Trust Restaurant’s upscale brunch is divine

Neighborhood: Hillcrest

Price: $$

Vibe: Beautiful open-concept restaurant with seating both inside (where you can watch the chefs cooking up some glorious eats) or outside on the patio right on Park Blvd. Great decor that feels upscale but still gives you that comfortable neighborhood vibe.

I love a good brunch spot, and it had been a beat since I’ve visited this lovely spot in Hillcrest - let me tell you, I’ve been missing out! We came here for a birthday brunch, looking for something on the brunch spectrum that was a little more upscale for a celebration.

Trust is a beautiful place, with ceiling to floor windows and an open-kitchen concept that allows you to watch the chefs slaving away at your brunch meal. Seating inside is really lovely, the space is big and airy and doesn’t get loud like some open space restaurants like it. There is also outdoor patio seating, great if you want to bring your furry friend along or catch some of our beautiful weather in San Diego.

We started with some delicious grapefruit cinnamon, and orange juice mimosas with prosecco, which were fabulous! I would never have thought to pair the citrus and cinnamon together, what a delightful surprise.

Grapefruit cinnamon mimosa is a must try!

The brunch menu was eclectic and honestly made it hard to choose due to so many fun options, but our group chose a great variety for our meal.

I chose the Pancakes and Fried Chicken, a delicious combo that I have not had before. Chicken and waffles, yes sure. But fried chicken served with fluffy and delicious pancakes? This might be my new favorite combination! YUM. The chicken was crispy with some spice to it, and I loved that it came in small bite-sized morsels. It paired beautifully with the sweetness of the pancakes and homemade maple syrup.

PANCAKES & FRIED CHICKEN garlic, chilies, honey-butter, syrup

We also ordered the Smoked Pork Shoulder Hash, which had a great depth of flavor. It came served in a skillet with layers of complexity, spice and yumminess. This one is a bit on the heavy side, so if you’re hungry it will absolutely satisfy you.

SMOKED PORK SHOULDER HASH sunny side egg, fresno chiles, black bean+radish salsa, ‘nduja mayo, cilantro

We also tried the Rolled Tacos Con Huevos, which were incredibly flavorful and just a unique delight as a brunch dish. Don’t let the look of the dish fool you, it was incredibly filling and satisfying on a plate of delicious black beans and chorizo.

ROLLED TACOS CON HUEVOS 2 eggs, black beans, chorizo, potatoes, salsa ranchero, oaxaca, guacamole, radish

We were too full to try the famous Trust Ultimate Sticky Bun on this visit. The restaurant puts out a different version of the sticky bun each brunch and is a fun option to share for those that didn’t fill up on their meals like we did.

We truly enjoyed every aspect of our brunch here and this one is definitely going back into our rotation of favorites.

Trust

3752 Park Blvd
Hillcrest, 92103

Sugar and Scribe Bakery is Everything You Want in a Brunch Spot

When you visit Sugar and Scribe, you must take a cruise through the bakery inside. The sweets, the cakes and baked goods are a Willy Wonka-style wonderland.

Neighborhood: La Jolla

Vibe: Adorable European-style sidewalk cafe with seating both inside and outside.

Price: $

I love finding a good brunch spot that not only offers a wide selection of brunch options, but also one that delivers on even the most basic of dishes, like a simple French-style cheese scramble cooked to fluffy perfection. Sugar and Scribe is everything you want in a brunch restaurant and more. Thier wide selection of baked goods is rivaled only by the kitchen, putting out delicious European-inspired cuisine. Oh, and did I mention the coffee? Yum!

This is one of our “go-to” spots on a Saturday or Sunday - but it can indeed get crowded during the summer/touristy months, so beware of the wait time. But the food is well-worth a little wait, especially considering the long lines outside of rival brunch spots like “The Cottage”, that don’t even compare, food-wise. If you do have to wait a bit, go into the bakery and order a coffee and take a little walk around the neighborhood. There are a ton of cute little shops just one street away on Girard, and don’t forget Warwick’s Book Store, which one can easily whittle away a half hour browsing around.

On to the food! I typically order the same thing when I come here — there is nothing I love more than a good simple scramble served with a salad (yes, a salad! It’s very French.) for breakfast. This time during our visit, we tried something new. Sugar and Scribe is inspired by classic bakeries around the world (they serve a full Irish breakfast for those wanting to partake in this specialty), so we decided to try the scotch egg. This is not a menu option you can find in many restaurants, so it was fun to give it a whirl.

