Dining Experience: Brunch
Venue: The Hoof Cafe
Specialty:Brunch, Charcuterie
Location: 923 Dundas Street West, Toronto, ON
Menu items: Suckling Eggs Benny, Tongue Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Brioche French Toast
Ok, not your regular brunch place, I understand. But that it should become your regular brunch place, indeed it should. Or perhaps, not so much...Hoof Cafe is so popular now in the Foodies industry, that to get a table on a weekend requires both patience and good attitude.
I learned about this exquisite brunch place through the Foodies grapevine. Many of the people who know about my passion for food thought I would be pleased with the second version of the Black Hoof, turned brunch spot. They were right.
Hoof Cafe, located in the up and coming Foodies area of Ossington and Dundas; is a place where creativity, flavour, innovation and taste join to bring Torontonians a taste of what a true brunch restaurant should be all about.
Charcuterie style dishes is what they are known for. From the same owner as the Black Hoof (right across the street), Hoof Cafe delights our morning senses with recipes and ingredients that just mix and match in one's palates like no other.
The menu, like the restaurant, is petite and contains a slick and short assortment of dishes that will for sure require further investigation with the waiter. The menu items rarely change, however they do swap from time to time a few of the dishes to introduce brand new ones.
My favourite of them all is the Suckling Eggs Benny.
This is Hoof's Cafe version of your good old Eggs Benedict. Their version however, is what makes this dish special. The english muffin they use is rather tasty and not as bland as the ones you will find at a grocery store, I have yet to decipher the difference. In between the poached eggs lays the suckling pig. Each muffin is topped off with a very good amount of delicious, succulent and moist pieces of pig. The hollandaise sauce is buttery, yet not overpowering and quite fresh. You can tell they make their own sauce freshly everyday. For plating, the Suckling Eggs Benny are garnished with a piece of deep fried pig's skin and arugula leafs. Good Morning to me!
My second favourite of their menu is the Tongue Grilled Cheese.
Tongue is considered a rather unique piece of "muscle" one eats from the cow. Known by many as something rare, Tongue is actually one of the most common served dishes in many countries across the globe. I like my tongue shredded, rather than served in its wholeness. This is why this grilled cheese sandwich is a hit for me. The sandwich is simple and has very few ingredients; however they all mix in very well making this an extravagant version of a regular grilled cheese sandwich. Pieces of tongue, cheese, dill and a tasty sauce is all this sandwich needs to be a hit.
Now on to my absolute favourite part and what I look forward to at the end of each visit to Hoof Cafe. Dessert. A delicious, exquisite and just perfect Brioche French Toast.
The bread used here was to my knowledge the same used in the grilled cheese. This bread is soaked in egg, honey, orange zest, butter and drizzled with thyme and peanuts. There might be a few more ingredients that I am missing, but by far the aforementioned hit my sweet spot every single time. Whether as an appie or as dessert, you can never go to Hoof and not order the Brioche French Toast. Oh, and if the toast in itself is not enough, Hoof Cafe also serves it with an addition of foie gras. Dare I say more?
Warning: Hoof Cafe does not take reservations or credit cards. Expect to wait between 20-45 mins for a table on weekend brunch peak hours. Worth the wait though.
NOTE: Since this post was written, Hoof Cafe has permanently closed.
NOTE: Since this post was written, Hoof Cafe has permanently closed.
Until next time Foodies!
Buen Provecho,
Foodies Inc.
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