Before we get into this week’s review, I have to tell you how we got here because it’s wild. I wanted to cover a brunch place this season and I made my choice based on suggestions from readers; The Seventh House in North Park. We made reservations, got a group together (comprised of mostly first time BW8SD panelists), filmed an entire episode, recorded the podcast, I completed the opening animation of the restaurant. The turnaround time from production to launch on YouTube is about a month so I was well into production on this episode when a friend dropped into my DM’s with a link from a Facebook group post about Seventh House. It didn’t exist anymore. In fact, it was changing its menu, format and had a new name. The link included a photo with the new name in giant letters above the doorway where “The Seventh House” once stood, just days before. We had only been there maybe 2 weeks ago. I’ve had restaurants close after I’ve had the chance to review them. I’ve seen places close before I could get to them (I’m sure you were lovely, Hoxton Manor). But I’ve never seen a place close before my review could even go to press! So the episode covering my visit to Seventh House will now assume its final resting place on the cutting room floor. Apologies to my team, who put in some fabulous work on that episode and to Seventh House because the food was really good, even if the place was overdesigned and they had the music so loud I could barely eat with Adele screaming about her breakup in my face at 10am on a Saturday. So the scramble was on to find a new brunch place and, yes, it had to be a brunch place. Why, you ask?
Lemme tell ya a few eternal truths about The Gays ™
We are every walk of life, existing in every known and unknown space in the universe since the dawn of time but we remained in the shadows until musicals were invented. We are all actively trying to kill Jennifer Coolidge and we love brunch. Like, love it. An iconic Season one episode of The Simpsons titled “Life in The Fast Lane” called brunch “Not quite breakfast, not quite lunch but you get a slice of cantaloupe at the end and you get a good meal”. Brunch was already pretty common place in 1990 so I’ll refrain from tossing this on top of the already mountainous pile of creepy future predictions The Simpsons got exactly right. Brunch got it’s start as the British Hunt Breakfast. A meal typically held between 10am-1pm which takes the place of breakfast and lunch. It rose to popularity in the U.S. during 1930’s and,as with all things in culture, once the queens got hold of it, it elevated to transcendent levels. Props to the forward thinking person(s?) who believed the first meal of the day could be improved upon and said “Let’s sleep in, eat breakfast late, gossip with our friends and get completely trashed on champagne with a shot of orange juice in it!”. I’ve been to brunch hundreds of times but I always marvel at how much these servers think I can drink. Like, do I look depressed? I mean, I am but I thought I was playing it closer to the vest than that. The Hunt breakfast is still going strong in the gayborhood, the only that’s changed is the food, the drink and what’s being hunted…
So, what is it about brunch that we love so much? You can pretty much binge drink at any meal with the right attitude but that could go badly and next thing you know you’ve “Ruined Thanksgiving again”. It’s festive. There’s always more to choose from on the menu with both breakfast and lunch-y things. The sweet people are happy. The savory people are happy. The drunk people are under the table before the bread course arrives. Everyone wins.
Sugar and Scribe is a full-service restaurant that serves all day brunch in downtown La Jolla and is owned by Food Network Champion chef Maeve Rochford, who was lovely, seated our table and answered my many questions. While savory items are offered, a prime draw for me was the in-house bakery, which has received accolades from Yelp and San Diego Magazine. Savory items? Check. Mimosas? Check. Bakery? Double Check. I was ready and so was my ever-ready brunch bunch.
Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many
David-Wonder Woman superfan, musical theatre enthusiast, the narrator’s love interest
Harry-The I.T. guy, equal parts Type A and goofy as all get out, He probably knows how to fix that.
