| Despite having the misfortune of being in one of the most recognizable restaurant buildings of all time, I discovered that Haddock and Hoof’s was full of wonderful surprises. With its bright red textured roof, I wondered what would become of the old Pizza Hut restaurant building at 17th Avenue and 38th Street S.W. Surely anyone that moved in would be the victim of a stigma surrounding their instantly recognizable exterior.
Owner Tim Henneberry comes from a family lineage of fishermen out East, where he owns the casual seafood restaurant Wharf Wraps in Halifax. He admits the red roof carries too many memories of the past tenant and plans to have it painted in the spring, but the serious lack of good seafood restaurants prompted him to introduce East Coast seafood to Alberta beef – and a red roof wasn’t going to stop that. His Eastern connections ensure that he has fresh seafood flown into the city every day.
When the sign went up for Haddock and Hoof’s in January, I thought I would find a casual surf-and-turf restaurant and bar, with the game playing on a big-screen television. I was expecting more sports lounge than upscale dining, and nothing could have been further from the truth.
A soothing water fountain and lush green plants greeted us in the entry, as scents of fresh cooked seafood and garlic wafted through the air. Gone were the red vinyl booths, replaced with a warm and soothing wood and rock décor, with a black and brown colour scheme. Antique window frames draped with fisherman’s netting covered the windows, and East Coast fiddle music tapped away over the speakers.
The hostess greeted us and managed to find us a window seat, despite the nearly full house. Our service got a little confusing when two different servers approached us a couple of times before realizing we were being taken care of by the other, but they quickly sorted themselves out. The menu boasted "East Coast seafood and West Coast beef," so we decided to try a little of both. We recieved a warm loaf of garlic bread on a wooden plank to whet our already piqued appetites.
From the primarily seafood selections on the appetizer list, we started with an order of crab wontons ($9). The crab and cream cheese-stuffed wontons were beautifully presented on large, white Asian-style plates, with a bed of shredded greens with sweet chili jelly for dipping. They tasted as sinful as they looked. We also ordered the Atlantic scallops in garlic butter ($9), which were fresh and tender.
Taking a cue from the restaurant’s name, we figured we couldn’t go wrong with ordering haddock and hoof. We tried the baked stuffed haddock ($22), which blended the flaky fresh fish with a crunchy coating. The grilled N.Y. strip ($25) was cooked to medium rare perfection for each bite, accompanied by a creamy Jack Daniels peppercorn sauce. All entrées were paired with potato or rice, vegetable medley and a house salad. There were some long waits for our server and our salads were forgotten, but as soon as I mentioned it the offer was made to bring them out. Too bad we were already deliciously full.
The "judging the book by its cover" reference would be pretty cliché, so let’s just say you can’t judge a restaurant by its red roof. Otherwise you would miss all the great things inside.
Haddock and Hoof’s is located at 3851-17 Ave. S.W,; phone 242-0522 |
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