On Thursday night, my wife and I went out to dinner to celebrate her new career as a real estate agent. She started at the beginning of the year and is loving it and has been very successful, especially for a new agent. We’d previously gone to Rapscallion for a birthday dinner with my family before and loved it. It reminded me a little bit of the Black Hoof, with an ever-changing menu that is meat dominated, and heavy on charcuterie and offal.
Full house on a Thursday night – good thing we had reservations
Rapscallion started running a new special on Thursday nights: $69 for any 4 plates, 2 glasses of wine, and dessert. The plates there average around $12-$15, so it’s a great deal.
Menu – stolen from @RapscallionRest
We picked our 4 dishes, plus a little order of a Chicken Liver Brule that we had previously, then sat back and enjoyed our wine while waiting.
Chicken Liver Brule
Chicken Liver Brule
A chicken liver pate, topped with sugar and torched to form a crust. The crust broke into little pieces that provided a burst of sweetness when eaten. The pate was great – but unfortunately not quite as good as the first time we had it – the texture this time around seemed a little grainier; but still, a good starter.
Duck Tongue Carbonara
Duck Tongue Carbonara
This was one of my two favourites of the night. Perfectly cooked cavatelli pasta with duck tongues, bacon, and a quail egg yolk on top.
Foie Gras Torchon
Foie Gras Torchon
When this came, it was a much bigger piece than I was expecting. The foie was served topped with ice wine jelly and sea salt flakes, along with port braised grapes and some toasted pieces of brioche. So rich and delicious, it was like eating a chunk of meat butter.
Tongue and Cheek
Tongue and Cheek
A piece of braised veal cheek and tongue, over potato puree with asparagus. Everything perfectly cooked and tender, with a nice sauce. We had this last time, but it was a single order split between 6 people, so it was nice to get a little more of it. I’ve only just started to try cooking cheeks, and will definitely have to try to find some veal/beef cheeks to braise.
Squab with Queso Fresco
Squab with Queso Fresco
I don’t remember if I’m using the right name for this or not. This was a crispy roasted squab breast / leg, served over an al pastor sauce with pineapple, pork, avocado, and queso fresco. This was another solid dish, and I loved the crispiness of the skin on the squab. The al pastor sauce was very hearty and went together well with the squab and queso.
Sugar Pie
Sugar Pie
Desert was a piece of sugar pie with berries and syrup. Very sweet, and very good. Like a butter tart, but with a more solid texture.
My wife also tried to get coffee, which we had last time and was served in a french press. Unfortunately this time it didn’t work out – we tried twice, and both times ended up with grinds coming through the screen. Our waiter thought it might have something to do with the size of the grind, then apologized, took it off the bill, and offered us complimentary desert wine instead. Fantastic service!
Overall, Rapscallion is one of my favourite places to eat in Hamilton. The menu is always changing, everything I’ve tried has been great, and it’s very reasonably priced. It’s definitely outside the box, and it’s a fun place to go with a bunch of people to get a lot of dishes and try everything.
Rating: 9/10
Rapscallion Rogue History
rapscallionrestaurant.com
61 Young St, Hamilton