Had dinner the other night with colleagues at a Ruhrpott streak house in Dortmund. We've had pretty good streaks before in Dortmund. But I was unprepared for the next levelness of
Hohoffs 800°.
Wagyu beef, dry aged streaks, bone in ribeyes: I had a hard time deciding where to start. "I regret that I have only one steak order to give...."
 |
| Dry aged beef on display in the front of the restaurant |
I went with the Wagyu Teres Major. A different cut for me, but a bit more reasonable than the 80€ Filet Mignon.
The "shoulder tender" Teres Major weighed in at a 350 gram order. They had plenty monster steaks available on the menu including a steak for two at just over a kilogram.
As an appetizer I ordered the candied grilled bacon with peanut butter and caramel corn. A completely new and inviting offer.
The chef sent out an
amuse-bouche of beef tartar also topped with the caramel corn. Now, I really had jumped the shark for big meat orders at this dinner.
 |
| Amuse-bouche of beef tar tar with candied popcorn |
 |
| StringGirl is ready for the onslaught of meat |
 |
| Candied bacon with peanut butter and candied corn |
The starter of grilled candied pork belly was a lovely way to get started for this carnivores delight. A nice thick slab of bacon with candied glaze finished on a grill. Was buttery rich with just the right amount of caramelization on the surface of the bacon with meaty and chewy goodness underneath. The glazing was light and subtle. While I do love the Maple sugared coating of
pig candy from American Barbecue joints like
Lazybones smokehouse near Detroit, this bacon was more akin to a nice pork belly steak and the slightly salty sugary taste was well balanced. The belly fat was grilled just hot enough to nearly render the fat but still leave the fat intact. More like "lardo" than typical bacon.
 |
| Wagyu Teres major |
The
Teres Major was a new cut to see listed on a steak house menu. It is an up and coming cut which is getting a reputation as the affordable tenderloin. Cut from the chuck area near the shoulder of the steer, it often ends up as chuck roasts and flat iron steak, rib eyes, and those odd bits of stewing beef at the butcher. Turns out it is a shame that the cut is not more widely available from the butcher as it was delicious. A bit less tender than the Filet, it carried far more flavor and in the Wagyu was buttery and juicy, though not as thoroughly marbled as one might expect from Wagyu. In all fairness Wagyu is a breed that is getting a lot of positive reputation from those ultimate Wagyu steaks in Japan, but I doubt that the steak I had came from animals that live on beer diets and never exercised.
Decor was "gemütlich" with lots of wood, candlelight, and real books on the shelves. Did not make a full sampling of the books, but one of our colleagues did pull a copy from the shelves near the restroom and remarked that they seemed to be genuine books and not mere props.
http://www.hohoffs800.de/
Comments