HUCKLEBERRY CAFE AND BAKERY OPENS IN SANTA MONICA

Food GPS | February 2009

On Monday, Amy Scattergood reported about today’s opening of Huckleberry Café and
Bakery on the LA Times blog. Executive Chef Zoe Nathan and partner-husband Josh Loeb
(Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen) are specializing in pastries, breads and savory market-driven dishes, but their approach transcends food.

“Everything we do at Huckleberry is influenced by our families,” says Nathan. “My mother has chosen all the artwork on the walls and my father comes back in the kitchen to help me cook brunch.”

Nathan is currently a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. She
previously worked at Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, bld in Los Angeles, Joe’s in Venice and Lupa in Manhattan. For fans of her pastries at Rustic Canyon, don’t worry. Nathan will continue to oversee the restaurant’s pastry menu.

At breakfast, she’s baking market-driven croissants, scones, muffins, crostatas, frittatas and donuts. You’ll also find Niman Ranch maple-bacon biscuits. Later in the day, expect options like gingerbread and chocolate chip cookies, mini kouign amanns, banana caramel pie, layered carrot cake with mascarpone cream, lemon pistachio cake and packages of maple-glazed peanuts. Keep in mind that “flavors change seasonally and on the whim of the baker.” Check the blackboards for daily selections.

Huckleberry’s savory items focus on sandwiches, salads, rotisserie meats and deck oven
pizzas, all made with market-driven ingredients. For breakfast, consider Green eggs & ham ($12) with La Quercia prosciutto on a house made English muffin, Niman Ranch brisket hash & two fried ($12) or a Fried egg sandwich ($9.50) with Niman Ranch bacon, gruyere, arugula & aioli on country bread. For lunch, options include free-range rotisserie duck or Jidori chicken with potatoes, a warm turkey meatball sandwich on ciabatta, of a flatbread of the day from the deck oven. “Daily Bread” consists of rustic baguette, multigrain, country boule, ciabatta, brioche and English muffins.

In keeping with Loeb and Nathan’s community approach, Huckleberry Café and Bakery uses coffee and espresso from nearby Caffe Luxxe and carries cheeses from Andrew’s Cheese Shop. Furthermore, all of the produce is hand-picked from vendors at the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

Open daily from 8 AM – 3 PM, with expanded hours to come.