Huckleberry does damn good stuff with an oven, from croissants to cornmeal cakes to muffins to biscuits. It also happens to be a fun place to eat, even when there is a long weekend brunch line out of the back of the bakery. The wait is never quite as long as you’d expect, and the street-facing windows let in so much of the Santa Monica sun that sometimes you almost forget to ogle the cute girls in yoga pants picking out pastries. Almost.
The maple bacon biscuit brought me here a few years ago – it’s a lot drier than I had expected of a biscuit, since I more readily think of the butter-laden Popeye’s or Pillsbury variety. But where Huckleberry’s version lacks in grease, it more than compensates in flavor, although in salty-sweet concept it is no different than the McGriddle. Which means, if I’m comparing something to a McDonald’s sandwich, it is delicious.
My usual brunch order is the Croque Madame; the bonus of ordering it here is that Huckleberry’s country toast is so good on a standalone basis, and a worthy vehicle for the savory combination of Niman Ranch ham, fried eggs, gruyere, and bechamel. Add to that a bit of the spicy mustard they put on the side.
More recently, I’ve gone a bit more basic in my selection, ordering the breakfast porridge (similar to steel-cut oatmeal) and the housemade granola:
And then I usually grab a few pastries to go:
Huckleberry
1014 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Recommendations:
Bakery: (1) Bacon maple biscuit, (2) cornmeal cake
Brunch: (4) Croque Madame, (5) Creekstone Farms’ beef brisket hash, (6) breakfast porridge (if you’re in an oatmeal mood)
*Huckleberry also serves lunch, but I’ve never delved too deep into their sandwich and lunchtime offerings; for dinner, go try out its sister restaurant, Rustic Canyon, which has a great selection of farm-to-table small plates and supposedly does a real mean Burger Mondays.
House of Hao's 