2/19/2009

Bread and Huckleberry

From the couple behind Rustic Canyon, this bakery/cafe is just a stones throw away (across the street) from their restaurant and two doors away from Santa Monica Seafood's new location. Zoe Nathan is a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Need I say more?

The space is bright, open and airy, thanks to high ceilings and a long skylight above the counter. On day one, the place was going full force. People were lining up at lunch time to eat in or take out. I had a well balanced plate of four prepared salads:

- Cumin-roasted carrots with avocado
- A medley of roasted squash, cauliflower, sunchoke and parsley
- Farro with feta and Persian cucumbers.
-Peas and pea tendrils.

The plate was a well-balanced selection. A three, salad plate is on the menu but I asked for four smaller portions and they complied. All were very good, the cumin-roasted carrots and avocado and roasted medley were excellent.

The carrot and avocado combo really surprised me. The contrast of the earthy, cumin-roasted carrots to the buttery-soft Haas avocado was delightful. The roasted medley was comforting and sweet, perfect for a Los Angeles winter day in the 60s.



Everything looked so good, I was tempted to order one of everything. I passed on the Savory Crostata with roasted vegetables and cheese, but couldn't help taking a photo. Yum. I wish I had one of them in front of me now. The sweet pumpkin tea cake was scrumptious, so light I could have eaten a whole cake. I also spied some huckleberry jam for sale, a fun hostess gift. I'll have to try that on my next visit.

Top quality food and a friendly staff, Huckleberry is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Found this article useful? Mention Alli411 in your post, subscribe to our feed, link to us, or bookmark this site. Thanks for your support!

Huckleberry
1014 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 451-1322

Huckleberry on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

gourmetpigs said...

$8.50 for a crostata seems rather pricey to me, especially for getting it to go. Is it really worth the price? Let us know when you finally try one! :)

Alli & Win said...

Burumun: The prices are not cheap, neither is the quality. I'll keep you posted. Alli