Tag Archives: breakfast

Brunch at Herb & Wood

Posted on May 18, 2018 | 2 comments

I hope you all enjoyed Mother’s Day! What did you do? Papa Bird makes a great breakfast. But with our new house still filled with boxes, I thought going out would be more relaxing. So we had a delicious brunch at Herb & Wood in Little Italy.

Herb-and-Wood-Brunch San Diego Eggs Benedict

If you follow our family on Instagram, you will know we often eat breakfast at Herb & Eatery, which is the casual market/cafe side of Herb & Wood. Papa Bird and I have had the pleasure of a night out at Herb & Wood, but we’ve never gone to brunch. In fact, they just started serving brunch last month!

The Sweet Verdict

Herb-and-Wood-Brunch - Monkey Bread and Dutch Baby

We love the croissants and pastries at both places. In fact, their pastry chef, Adrian Mendoza, is currently my favorite in town. Stand-outs for us were definitely the sweets.

Herb-and-Wood-Brunch - Dutch Baby Soufflé Pancake

We would 100% order the Dutch Baby Soufflé Pancake again. The table side presentation includes topping it, fresh from the oven, with huckleberries, lemon curd, and chantilly cream.

Herb-and-Wood-Brunch - Monkey Bread - San Diego

I’d say we would order the Monkey Bread with caramel, sesame seeds, cashews and tahini gelato again…. but we already did! It was my choice to start us off and Papa Bird ordered a second round for us to finish our meal. It’s a definite winner — and tip, only limited quantities are made each weekend, so order early. If the place weren’t so fancy, I would’ve definitely licked the plate.

Herb-and-Wood-Brunch - San Diego

Herb & Wood Restaurant

Speaking of fancy, the restaurant is full service, meaning multiple waitstaff attended on us, clearing dishes and silverware between courses. Herb & Wood is probably one of the most beautiful spaces in town. It used to be an art gallery (I remember attending openings in the space’s past life) and is a place “to be seen.”

Herb and Wood Restaurant in San Diego

Brunch options

To be honest, I thought we ordered a lot of food, between the French Onion Omelet, the Jamon Iberico Benedict, an Avocado and Burrata salad, and all the sweets. However, after leaving, I realized we never got to try their breakfast or brunch pizzas. You can see the current brunch menu here.

Herb & Wood Brunch in San Diego

The Extra Touches

In addition to the attentive service, they went above and beyond with extra touches for Mother’s Day. Our friend Nikki, who we know from frequenting the market side, made dozens and dozens of paper tulips to give to all the mamas. Our server delivered the flower at the end of the meal with a pair of perfect macarons packaged to take home.

Herb & Wood Restaurant in San Diego

Tips and Suggestions

  • Since brunch service is still new, reservations are a must. But if you do procrastinate, you’ll have the best luck finding a table when they first open at 10am.
  • Parking is really not that bad on Sundays and the meters are free.
  • Dress to impress. Even brunch is a scene to be seen. I would say rock your own style, whatever you feel that is, but don’t phone it in. You don’t want to get there and feel underdressed.
  • Only limited quantities of the Monkey Bread and Pastry Basket are baked each day, so put those orders in early.
  • The orange juice is freshly squeezed – ambrosia, as my dad used to call it.

Herb & Wood Restaurant in San Diego

Go!

2210 Kettner Blvd, San Diego, CA
619.955.8495
herbandwood.com
IG

Eggs Benedict with Jamon Iberico at Herb & Wood in San Diego

2 Comments

Posted in Food, Restaurant Reviews and Features, San Diego Restaurants

Tagged , , , , , ,

Banana Brûlée Bread Pudding

Posted on March 8, 2014 | Leave a comment

Ta da! Banana Brûlée Bread Pudding! Made with challah, a toddler and love. I haven’t shared many recipe posts since Baby Bird #2 joined us. Baby is actually very easy tempered. It’s Little Bird that keeps me busy! Fortunately, she loves cooking and is legitimately a big help in making our bread pudding/french toast combo (you may remember the Pumpkin Bread Pudding French Toast or the Zucchini Bread Pudding.) This morning she buttered the pan, beat the eggs and milk, and ripped up the challah and added it to the pan (only stealing a few bites!)

Banana Brûléed Bread Pudding

Bananas are a common addition in our house, but the brûlée topping is something I have been playing with since seeing a friend on Google+ share her Panettone Pudding which she brûlées to make it all that more. Lin uses a blow torch, but since that is one of the few gadgets my kitchen lacks, I finish the bread pudding under the broiler (or the “bread and butter pudding” under the “grill” as she says) to get that crisp brûlée top. The first go got a little too burnt, so check it frequently!

homemade challah

My mom texted a picture of her homemade challah last night. (Yes, she texts now, crazy.) I did not make challah from scratch. But I did remember that I had half a loaf in the freezer. For those in San Diego, Charlie’s Best Bread makes a great challah, very light, eggy and sweet. And for those not in the know, challah is simply the best bread for french toast and bread pudding. Add a little vanilla ice cream, and take the Banana Brûlée Bread Pudding into dessert!

Banana Brûlée Bread Pudding Recipe

  • 2 Tablespoons of butter
  • 1/3 to 1/2 loaf of challah or other bread (at least one day old)
  • 6-8 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups of milk (any milk or milk substitute will do but I like whole milk)
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • (optional) 1 Tablespoon of sweetener of choice
  • 1 banana, thinly sliced
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Take a stick of butter and liberally rub the bottom and sides of a large baking dish. Tear challah into small chunks and scatter in the dish.

Beat the eggs, and then mix in milk, vanilla and cinnamon. You may not need much sweetener if you are topping with the sugar crust. Mix well, then pour over the bread. Top with the banana slices. Bake about 20-30 minutes until just completely set in the center (by set I mean it looks solid vs. liquidy.) Remove from the oven and liberally sprinkle with the sugar.

Melt the sugar with a blow torch OR turn the broiler up to max, and put the pan on the closest rack. After 2 minutes, check every minute until the sugar melts and turns brown and then take out and let cool slightly. Enjoy!

banana brulee bread pudding

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Dessert, Food, Recipes for the Whole Family, Recipes to Make with the Kids

Tagged , , ,