Brunch at the Hoof Café

January 26, 2010

“Ooh, let’s go for brunch at the Hoof Café!”

“OK!”

I hadn’t quite thought it through when I suggested to my very pregnant  (ie. perhaps she wouldn’t be feeling too adventurous when it came to what she was consuming) girlfriend, who also happens to be pseudo-vegetarian (“pseudo” because I know she occasionally eats rare steaks on the downlow, and chicken is fine with her but only if it’s free-range organic) that we meet up for brunch at the sister spot to charcuterie restaurant The Black Hoof. I think I was just blinded by my desire to try brunch (perhaps my fave meal) at the couple-of-month’s-old extension from co-owners Grant van Gameran and Jennifer Agg.

The Hoof Café’s space is intimate (and yes, that does mean small but not annoyingly so). And although we arrived at noon (prime Sunday brunch time) we only waited about 30 minutes for a table. Plus I very much appreciated their waiting list policy — just get your name and cell number on the list and the Hoof will call you when your table is ready (which meant my friend and I were able to kill time by grabbing a coffee over at Ezra’s Pound rather than hovering hungrily over the diners at the Hoof).

We ended up sitting at the bar (not usually my first choice, but it was comfortable enough). Besides, it gave us a chance to watch the staff prep some seriously tasty looking cocktails; neither of us are fans of tomato-based drinks but seeing the Hoof Caesar (pink peppercorn vodka, house hot sauce and marmite syrup, $8) being mixed before our eyes was enough to get us to reconsider for future visits.

Luckily, there were a few meatless dishes on the menu, and although my girlfriend briefly considered the buckwheat pancakes, my friend ended up ordering the same dish as me: the suckling pig benny (although hers was ordered with the eggs poached with zero runniness and sans the suckling pig).

The dish ($13) was good. Admittedly, at first the pulled pork seemed a little dry to me (I think perhaps because I’m used to my pulled pork drowning in BBQ sauce) but combined with the poached egg and hollandaise sauce atop a biscuit, it definitely grew on me. On the side were some greens with some delectably crunchy pork bits in the mix as well (I was too busy eating them to find out exactly what they were — sorry!).

The only disappointment? We tried to order some of the sugary doughnuts for dessert and sadly, they were already sold out. Note to self: make sure to order them in advance on my next visit when I plan to try the brioche french toast (I’m normally more of a savoury girl but I spotted the dish and the slabs of foie gras — one of my fave foods — topping the toast are ginormous).

Hoof Café, 923 Dundas St. West (at Bellwoods), 416-792-7511

Filed under: Swellbeing

Tags: brunch, eating out, food, restaurant, Toronto