured meats. They arranged the items on the plate from mild to strong. I thought every thing tasted great - not 'gamey' at all. We ordered a small basket of bread to go with it.
3) Roast Bone Marrow - this was one of my favourite dishes of the night! Two pieces of bone served with crostini and special sea salts. We spooned the marrow over the crostini and sprinkled with the salt - oh, heaven.
4) Tongue & Brioche - Since I've always had tongue in big chunks (usually in my mom's soups), I was surprised to see it served sliced like deli meat. It looked like a roast beef sandwich between two pieces of Brioche bread. The Boy loved this dish. I thought it was very good, and the portion was HUGE. I ended up taking home my half of this dish - too many other things to fill up on.
5) Pork Belly & Kim Chee - the Pork Belly was melt in your mouth perfection. This was my other favourite dish. It was served over Kim Chee and caramelized apple slices. It sounded odd, but it offered a great flavour combination.
6) Beef Heart Frites - Lukily, the waitress didn't hear us order this dish, so we never ended up getting it. I would have loved to try it, but I was too full. Next time!!
7) Dessert - This was AWESOME. A small slice of corn bread? banada bread? It tasted like they baked it and then lightly fried it (it was a little crunchy). They placed a smoked/bbq'ed plantain slice on the bread and then topped it with fresh cream, made with lime juice and no sugar. Amazing!! The smokey flavour was so strong in dessert, as was the sweet caramel sauce and creamy, sour cream. So many contrasting flavours - and yet, soooo good.

I cannot wait to go again. The food was amazing and the combinations were so interesting - I felt like a judge on Top Chef! Who wants to join me the next time we go??