Tag Archives: San Diego

Brunch in the Garden: El Jardin San Diego

Posted on December 9, 2018 | Leave a comment

Have you been to El Jardin in Liberty Station? Claudette Zepeda-Wilkin’s new restaurant opened this summer. My mom took the Little Birds and me there for brunch a little while ago. The chef grows much of the produce right on the restaurant’s lot, and the breezy garden patio is comfortable and beautifully decorated.

El Jardin in San Diego is now serving brunch out on their garden patio

Refined Abuela Cooking

Chef Zepeda-Wilkin’s roots are here in San Diego and across the border in Mexico. She brings the comfort and satisfaction of her grandma’s recipes and traditions to current day presentation and surprises.

El Jardin in San Diego is now serving brunch out on their garden patio

The highlight of our brunch was the Chilaquiles Divorciados. Given the choice, I usually pick a green sauce for my chilaquiles or enchiladas. But I was happy to taste both homemade sauces. Divorciados means two different sauces side by side, making me think of a couple that are not quite divorced, but living separately in the same house.

All in the Details

Both the outside patio and the indoor dining room are decorated thoughtfully. I loved the utility of a stand near our table meant to hold bags. As a mom, I totally appreciated that there was a changing table in restroom stocked with Honest diapers and wipes. I mentioned it in my Instagram story, and the chef responded that the men’s room had the same set up!

The best restaurant changing table in San Diego

The Tastes

el jardin restaurant san diego

We started with hot chocolate, which was mixed (batida) table side, and cafe de olla. They mix the coffee with piloncillo sugar. I found it too sweet, especially along side the sweet entrees.

el jardin restaurant san diego

If you have seen my cajeta recipe or caramel torte with cajeta, chocolate and pecans (you have to click through to see the picture!), then you know I am obsessed with CAJETA. The Little Birds liked the pancakes with cajeta. Mom tip: have the kids split the sweet dish and order them each a side of eggs.

Cajeta and strawberry pancakes at El Jardin Restaurant in San Diego

One to Watch

I first met chef Zepeda-Wilkins in 2015. That summer, Specialty Produce held a tasting night a week before Javier Placensio’s Bracero opened. Zepeda-Wilkins, as that restaurant’s chef de cuisine, prepared Yucatan-style cochinita pibil sopes topped with heirloom beans and fermented pineapple. I really enjoyed hearing about the food from her. When her more famous boss came over, I asked to take a picture. She humbly stepped out of frame, and I insisted she get back in the photo. “Me?” she asked. “Yes!” I blurted, “I like you.” Because, sometimes I go with my gut, you know?

Tijuana chef, Javier Plascencia, and Bracero chef de cuisine Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins.

Since then, Zepeda-Wilkins starred in TV projects such as Top Chef in the US and Mexico. And in the time it has taken me to finish this blog post, El Jardin and the chef have been nominated for several restaurant awards. Yet, she still takes the time to bring the food to guests herself!

Chef Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins of El Jardin Restaurant in San Diego

One More Tip

Top the chilaquiles with short rib, please! You’re welcome.

Chilaquiles Divorciados topped with short rib at El Jardin in San Diego

El Jardin

2885 Perry Rd, San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 795-2322
eljardinrestaurantbar.com

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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

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Loquat Sorbet Recipe with Tequila and Salt

Posted on March 6, 2018 | 2 comments

Here’s a fun post: a delicious recipe for loquat sorbet made with a splash of tequila and sprinkled with Hawaiian black lava salt.

Loquat Sorbet Recipe using fresh loquats and a splash of tequila and salt

The loquats came from a tree in our backyard. We started it from the seed of a tree down the street and it’s taken off. According to the Specialty Produce App, loquats grow well in most Southern states, but usually only fruit in California, Florida and Hawaii.

Loquat Tree with fruit ready to make into loquat sorbet

This post is a family collaboration! Papa Bird (our sorbet master) came up with the recipe and shot the “making of” photos. The child labor came from the (not so) Baby Birds.

Fresh loquats from the treekids cooking loquat sorbet

Kids Cooking in the Garden

Kids cutting loquats for sorbet with playful chef safety knives

The girls have been honing their kitchen skills with their new knife set. They love the safety knives from Playful Chef (Amazon link) which are designed to cut through apples and carrots, but safely fit in young hands. They use them almost daily.

The kids also harvested the loquats from the tree, selecting the ripest, softest and sweetest fruit.

