Claire's on Cedros

Date of Dining: 6/25/2011 
Price: $8-12 per plate
Location: 246 N Cedros Ave, Solana Beach, CA 92075
website


The Quick Bit:
+ Fresh, Organic, Seasonal Ingredients
+ Bright and friendly atmosphere
+ Patio Dining available
Δ Parking situation could be improved
Δ Lines can be long if showing up late


While I tend to cover more of the fine dining, bistro, and food truck scene in San Diego, the historical food culture in San Diego actually revolves more around brunch. The story is that a large portion of San Diego revolves around the surfer culture where they need to get out into the ocean to catch the high tide around 6am. To arrive in time to surf, the surfers are unable to eat any breakfast. Then, they expend a lot of energy surfing and are starving around the time they finish surfing - just in time for brunch.
While the surfers are primarily responsible for restaurants needing to cater to hungry customers between the breakfast and lunch hours, the concept of brunch really caught on within the San Diegan culture. Instead of just the beach dives, the demand for better brunch options caused an evolution to more sophisticated brunch spots. Coupled with the farm-to-table organic and green movements, Claire's epitomizes the casual yet trendy San Diego Brunch Spot.

Claire's on Cedros focuses on providing organic and seasonal fair for brunch in an environmentally friendly atmosphere (Claire's is the first LEED Platinum certified restaurant in San Diego). Claire's is run by Claire Allison and Terrie Boley. Allison actually invented the recipe for Milton's multigrain bread before selling the recipe to the owners of Milton's. Boley is an entrepreneur who actually started up two technology companies. However, being a friend to Allison, Boley saw an opportunity to for a great restaurant and started up the business with Allison. I invited two friends along for brunch to check out the resulting product.

tuscan benedict - 2 poached eggs, sauteed spinach, roasted tomatoes, Italian sausage,
croissant, homemade hollandaise

I ordered the Tuscan benedict as it seemed to be the "deluxe" benedict - I'll usually order an eggs benedict for brunch places to be able to compare as it is a great dish to show off technique, creativity, and flavor all together. The Italian sausage actually had a nice kick to it, which was a welcome addition in the morning as a caffeine substitute for slapping you in the face to wake you up. The spinach was well prepared and the tomato added a nice amount of sweetness to balance the spice of the sausage. The earthiness of the egg yolk and the hollandaise really tied all the flavors together. Another aspect that can easily be overlooked was that the croissant was toasted perfectly. Usually croissants are either too well done or not toasted enough, but my croissant was right in the sweet spot of doneness.

mushroom and roasted tomato omelet - sauteed mushroom, spinach, shallot, thyme, brie cheese

The mushroom omelet was very well prepared and cooked well technically. The combination of flavors was very enjoyable and would definitely satisfy a vegetarian as well. At no fault of the chef, the particular tomatoes that were diced into the omelet were overly sweet, which ruined the balance of the dish. Still, the dish was very enjoyable and I would order it again. The brie cheese was a nice touch to elevate the dish from a traditional omelet dish.

stuffed strawberry french toast - brioche bread stuffed with ricotta with strawberries
and strawberry butter

The french toast was an excellent addition to those looking for a sugar rush. Like all the other dishes, the french toast was technically prepared very well. For the strawberry lover, the addition of the fresh strawberries and strawberry butter were a good way to create a great strawberry overload. While this was technically supposed to be breakfast, this dish was more of a great well balanced dessert. The flavors of the strawberry and the butter of the brioche and the creaminess of the ricotta really worked in a delicate harmony.


Conclusion:
Claire's on Cedros provides a great elevated brunch experience without breaking the piggy bank. The dishes were executed with high technical precision and the use of organic and seasonal ingredients definitely brought out all the flavors of the food. I can't wait to go back to Claire's to actually sample more of the lunch side of the brunch menu.
For the great brunch experience, I'm awarding Claire's the bit award. It is definitely one of the San Diego brunch spots to check out!