Huckleberry: Santa Monica, California

Several weeks ago Judy and I went to Santa Monica to be with Andrew and had an enjoyable lunch at Huckleberry, located at 1014 Wilshire Blvd, in Santa Monica (phone: 310-451-2311). We had Lauren and Lexi along with us. The menu features lots of fruits and vegetables and breads. You order from a line, then take a seat and wait for your food. It was quite crowded, but with help from the staff, we were able to get a table of five to sit together by the time our food was ready. Lauren and I each got a fried egg sandwich with Niman Ranch bacon, Gruyere cheese, arugula and aioli on a thick bread.

It was unlike any sandwich I've ever eaten before, even of my own creation. The eggs were over-easy (at my direction) and the combination of the runny yolks with the leafy greens was very different.

I liked the Gruyere, but would have liked more if it, to make the taste more prominent. Judy got a marinated peppers and burrate (mozzarella cheese and cream) sandwich

with pesto that was really different and good. It was on a thick bread.

Andrew got a free-range turkey sandwich with cheddar cheese, grapes, dijon musard, aioli and arugula on multigrain bread.

I didn't taste his sandwich but it was a nice-sized portion and it looked good. He enjoyed it. Lexi got a whole wheat veggie wrap

which she liked. We also got a side of liquified white beans which looked and tasted quite a bit like hummus,

mixed with a good dose of olive oil. I really liked it spread on my egg sandwich. We also got two portions of berry (strawberry and raspberry) trifle

which we didn't come close to polishing off and a chocolate pudding.

For drinks we had a variety of interesting kinds, from huckleberry soda to some kind of Australian ginger ale that Lauren really liked. The food and environment were in tune with modern California culture with natural, mostly healthy foods. It was very enjoyable and I would not hesitate to go back. Our bill ended up being quite reasonable for a group of five.