My kids enjoy cooking, especially sweet treats. And they LOVE making and eating anything from our garden.

How to Make Loquat Sorbet

Loquat Sorbet Recipe using fresh loquats and a splash of tequila and salt

Loquats are from the same family as apples, pears and roses. The fruit have a mild, sweet, slightly sour and refreshing flavor.

loquats on the tree, ready for this sorbet recipe

They grow rampant in Southern California. So check your neighborhood and forage! If you or a friend have a tree, you likely have more fruit than you can deal with. And sadly, there are not very many loquat recipes out there. Select fruit that are a little soft and pull off easily from the branch.

Loquat sorbet

Next, Papa Bird set up an assembly line for the girls outside. The fruit can be juicy and sticky.

Kids Cooking Recipe: Fresh Fruit (Loquat) Sorbet

The kids cut the fruit in half. Loquats contain 3-7 large, hard, inedible seeds in the middle.

fresh loquats with seeds

Remove the seeds. The fruit are now ready to run through a juicer.

loquat sorbet

Preparing the loquat sorbet

This sorbet came out delicious!

Loquat sorbet with tequila and Hawaiian lava salt

To make 2 cups of juice, Papa Bird used approximately 60 halved, seeded loquats. We have a Breville compact juicer, which quickly separated the juice from the skin and less edible parts.

Read the printable recipe below. Continue reading →

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Posted in Dessert, Food, Green Parenting, Our Family, Recipes from the Garden, Recipes to Make with the Kids, San Diego, Seasonal Recipes, Urban Agriculture, Urban Homesteading

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Easy Mole and Shredded Chicken Recipe

Posted on March 17, 2017 | 2 comments

A new recipe post! Today’s recipe combines two things I love… an easy shredded chicken recipe that is part of our weekly rotation and a prepared mole sauce from a small, female-owned business in Mexico that elevates leftovers into a semi-homemade meal in a snap.

easy chicken and mole plate (recipe)

I have used the Seasons of my Heart black mole and red mole and both are delicious. Here in San Diego, they are found in the retail section of Specialty Produce. I’ve thrown it on leftover Thanksgiving turkey, rotisserie chicken from the store, and our home cooked chicken (recipe follows.) Being a busy, working mom, I love having premade sauces I can throw on a protein and call a home cooked meal.

Seasons of the Heart Mole

If you want to doctor up the sauce, you can add extra unsweetened chocolate, chicken broth, almond butter, a tablespoon of butter… The instructions on the black mole actually call for a lot of ingredients and steps, including sautéing and chopping veggies, plantains, bread and pureeing in a blender. Ain’t no one got time for that. I usually just add a little of the cooking liquid from the chicken and call it a day. It’s that good as is!

Don’t have a Mexican mama in your kitchen using the 900 gagillion ingredients that go into mole? Don’t worry. You can have Susana Trilling as back up in your cupboard. She makes her moles and jellies in Oaxaca in small batches, certified slow food. And yummy.

easy chicken mole recipe

I also want to share Papa Bird’s new toy. I recently signed up as an affiliate with the Grommet, primarily because I saw the Bear Pawicon and thought it would be a perfect gift for my husband. Part meat shredder, part heat-proof food lifter, it makes him feel like Wolverine while prepping his weekly shredded chicken.

iconicon

My serving suggestion for the mole is a plate with brown rice, black beans, cotija cheese, cilantro, avocado, tomatoes, and (go for it) a fried egg. You might not even need the meat…

Save Print
Easy Shredded Chicken Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
An affordable, quick way to have chicken ready to go for multiple recipes.
Ingredients
  • 1 package of chicken thighs (we use boneless/skinless)
  • 1 quart of chicken broth or water
  • 1 onion
  • 5 carrots
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • herbs/seasonings such as Mexican blend, or at least oregano and a bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Rough chop veggies. Throw everything in a pressure cooker. Bring to a boil and up to pressure. Cook for 7-10 minutes, depending on your machine, or until done and fork tender. If starting with frozen chicken (totally works with a pressure cooker) increase cook time at pressure to 10-15 minutes, depending on your machine.
  2. Use the bear paws or two large forks to shred. Reserve the cooking liquid for broth.
Notes
If you don't have a pressure cooker, simply simmer for an hour.

