Must-Try: Hudson Kitchen gives humble broccoli an inspired makeover

By Mark Pupo | Photograph by Raina and Wilson

Robbie Hojilla, the chef at the new west-end bistro Hudson Kitchen, has reclaimed broccoli from mushy ignominy. His salad is an impressively nuanced showcase for the veg: he tosses steamed florets of broccoli and broccolini with peeled raw stems, along with tiny broccoli sprouts and more florets dredged in tapioca starch and deep-fried for a satisfying crunch. We’d be content if he stopped there, but Hojilla gilds his creation with a vinaigrette of blackcurrants, capers, three oils and puckery sherry vinegar. Then he tops it all with tissue-thin sheets of serrano ham, dots of Kozlik’s Triple Crunch mustard and a luxurious dusting of buttery manchego. $13. 800 Dundas St. W., 416-644-8839.