Westways contributors share bite-size reviews on an ice cream parlor with a Mexican twist, a casual eatery serving unique dishes, and a chocolatier with delectable gift sets.
Sadie’s Handcrafted Mexican Ice Cream, San Diego
Scoops of Beso de Ángel (top) and Chocolate Abuelita in a homemade waffle cone. Photo by Kimberly Motos
Located in a bustling complex just off Interstate 805 in south San Diego, Sadie’s Handcrafted Mexican Ice Cream is a pretty-in-pink ice cream parlor, named after one of the owner’s daughters.
Sharing space with its sister restaurant, Taquería Revolución, Sadie’s puts a Mexican twist on artisanal ice cream with flavors based on traditional drinks and desserts. Successful interpretations include the coffee- and cinnamon-spiked café de olla; a frozen version of Mexican hot chocolate; and the mazapan, based on a sweet peanut candy.
The Beso de Ángel (kiss of an angel) is a Oaxacan treat that contains cherries, nuts, and marshmallows. There are also dairy-free fruit flavors like mango, strawberry, and lime. The menu offers single or double scoops in a freshly made waffle cone as well as shakes and ice cream sandwiches made with doughnuts sourced from the L.A. area’s famed Randy’s Donuts. —Candice Woo
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Tableau Kitchen and Bar, Costa Mesa
The cauliflower steak from Tableau Kitchen and Bar comes topped with yuzu chimichurri. Photo by Holley Sao
Toast Kitchen and Bakery, a popular Costa Mesa brunch spot from Wahoo’s Fish Taco co-founder Ed Lee and chef John Park, became an instant hit with its Asian-American influences and finely tuned flavors. Now, the duo have moved beyond breakfast with South Coast Plaza’s Tableau Kitchen and Bar. Morning mainstays recall the best of Toast Kitchen (jasmine milk tea French toast, for example), but dinner brings something new.
Share a charred cauliflower steak with yuzu chimichurri or a Dungeness crab salad with pickled mustard seeds and dandelion oil. Entrées are just as interesting. Consider the rigatoni amatriciana in a Thai-influenced tom yum sauce with pancetta and Thai basil or the grilled salmon with misugaru gnocchi, lima bean pesto, and a fish sauce vinaigrette. Desserts delight, particularly the lemongrass panna cotta with yuzu granita and the airy chocolate mousse cake with coffee ice cream. —Miles Clements
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Jessica Foster Confections, Santa Barbara
The Lover's Crate by Jessica Foster Confections. Photo by Silas Fallstich
Chocolate is always a good idea. Santa Barbara–based chocolatier Jessica Foster Confections creates handmade truffles and other sweets year-round, but the chocolate guru’s seasonal treats nestled in reclaimed-wood crates are especially perfect for gifting.
For Valentine’s Day, she offers 2 heart-capturing gift boxes. The Be Mine Crate includes assorted truffles, dark chocolate garam masala peanut butter bonbons, a “s’more love” heart, a “nuts for you” dark chocolate heart, and caramelized almonds. The Lover’s Crate contains assorted truffles, caramel-filled dark chocolate heart bonbons, a “nuts for you” heart, a hot and smoky heart, and herbed Marcona almond brittle.
For Easter, the Hippity Hoppity Crate includes assorted chocolate truffles, sea salt caramel–filled dark chocolate eggs, herbed Marcona almond brittle, and a dark chocolate bunny filled with caramel and vanilla marshmallow. The Spring Crate offers sea salt caramel–filled dark chocolate eggs, a solid milk chocolate salt-and-pepper bunny, assorted truffles, herbed Marcona almond brittle, and sea salt caramels. Gift crates can be shipped or picked up locally.—Nancy Ransohoff
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