The Black Hoof

928 Dundas Street W
Toronto, ON M6J 1W3
Neighbourhoods: Little Italy, Trinity Bellwoods

(416) 551-8854

http://www.theblackhoof.com

honestly - the food at the black hoof is absolutely amazing. but i had such horrible service there and i would not even think twice about going back again. NEVER !!!!!!

i started off at the hoof raw bar as we waited a table and tried the raw scallops (complimented by granny smith apples - genius) and the ocean trout carpaccio (paired with browned butter and salmon roe - also delicious)

we were informed that our table at the black hoof was ready so we headed over. we ordered the spicy horse tartare, the bone marrow, beef heart & mussels, and the tongue & brioche. 

again, i'd like to reiterate that the food was spectacular.. but here's where my experience turns sour. i had picked off a bit of the beef tongue and began to chew... everything seemed normal except this 1 bit wouldn't break down. thinking this was supposed to be the texture i kept chewing a few more seconds before i gave up and spat it out. to my disgust, it was a clump of short black hairs... i begin spitting on my tissue to get the remainder of the hairs out and then went to rinse my mouth (i had lost my appetite by this time)

i informed the waitress about the problem and she quickly cleaned it up apologized and offered us another one - i politely refused - didn't complain, didn't make a scene.. i just did not want to eat anymore.

shortly after another staff member approaches our table and says "so i heard about the problem you had about the tongue... there is absolutely no way that could have came from us. nothing in our kitchen looks like that and i find it so weird because there is just no way that it can be in the tongue" i'm a little stunned at this point because 1st of all.. i didn't complain... i thought most restaurants would just apologize and remove it off my bill... i wasnt here asking for discounts / other freebies albeit how disgusted i felt about the situation... but this was the icing on top of the cake.. she then preceded to say in a condescending tone "we can remove this from the bill.. IF YOU WANT... but like i said... there is no way that this could have been us"

yes.. because ofcourse the short little black hairs came from my head of blonde hair.. i sat there feeling accused of making this up and i was so appalled i just asked for the bill and left immediately after. i had never had such terrible service in my life.

to all you black-hoof visitors. good luck. if all goes well you will have a fantastic time with this unique culinary experience but god forbid anything goes wrong with your food because you might get the same horrible treatment i did

Carmelina

Carmelina
7501 Woodbine Avenue
(647) 800 -8824
www.dine.to/carmelina

I love this restaurant & it's location! About 5minutes away from my boyfriend's house. We will definately be back! I think it's the best Italian food I've had in Markham! I've always wanted to try it but we always just drove by.. we've been missing out!

The decor gives off a warm family / romantic vibe. European style decor was every where, you would've thought you were in Italy having a meal on a patio! (I haven't been to Europe, I can only imagine!) It's also very decently priced - much cheaper than a ticket to Italy :) so unless you had a lot of extra $$ I would check out Carmelina first.



Steamed mussels with chopped tomatoes and leeks in white wine garlic butter sauce - best mussels I've had, extremely rich in flavours and the mussels were huge! For once I get mussels which were nice and meaty for under $15 and it was plentiful too!

daily special: lamb rack :) didn't taste lamby - yay ! - this was the day's special ! they may not have this everyday but definately try it out if it is available!

linguini fruitti de mare
mussels, shrimp, clams, scallop, calamari in white wine tomato sauce - again delicious, the portions were so big I could not finish this as I wanted to save room for dessert and I packed it. There was a whole extra meal waiting for me the next day!

tiramisuuuuu - melts in your mouth ! I haven't had tiramisu better than this :)


cappucinooo - cool cup

Le Cafe Michi

Le Cafe Michi
1796 Pharmacy Avenue
(416) 490 - 9688

I love Cafe Michi! it is such a small place in a hidden plaza, if my friend hadn't suggested it I wouldve never known there was a restaurant there! This is located on the corner of pharmacy & sheppard.

The bakery was great, the food was great, sashimi was fresh, and you can tell it's authentic Japanese food! I didn't try too many dishes as you can see from below but each one was amazing! I can't wait to go back and try more of their cakes :) Definately call ahead and reserve a table as it gets really busy during the lunch hours and weekends.

It is slightly on the more expensive end but not overpriced at all.. I mean compared to restaurants such as Gal's Sushi and such... it costs SLIGHTLY more.. the chirashi was $35 but worth every penny :)


Salad & Seaweed Salad

Chicken & egg on rice
chicken was moist, eggs were done perfectly (slightly runny but not too raw, cooked but not overcooked) I can safely say this is the best I`ve ever tasted for this dish!

their signature chirashi!
uni was ridiculously fresh, there was also a botan shrimp, scallop, and hamachi to name some of the pricier sashimi in the dish. There is another chirashi offered at le Cafe Michi but I think this was the higher quality one? Definately very fresh... I am drooling as I think about this.. the pleasant suprise is that unlike normal chirashi which is on top of a bed of rice, this chirashi is on top of a bed of rice with bbq eel!


Green tea creme brulee, the sugary coating is freshly baked as you order : )


had to take out the green tea & red bean cake and hazelnut meringue, the bakery is amazing !!! i can't wait to go back

Yummi's

Yummi's! Located slightly south of Yonge & 16th.

I loved this place! Tried some new things, and it was VERY cheap! The burgers here are only like $6? from what I remember.. but it was enough to fill my boyfriend & I !


Spicy eggplants - cold appetizer - a little too oily but tasted great with the naan bread


Non-alcoholic malt beverages! Peach & Pomegranate - both great! I don't like beer so I didn't think I would like the malt drinks but the malt taste wasn't that strong :)




HUGE Yummi's burger

Sen5es

Sen5es Restaurant
328 Wellingon Street West
(416) 935 - 0400
www.sen5es.com/senses_restaurant.html

I loved this restaurant! Great service, great food! This was my first asian inspired restaurant and I loved every part of it! I want to go back there for sure.. I will let the pictures speak for themselves! Highly recommended restaurant!


tian of red tuna, salmon and hamachi tartare, avocado, cucumber, vine ripe tomato, aged balsamic glace and spicy mayo - I loved this dish ! I tried to recreate this at home but definately was not the same

chilled gazpacho with lobster medallions and summer vine ripen cherry tomatoes - nice and light, great to start off a meal


Mediterranean poached halibut fillet on Dungeness crabmeat risotto, fried oyster fritter and saffron oil - every part of this plate was delicious! the fish, the risotto, the oyster fritter, it was great!


roasted Grand Mariner liqueur duck breast, duck leg confit lasagna and orange duck jus - loved the duck! tried to recreate this dish at home with pork neck and it was not the same : ( the lasagna was way too heavy for me.. i could not finish it because it had a lot of cheese but it was yummy too!

lemon-lavender-blueberry dome with chocolate arts, lemon-grass vanilla sauce - a little too heavy on the lavender for my tastes, then again, i'm not huge on lavender, those who like it would love this

warm peach tart and peach ice cream - sweet delicious finish! warm peach tart contrasted with the cold peach ice cream really plays with the palettes of your mouth :) delicioussss