Scotch Egg served with house gravy is a fun bite to share!

My favorite dish here that I’ve been hinting about in this blog, is the Sligo Scramble. Eggs scrambled with goat cheese and Irish cheddar with a spring salad. I always order this with the Irish multigrain bread with homemade jam. It may be the most perfect breakfast (says me)!

Sligo Scramble

My brunch mates on this fine day, ordered the Naughty Skillet and the Lobby Roll. The plates and presentation are beautiful.

Naughty Skillet — with roasted potatoes, Irish white cheddar, bbq beef, two eggs and spicy sriracha hollandaise

Lobby Roll —Maine lobster, lemon aioli, celery and parsley on a butter roll

Don’t forget to check out the bakery, it’s truly an enchanting experience and I dare you not to treat yourself to one of these delectable items!

Sugar and Scribe

7660 Fay Avenue, Suite I

La Jolla, CA 92037

Dumpling Inn is the ultimate comfort food

Oh, how I love dumplings! They may be my favorite comfort food. And how amazing is it that they are becoming more commonplace in American cuisine? Finally, what took so long?

Dumpling Inn serves my favorite Xia Long Bao in San Diego. I realize saying this may cause a little controversy, I know there are a lot of Din Tai Fung lovers out there, so hear me out. I’ve been going to Dumpling Inn since well before it moved into this giant location with the Shanghai Saloon. If you’re local to San Diego and familiar with Convoy Street (where pretty much all of the amazing Asian food in San Diego resides), you may remember long ago when Dumpling Inn was located in what is now a little Boba Cafe in the left-corner of the shopping center where the current location resides. There were about 6 tables in the old location, and you would walk up and add your name to the list hanging from the door. Gaging by the number of names ahead of you would determine how many beers you would need to tailgate with in the parking lot as you impatiently waited for your turn. Ahh good times! My point to this little trip down memory lane, is that Dumpling Inn was the introduction to my love affair with Xia Long Bao. I absolutely love these morsels of love that burst with flavor (and soup) in your mouth. Along with the Xia Long Bao, the food here is consistently delicious, and there is really not a bad option on the menu — have you tried their fried rice? Best fried rice ever.

Long story long, here are some of my favorite options at Dumpling Inn:

Potstickers

Xia Long Bao (AKA Soup Dumplings, AKA Xiao Long Bao)

Pork and Chive Dumplings in Spicy Soup

Beef and Scallion

Sauteed Chinese Green

Not pictured is one of my favorite dishes - the Green Bean Fish with Black Bean sauce. It’s a fabulous and savory dish of flash fried sea bass with perfectly crunchy and bright green beans in one of the best black bean sauces I’ve had. It’s delightful and makes for some really tasty leftovers. Try it!

The potstickers are maybe just as exciting as the Xia Long Bao. They come out hot with a perfect seared crust on the bottom. they also make for some great leftovers if you don’t finish. Surprisingly, they travel well!

I highly recommend using the dipping sauces for your dumplings and be sure to ask for the spicy oil if it’s not on your table. I like to blend 2/3 soy sauce, 1/3 rice vinegar and add spicy oil + red chili flakes to your spice level of delight.

Warning: The Pork and Chive Dumplings (or choose any dumpling you like) with spicy soup is not for the faint of heart. It’s spicy, like the kind of spicy that gets ya if you inhale too quickly — unctuous and garlic-ey and delicious. This one will clear your sinuses and make your nose run, but it’s worth every savory and spicy bite!

A tip for devouring your Xia Long Bao is to scoop it onto your Chinese soup spoon, swoop some dipping sauce and take a bite — that way if the soup spills out of the dumpling it lands in the spoon and not the table. This is the suggested method for polite eaters that don’t want to gobble the whole dumpling down in one swift bite (I don’t really get how it’s possible, but for those that can actually restrain yourselves, give the spoon a go).

Dumpling Inn is one of my FAVORITE restaurants in San Diego, and is a fantastic spot for brunch or dinner, or your favorite sporting event. You can post up at the bar, munch on dumplings and your favorite craft beer and catch up on the game. I mean, does it get any better? I invite you to explore everything on the menu here, there is not a bad option, but don’t forget the dumplings!

Dumpling Inn

4625 Convoy Street

San Diego, CA 92111