HoQ

We had an amazing dinner at HoQ restaurant last week.  The owners Suman and Cynthia Hoque are super nice and I just love the farm to table movement they support.  Just about every ingredient in every meal is sourced by local and/or organic farmers and most items are naturally gluten-free.  They also offer local beer and wine from the bar.

The restaurant is simple and contemporary and white linen table-clothes give it a fancy feel, perfect for a date-night or celebration.  Cynthia says don't hesitate to bring in kids though, Suman can fry up a mean grilled-cheese sandwich!

On this particular evening, my husband and I enjoyed Amuse-bouche of eggplant with tatziki sauce and pickled asparagus and cucumbers.  Very tasty and a lovely pre-cursor to our appetizer of "Pork Love".  A juicy piece of pork atop cauliflower au gratin.  It was very good and the cheesy au gratin was a perfect pair with the seasoned pork.

For main courses I ordered the braised beef with smashed potatoes and green beans.  The seasonings they use are out of this world.  Fresh chives were dominant in the potatoes and it was fantastic.  Josh ordered the short rib with forbidden rice and kimchee and couldn't believe how tender it was.  He enjoyed the "forbidden rice"accompaniment, but couldn't pinpoint the overwhelming flavor.  We asked after the meal what was in the forbidden rice and come to find the dark color comes from duck liver!  Who knew?  Amazing bold flavors in all of our dishes.

We ended the meal with Suman's homemade ice cream trio.  I was most excited about the salted caramel, but the chocolate and vanilla were equally as smooth, creamy and addictive as were the homemade shortbread cookies that came with.

They're open Monday thru Saturday at 11am and they also offer a Sunday brunch which I can't wait to try.  They offer vegetarian options daily and are very open to altering meals to taste or food allergies.  Love this place!