Kelsey-Project manager, Keeper of Christmas, has been known to drop it like it’s hot
Joseph-Music educator, loves just about every food I won’t touch, masterclass Dad joker
Shannan-Medical examiner, pumpkin enthusiast, drives the coolest car you’ve ever seen
Sugar and Scribe does not take reservations. No exceptions. I was anticipating that our large group would have a Disneyland-level wait ahead of us. Imagine my surprise when they had us seated in less than 15 minutes. The look of this place is great. Really quaint, well thought out and designed. Far less stuffy upscale and way more countryside bed and breakfast. The best word I can use is it’s just lovely. A relaxing contrast to the almost frantic pace of our meal. The service was surprisingly fast. I went to use the bathroom before we ordered and when I came back from the bathroom, our food was on the table. Granted I was in line behind four people I was sure had never used a bathroom before but still impressive. Our food arrived so quickly, it made more than one person at the table question how much of the food had been made in advance.
Brunch gonna brunch so I started with a Caramelized Pineapple Mimosa. It was tasty and disarmingly strong (not that I’m complaining). Rather than a garnish, the pineapple was integrated throughout the drink but if you’re not a fan of orange juice pulp, this probably isn’t for you. It was not a problem for me. Shannan ordered the Cranberry Mimosa. She loved the beautiful presentation and said it was delicious. Harry ordered the S&S Bloody (Sabe straight, Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix, Spicy Green Beans, Blue Cheese stuffed Olive and a Celery Stalk). He enjoyed to good spice level and called it a nice take on a classic Bloody Mary. I’m just impressed the glass didn’t tip over from the garnish or give me heartburn simply by looking at it.
For non-alcoholic choices, Shannan loved the Toasted Marshmallow Latte with Vanilla and Coconut. Aimee got the Butterfly Pea Lemonade (a recent discovery and new favorite of hers). She said it was delicious and very purple. All the good things. She wasn’t kidding. The color of this drink was so vibrant and beautiful. Stunning saturation on that pigment. David had the S&S Hot Chocolate with housemade Marshmallow Whipped Cream and chocolate sauce. While he loved the whipped cream, he wasn’t getting much chocolate or richness from the hot chocolate. I tried some and I agree. Delicious whipped cream but, to me, the hot chocolate tasted like a water base rather than a milk base. Sugar and Scribe serves up Dark Horse Coffee, which Joseph. The former coffee shop manager said Dark Horse is always a good choice, providing a great depth of flavor without being too carbony.
My thinking was I’d order something savory and substantial for my meal and then choose the sweets I wanted. I wasn’t trying to do sugar on top of sugar on top of sugar. I got the Protein Scramble (Scrambled egg whites, roasted chicken, cremini mushrooms, asparagus, arugula, chives and parmesan) with a side of potatoes and wheat toast. I won’t say my socks were blown off by this admittedly pedestrian choice but it was well made with a great flavor to the mushrooms and good cuts of asparagus throughout. I don’t normally put jam on my toast but the mixed berry jam they served alongside it was super tasty. Shannan ordered the same breakfast and also praised how well the dish was made and the jam, which wasn’t quite as magical on their gluten free bread, but was still a highlight.
What I should have ordered is what Aimee had; Bread Pudding French Toast (Cinnamon Bread Pudding, Whiskey Caramel Sauce, Trecale Maple Syrup, Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream, Bananas, Candied Pecans and edible petals). She said the dish was very yummy and especially loved that the toppings were all included on the side so she could build her perfect bite. She shared it with me and it was pretty outstanding. I had an immediate case of Brunch Regret.
Harry got the Lox Plate (Norwegian smoked Salmon, Greens, Capers, Crème Fraiche, Red Onion, Dill cream cheese, Heirloom Tomato, Cucumber on a Big City Everything Bagel). Another beautiful plating. He enjoyed the healthy serving of lox and the herbed cream cheese. Plus the bagel was nicely toasted.
David had the Naughty Skillet (BBQ Beef, Roasted Potatoes, Irish White Cheddar, Two Eggs and Spicy Sriracha Hollandaise). He said everything in the dish was done perfectly. David’s not one to order spicy food but said the heat level of this meal was just right with a generous portion. He pretty much licked the plate. High marks indeed.
