In this job I get to visit all the new places but getting back to them as they evolve and change after that first visit can be a challenge. I’m dependent on readers and my neighbors like Lawrence to keep me in the loop of what’s happening.
Lawrence gave me the word that Bread & Honey, which got a really positive review from me earlier in the year shortly after it opened, had stepped up its game and was even more impressive lately, especially at dinner. We had visited mostly for breakfast and lunch since the bread, pastries and egg creations were so impressive, but we had to go back, and, as usual, Lawrence knows his stuff.
Our first visit at dinner we were the only customers dining in. Other customers stopped by to get takeout, particularly the amazing bakery items. On the video screens behind the counter, they had sandwiches, salads and dinner items, no breakfast. No beer or wine is available; you order at the counter, and they bring it out to you.
The dinner menu had eight offerings including Del Mar tacos made with octopus, chile verde with or without linguini, blackened salmon, a rib-eye steak, Alfredo pasta, garlic shrimp ($18), which my companion selected, and flautas made with chicken ($16), which I ordered.
Both of those choices made us part of the Clean Plate Club. My companion’s entrée featured a mound of buttered white rice with nine medium shrimp cooked with fresh garlic and butter, and a few red pepper flakes here and there. If I wanted to quibble, I say this is a plate just begging for a few stalks of steamed broccoli.
It appeared as if the shrimp were sauteed in the garlic butter and the remnants of the pan were, wisely, poured over the rice. Simple but so satisfying. Presentation was beautiful with a darkly grilled half lemon on the plate.
My four chicken flautas were buried under lettuce and sour cream, a drizzle of guacamole and some queso fresco, making it almost like a salad. I wish there was more guacamole on the plate, but the flautas themselves, which the menu said were stuffed with slow-cooked chicken, were thick and so imperfect you know they were freshly rolled and fried.
Some of the tortillas shell area was dark brown, maybe even overcooked, but let’s face it almost everywhere you order these nowadays gives you the premade, perfect-looking versions you can buy at Costco. This was perfect in an imperfect way.
Of course, we had to get dessert, but rather than appear to be gluttons we took them to go. What was absolutely fascinating to us was a complete cake that had been baked in a mold that made it look like a forest of pine trees. The owner said it was filled with fruit and cream, either blueberries or strawberries.
As this visit was before the holidays, we made a note to be sure to come back to pick one up for the family get-together if only to impress relatives. The trees were dark brown and looked crispy and had been lightly dusted with powdered sugar as if to suggest snow-covered trees. The owner explained that particular creation is one of their seasonal creations, which would give way to king cakes for the upcoming Mardi Gras season.
We sampled a brownie ($4), a German chocolate Danish ($3.50), a pineapple upside down cake ($3.50) and a pineapple elote ($2.50). The brownie was dense and rich, the German chocolate creation rich with a coconut-caramel frosting inside and the elote was rich with fresh-cut pineapple, sweet and alluring. The pineapple upside down cake could give the version at Sugar Twist a run for the money.
We had to try some of the sandwiches and went back on another night to get the New Yorker ($14.50) and the California chicken ($14). It was more of the same. First, they used sourdough bread they make in house and grilled ever-so-lightly with butter before assembly.
The New Yorker featured pastrami, mustard, Swiss cheese and sliced pickles, and the pastrami had a blackened exterior from a nice rub. It really reminded me of the time many years ago when we got a sandwich with meat like this from Katz’s Deli in New York City. This is the best pastrami sandwich in town, even outclassing Luigi’s.
The chicken sandwich featured great bacon and a skinless breast one inch thick that had been grilled with more Swiss cheese, lettuce and tomato. I know you can get a sandwich anywhere, but both of these were so exceptional due to the high-quality ingredients and the intelligent composition.
Bread & Honey is basically the best-kept dinner secret in town. It can be recommended for a fine dining experience at any time of the day. Thanks, Lawrence.
Pete Tittl's Dining Out column appears in The Californian on Sundays. Email him at pftittl@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter: @pftittl.
