Hearthstone Kitchen & Cellar
Double Espresso over Ice
Charcuterie & Cheese – Delaware Fireball, Proscuitto di San Danielle, Coppa-La Quercia, Benton’s Ham, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Van Gough Aged Gouda, Cremont, Humboldt Fog, Bandaged Cheddar + Toasted Bread + Fruit Bread + Truffle Honey + Mustard
Cinnamon Sticky Bun
Rotisserie Pork Poutine – Crispy Potatoes + Cheddar Curds + Gravy
Spinach & Gouda Canotto – Soft poached eggs + Black pepper + Ricotta
Yogurt & Blackberry toast – Blackberry jam + Toasted pistachio
Harvest Quinoa Salad – Chickpea + Apple + Gouda + Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Selection of Freshest Oysters Available – Blue Hill Bay, Black Bear, Nautilus, Snow Creek, Diamond Point + Spicy cocktail & Celery black pepper mignonette
Jar of Crispy Bacon
Whole Roast Suckling Pig – Mustard + Apple Butter + Pork Jus + Creamy Polenta + Cheesy Eggs + Hatch green chili sauce + Tortillas
Thrice impressed by Chef Jordan and Brian’s cuisine at Hearthstone it was for the final meal with a well-traveled visiting gourmand that we sat down at a long high-top at Hearthstone, and having requested a “Whole Beast Feast” be prepared on the tail end of lunch service it can only be said that a Sunday visit to Red Rock’s crown jewel was the most impressive visit yet – a group of eight staggering away, smiling and stuffed, just after 3pm.
Previously visited just after opening, again with friends, and then for opening day brunch service just a few weeks ago, the dining experience at Hearthstone remains an upscale, homestyle affair once again and with Chef Massie receiving a well deserved rest it was Jordan and a familiar service team that took care of our table throughout the afternoon – the pig roasting on a spit when we arrived, and set to rest as appetizers were ordered – the city’s best sticky bun and a Chef-selected plate of charcuterie soon arriving with options that even an established cheesemonger felt to be well sourced and aged.
Joined by a local restaurateur, a fellow from the world of wine, and two septuagenarians more extensively traveled than almost anyone I know, plus two friends familiar with Hearthstone from meals prior it was next in bowls of crispy potatoes beneath squeaky curds and silky pork jus gravy that we partook and quickly followed by a Georgian – appropriately renamed Canotto – showing off the smoke of the wood oven – several were immediately debating ordering a couple of pizzas, something fortunately not done considering the glut of food to follow.
Choosing to show friends the smooth tang of Massie’s yogurt from FIX, faithfully reproduced at Hearthstone and delicious atop crisp buttered bread, it was at the request of one friend that the quinoa salad was ordered and again proving a ‘wow’ to those unsold on the superfood with its variance in tastes and textures two six-packs of oysters were next presented, my selection of a briny Black Bear rich and mineral beneath spicy mignonette.
At this point taking time to watch Jordan and his sous-chef butcher the suckling swine at the center of the room, a spectacle gathering as many eyes as the tableside Bacon + Eggs at The Fat Duck in Bray, it was at the request of the table that both the head and neck were served along with the tender pork, a bowl of skin presented separately, with both brunch and dinner sides including a sticky bowl of polenta, savory pork jus, housemade apple butter, and those luxuriously buttery “Robuchon-eggs.”
Easily offering enough food to feed eight, and more than likely a couple more considering three couples took some pork home, it was in deferring dessert that the meal would eventually end, and sipping a double espresso poured over ice as we sat in a room now empty it was only the flickering of the NHL All-Star Game on television that distracted from conversation – that and the tireless efforts of staff arranging for an upcoming dinner service, the chef hand packing porchetta for the spit while others chopped vegetables at another station with intermittent pauses to stoke the oven’s fire.
FIVE STARS: All in all a stunning meal from beginning to end, and one enjoyed by persons whose palates I’ve grown to know and trust.
RECOMMENDED: Whole Beast Feast, Cheesy Eggs, Poutine, Sticky Bun, Yogurt Toast.
AVOID: Over-ordering when opting for the Suckling Pig – an estimated pre-cook weight of ~18lbs more than enough to feed six when counting for accoutrements, a veritable steal at $250 all-in.
TIP: Those interested in the Whole Beast are advised to contact the restaurant in advance, particularly at brunch when it can easily be accommodated, though the menu offered Porchetta for two is almost as good at less than 1/4 the portion and price.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
