Must-try: black pudding to die for at The Grove
In a city of diners determined to devour every last entrail, it’s no surprise that blood has made its way onto menus. At The Grove, a refined British pub on Dundas West, chef Ben Heaton turns it into sausage—or black pudding, as the English politely call it. His recipe is traditional: blood (he buys it by the bucket from butchers after they’ve broken down their noble pigs), pork fat, oats to thicken the mixture, mace, allspice and cloves for zing. His presentation, however, is completely modern: he fries the links in olive oil and crumbles them over freshly shucked peas, radish curls and a custard-thick sous-vide duck egg. He finishes the plate with a refreshing lemon-butter foam. The star ingredient crackles as it hits the palate, then melts into buttery richness with just the slightest metallic tang. It’s an ultra-light rendition of the rib-sticking English breakfast staple. Bloody brilliant. $10. 1214 Dundas St. W., 416-588-2299.
, pork fat, oats to thicken the mixture, mace, allspice and cloves for zing. His presentation, however, is completely modern: he fries the links in olive oil and crumbles them over freshly shucked peas, radish curls and a custard-thick sous-vide duck egg. He finishes the plate with a refreshing lemon-butter foam. The star ingredient crackles as it hits the palate, then melts into buttery richness with just the slightest metallic tang. It’s an ultra-light rendition of the rib-sticking English breakfast staple. Bloody brilliant. $10. 1214 Dundas St. W., 416-588-2299.){kind=link}
gross!!!
wow another pseudo wanna be chef stealing dishes from the food magazine…how very original…this ben dude keeps on re inventing cowboy cooking.
Boy, someone really has it in for Chef Heaton! Ate at The Grove the other night and had a sensational meal accompanied by warm and professional service. Prospective patrons: don’t be put off by the grudge brigade.
And TL: Can you please be more diligent about filtering out the spam comments? Between you and blogTO, it’s really getting out of hand.
It’s true, the chef has copied his dishes from some of the popular restaurants around town such as Black Hoof, Yours Truly, Chantecler and probably more!
enough already with the tired old foams.
Wow, what did this guy do to you people? Or is it one person trying to ruin a chef’s reputation and livelihood? If you’re going to slander the guy, at least have the balls to include your real name. And I think I’ll take the recommendations of a seasoned reviewer like Joanne Kates over some angry, anonymous commenter on the blogosphere.
All you haters need to get a life and shut the fuck up. You have no respect what do ever. I’d love to see any of you fucktards spend one day in the shoes of a chef! You’d shit your pants and go home crying to your computer screen, in hopes of someone reading your pathetic comments. Do us all a favour and drop off the face of this earth. Stop eating in restaurants, stop going out, stop even browsing through the pages of Toronto Life and other magazines. No one here, or in this industry gives a fuck about you, or your sad attempts at ridiculing the hard working people that go out of their way to give YOU a meal at their restaurants. You guys are truly the scum of the earth. Go back to Boston Pizza where you belong. All the power to you Ben, and all the other chefs who have been attacked by anonymous idiots on this hate forum! Keep doing what you do best, and remember all the positive people you have pleased in your establishment!
Well said Matt B.
I agree, Matt’s statement is so true. Have some respect for what Chef’s do in this industry and support eachother than trying to knock us don all the time.
I ate there and it was wonderful! I’m craving the lemon dessert as we speak. Service was on point, we left full, dinner for two with a glass of wine, under $100. Super reasonable for the quality.
Ben Heaton has been around MUCH longer than the hoof, yours truly, and chantecler. He’s not a wanna-be chef. He’s one of toronto’s original gangsters. He was Mark Mcewen’s sous chef for many years. You don’t know who that is either, do you. It’s ok, just another “wanna-be chef”.
And Toronto Life; why am I even allowed to comment here? Who the heck am i? Shut it down. The comment sections are dragging the credibility of you, blogTO, urban spoon, NOW, the grid, and yelp down. You are re-establishing print media as the only legitimate source for food reviews.
Get over yourselves. A comment thread on a website isn’t going to shut down a business, you twat.
wow! interesting how 2 semi know chefs are going at it in a comment section, This are just comments. get a hold of yourself prima donna. Again i must say that if MAtt Blondin ( the dude incharge of garbage pick ups for MOMOfucko ) and Ben cannot take a little heat…there has to be some truth in the comments.
you lost another costumer prima donna.
Geez, not sure when costumers (people in charge of wardrobe for theater, film and television) and customers (people who pay for product and experience) joined forces in the bizarre fight against chefs trying to bring good food to the good people of Toronto. Strange bedfellows indeed!
I personally have zero to do with the restaurant. I’m just a ‘costumer’ who is stunned that people take the time to crap all over someone who actually had the balls to put himself out there on the stage. Unless one of you venomous types is doing something of your own in a public forum and receiving boundless praise, I think you’d best dial down the snark and get a handle on your own problems and goals.
I think these chefs need to get a grip….they sound like fascist dictators telling people to shut up. Last I checked there was freedom of expression in this country. The negative comments are less critical than comments on shows like Top Chef, for example, but if these delicate artistes cannot take diverse opinion on their creations, they really need to get into a different line of work. Life consists of criticism, some is constructive, some is not, learn and grow from it and remember, many people are vegan and vegetarian and don’t take kindly to food made with blood and parts of slaughtered animals, and they have a right to express their tastes and prefences.
These chefs need grow a pair. Especially this Matt B(londin). Telling people to “shut the fuck up” and to “drop off the face of the earth”? You mad bro? How old are you? When you choose a career as a chef (and end up working at a “trendy” resto), to think that you’re not up to public scrutiny and criticism is both arrogant and utterly naive. People with any true skills (in what ever they do) accepts and learns from both the compliments and the criticisms that is said about their work or creations. Gotta roll with the punches ladies.
If you can’t take the heat get the f*ck out of the kitchen. I mean that figuratively and literally. Knowing how these princesses act I’ll gladly take my business to Boston Pizza.
Ben! What a fantastic article! Congratulations, and I can’t wait to come to Toronto and eat at your restaurant!! Cheers to you! :)