Essential Eats: Speck & Crème Fraiche Pizza at Solare in Liberty Station
Some dishes in San Diego county are simply too good not to share. This week Erin Jackson dives into the speck and crème fraiche pizza at Solare in Liberty Station.
Essential Eats: Jamón Ibérico Benedict at Herb & Wood’s New Sunday Brunch
Herb & Wood recently launched Sunday brunch service with a debut menu that aims to please. Among the options are share plates like scallop ceviche and salmon pastrami, wood-fired breakfast pizzas, egg dishes, and an exciting array of sweets, ranging from a pastry basket to funnel cake with a scoop of housemade gelato.
One of the tastiest options is the eggs benedict. At Herb & Wood, the quintessential brunch dish is anything but ordinary. It starts with a lofty housemade English muffin that’s toasted on the flat top and stacked with braised kale, a perfectly poached egg, thin slices of Jamón Ibérico—a high-end variety of cured ham produced in Spain and Portugal—and a generous dollop of smoked tomato hollandaise. The balance of flavors (including salty, bitter, and lightly acidic) transforms the decades-old dish into something that’s equally as satisfying as the original, but with a refreshing twist.
It’s also a great dish to share, which opens up opportunities for baked items, like the Dutch Baby Soufflé Pancakes, which should be considered mandatory. The sweet treat is exactly as advertised, with a light and fluffy texture similar to Japanese-style pancakes, decked out with lemon curd and huckleberry sauce.
The pancake is light enough for one diner to make a serious dent in it, but the size and sugar content make it best suited as a shared dish for the table. (Pro-tip: soufflés take time, so put your order in for this primo pancake at the same time as your drink order.) The strawberries and cream mocktail, which is shaken with a zesty grapefruit chipotle shrub, makes a nice pairing.
Herb & Wood, 2210 Kettner Boulevard, Little Italy
Brunch is served on Sundays between 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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