Disclaimers: as mentioned, I am an affiliate of the Grommet, which means that if you purchase something off their site through a link on my site I may receive a small percentage for the referral. This particular product I personally bought and sincerely recommend. I am not an affiliate per se of Specialty Produce. If you go, please mention that “Baby Birds” sent you, but I don’t get paid per person. Full disclosure, they do hook me up. In fact, the first time I tried the mole sauce it was given to me for free. But I have since purchased it multiple times again!

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Farmer’s Bottega Restaurant Feature

Posted on September 18, 2016 | 3 comments

Farmer’s Bottega features local artisan ingredients and organic produce in New American and Italian dishes. Italian-born chef and owner Alberto Morale, co-owner of the Fig Tree Cafe, opened the Mission Hills restaurant less than two years ago. We loved working with San Diego Restaurant Week last January. SDRW reached out again to tell me this month’s theme is local produce and we were happy to accept an invitation to preview Farmer’s Bottega.

Oxtail Ravioli at Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San Diego

The Oxtail Ravioli with cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions and herbed goat cheese immediately called out to me. The sauce was flavorful, rich with umami and balanced with the fresh green taste of the dandelion shoot garnish. The housemade pasta had the perfect aldente bite.

The Baby Birds Farm family

Our whole silly family found the staff friendly and hospitable. The hostess offered each girl full sized coloring books and a small tupperware of crayons, which kept them content during ordering. We also enjoyed exploring the back patio and garden space.

Total comfort food

Housemade Meatballs at Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San Diego

The Housemade Meatballs were something special. The starter is presented oh so cozy in a small cast iron pan, and topped table-side by copious parmesan. The meatballs are cooked in a rich and spicy tomato sauce with fresh herbs. We requested an extra round of the Bread and Cie toast to sop up the last bits.

Featuring fresh and unique produce

Yellow Watermelon Salad at Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San Diego

Our waiter, Matthew, was very personable. He steered us towards the Seasonal Melon Salad. This week’s salad featured super sweet yellow watermelon, feta, wild arugula, and spicy caramelized pecans. The lemon vinaigrette was light and overall the salad was a refreshing balance to our other meat-heavy choices. In addition to buying direct from local farms, Specialty Produce supplies their fresh vegetables and fruits, sourced from San Diego growers.

Farmhouse Decor
Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San Diego

Farmer’s Bottega is decorated in a comfortable “farmhouse” style, perfect for either date night or family. Oversized glass containers hold pickles and preserved lemons. How sweet would a date be under this wall of crate boxes?

Top Quality Meats

Buffalo Filet at Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San Diego

The herb-rubbed Buffalo Filet was also excellent, served with garlic mashed potatoes, swiss chard, asparagus, crispy onions, roasted Maui thyme and a petite Syrah reduction. The filet was cooked a perfect medium rare, and super tender. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough around my family to snag any of the asparagus and barely grabbed a corner of the crispy onions. I wished for more!

You have to eat dessert during restaurant week!

NY Cheesecake with fresh berries at Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San Diego

We finished our meal with a New York Cheesecake with fresh berries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

After such inventive and satisfying starters and mains, the desserts were unflawed but not as memorable.

Molten Chocolate Cake at Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San DiegoAll in all, considering there wasn’t a drop left on the plates, they couldn’t have been that bad.

At one point I looked over at my three-year-old and she was doing a combination shovel/inhale on the Molten Chocolate Cake.

Tips for Farmer’s Bottega

  • We only ordered items we were told would be on the Restaurant Week menu. However, since Farmer’s Bottega features seasonal produce and locally sourced seafood, artisan meats, cheese and breads, selections may vary.
  • Our waiter let us know that they would offer the $40 SDRW menu not just the one week, Sunday, September 25th through Sunday, October 2nd, but would extend for a second week, too.
  • Reservations recommended: (619) 458-9929.
  • If you miss SDRW altogether, they offer a pre-fixed date night menu on Wednesday nights, and happy hour all night Tuesday at the bar. The TV’s at the bar were playing the Food Network. My kind of place!!
  • If you go, please tell them Baby Birds Farm sent you!
  • As mentioned, our food was offered free of charge. Opinions and photos are mine.

Farmer's Bottega Restaurant in Mission Hills, San Diego

Farmer’s Bottega

860 West Washington Street
San Diego, CA 92103

(619) 458-9929

www.farmersbottega.com

HOURS
Sunday – Thursday
8 AM–3 PM | 4:30 PM–10 PM
Friday – Saturday
8 AM–3 PM | 4 PM–10:30 PM

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