Joseph ordered the Spicy Shashuka Sunrise Skillet (Fire roasted Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, Red Bell pepper, Fresno Pepper, Cilantro, Yellow Onion, Feta, Harissa Paste, Cumin, Chili Flakes, Two Eggs with Levain on the side). He called it super delicious. The poached eggs blended so well with everything in the skillet. He wouldn’t mind a thicker toast with it than the one that arrived but he loved it.
Kelsey got the Butter Poached Lobster Benedict (Poached Eggs, Main Lobster, Arugula, Parlsey, White Rosemary Hollandaise, Old Bay and an English Muffin). She strongly suspected the dish had been prepared in advance as it was cold and overcooked in places. While Kelsey said the overall flavor was fine, there was no one strong flavor coming through, which is saying something with a Rosemary Hollandaise and Old Bay on the plate. She also had a lemon curd pancake, which had lemon curd in the batter but not on top, which was giving more lemon-flavored pancake than anything else.
One of the more anticipated items on the menu was the Scotch Egg (a soft boiled egg surrounded by chicken sausage, deep fried golden brown and served with Red Eye Gravy). I’m grossed out by any non-scrambled egg so it wasn’t for me but it received high marks from nearly everyone else. Shannan loved the mild spice of the chicken sausage. Harry praised the perfectly soft egg and called it a “must order”. Aimee loved it, calling the fry on it perfect. GBD (Golden Brown Delicious).
It saddens me to say, the only real downside for me in this trip was the desserts. I was puzzled that there’s no dessert offered on the menu. I was assume an in-house bakery meant we could enjoy something at the table but I’ve realized in the days since that there’s plenty of sweet brunch options offered on the menu that dessert might be overkill to normal people and not sugar fiends like the narrator. The desserts in the case (and on racks near the entrance) are all prepackaged. They are beautiful. Works of art. If the saying is true that you eat with your eyes first, you’ll be stuffed before you even have a bite. I ordered the beautiful glittered rainbow sprinkled cake pop and a box of my favorite baked treat of all time; Petit Fours. I love them because it’s a way you can eat a whole cake without guilt or a tummy ache. The featured flavor was blackberry with a dog days of Summer decoration. Adorable. Again, Instagram-ready. I’m sorry to say the cake pop’s exterior was rock hard with only a mildly sweet chocolate cake inside. The real heartache for me was the Petit Fours. The marzipan was a bit heavy handed with almond extract, which I could get past, if they weren’t so dry. I understand that pre-packaged baked goods need to have a shelf life and that can be hard to achieve without pumping them full of preservatives, but these had sat on that shelf for a noticeable while. Kelsey also got a box and had an identical experience.
Joseph shared one of his Ginger Molasses Cookies with me. We both had the same shelf-life issue with the cookie. For me, it went from chewy to stale tasting. A disappointment. Aimee and I shared the Peanut Butter Chocolate Layer Cake. This is another shining example of how beautiful these baked goods are (she’s a stunner! I took professional photos of it!). Aimee enjoyed the Peanut Butter Buttercream on top. For me, the texture was too hardened. It came off in chunks. While the shiny gold sprinkles on top made the cake Instagram-ready, Aimee said it was too much. While the sprinkles are all edible, they’re super hard and not pleasant to eat. We both agreed the cake had dried out, which bummed us out.
So while the bakery sweets were a swing and a miss across the board, the brunch itself was very good and enjoyed by all of us. We will definitely be going back. For me, I know where I went wrong. No more responsible, health-conscious breakfasting for me. Bring on the Sugar (and Scribe)!
Watch the YouTube episode: http://www.youtube.com/@TheBoyWhoAteSanDiego
Listen to the Podcast episode: https://theboywhoatesandiego.podbean.com/
The Boy Who Ate San Diego 