HIGHLIGHTS:
• Ambiance: Edgy, energetic East Village atmosphere, with plenty of natural light. Music was present but not intrusive.
• Service: Superior. Youthful, engaged, upbeat, thoughtful. Knew exactly when to chat and when to hang back.
• Food: HoQ is devoted to the fresh, local ethos; a list of farmers and local supplies is prominently featured on the back of the menu. It’s not all about the produce, of course—sustainably raised meats star here too. Combine that with the global approach of chef Suman Hoque, and this translated into beautiful food on the plate.
Main course ranges from $20 to $27, and while all looked good (check out the menu), the starters really snagged our attention. So we ordered a cheese plate (more on that later) and divided three starters (which you could call “small plates”) between us. That was plenty of food for two (in fact, one taco went home in a to-go box).
Beautiful Vegetarian Tacos. I might have enjoyed more by way of a sauce/salsa (there was a barely-present yogurt sauce in there somewhere), but the vegetables themselves really stood out with flavor. Lovely corn tortillas-not homemade, but well purveyed.
Short Ribs with Black Rice, Chorizo, Dragon Sauce, and Kimchi. Yes, as good as it sounds. Short ribs were exceedingly flabby (and I mean that in a good way).
Sorry for the very bad picture of a very good dish. This was the “Pork Love”-a mini casserole with purple cauliflower au gratin topped with luscious pork loin (they often use pork belly for this, but were out on this day. The pork loin worked beautifully). This dish was the favorite at our table. You. Must. Try.
NEAR MISSES:
• The Cheese Plate: I appreciate the “all Iowa” approach of the cheeses, and each cheese-individually-was lovely. However, as an ensemble, all were a bit too similar in firm-to-hard style (even the goat cheese was firm). For me, a beautiful cheese tray is about variety—this selection could’ve used a soft-ripened, or a blue, or perhaps Reichart’s Riobolina di Reba, a washed-rind beauty). And I would have traded half the amount of cheese (it was way too much) for a few more of the accoutrements (pickled berries, homemade jam-beautiful, but too slight amidst the abundance of cheese).
• Wine: A thoughtful list. However, if you’re going to charge mostly $9 or $10 for a glass of wine, you’d better serve them at the right temperature. My red wine was served way too warm, especially on a summer night.
Indeed, these are ever-so-small caveats, but I’m including them here because I want to write this as if I were telling my best friend what to expect. Trust is everything.
Would I go again?: DEFINITELY.
Would I recommended HoQ to my closest foodie friends?: DEFINITELY.
Would I order the same things?: YES, except for the cheese plate.
I welcome other thoughts! Please post below or on my All Things Food DSM page. And please follow the page! We have a good community of food-lovers engaging in thoughtful discussions.
