Mother's Day Brunch: La Gran Terraza

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my family's horrible brunch experience during Easter. Oddly, I was at that same restaurant a year ago on Mother's Day and it was only slightly better than Easter this year. So for this Mother's Day, I needed a place that would please my mom. I started planning about a week and a half ago, scouring the internet for a good place for brunch that would meet my mom's criteria:

1) Wouldn't cost us a small fortune for 4 people
2) Had a view

3) Good food

http://www.opentable.com/ had a listing of some places that had availability for brunch but unfortunately, not for the best times. It was either really early or later in the day. I was not going to make the mistake of going too late in the day, that things would run out like on Easter. Listed on the site was a restaurant that I had never heard of before called the La Gran Terraza on the University of San Diego campus. Hm, kinda sketchy because it use to be the faculty dining hall back in the day. Is the food going to be like cafeteria food? I did a little more research on Yelp.com and it received decent comments so I made a reservation. I'm so glad I did! I couldn't have been more pleased with this restaurant. So lets go over my mom's criteria:

1) Cost: Mother's Day Brunch at La Gran Terraza was $35.00 per person ($19.95 on a regular Sunday. See the restaurant website for the menu because I believe it is different when it isn't a holiday). Terrific price compared to the large hotels that were charging $50+ per person.

2) View: I actually went to high school across the street from the USD campus so I know all about that view. From the terrace seating, you could see Mission Bay and from other parts of the restaurant, with the huge floor to ceiling windows, you could see Tecolote Canyon. Inside, there are light neutral colors, plenty of natural light, dark hardwood floors, and touches of the old mission style architecture with a nice double sided fire place. Everything is very open...the tables are far enough apart that you don't feel like you are eavesdropping on the next table's conversation. The theme for Mother's Day was buttery yellow with lots of flowers for the mom's to enjoy.

3) Food: As you might remember, the one thing my mom wanted from the previous brunch was snow crab legs but after about 2 small pieces, they ran out. La Gran Terraza did not disappoint. They had two large ice displays with mounds of fresh pre-peeled shrimp, king crab legs (already split), smoked salmon, and oysters on a half shell. Other than the great seafood, their other main focus was on breakfast foods. The had an omlette station and waffle/french toast station that was quick and had plenty of choices for toppings/fillings. They even had a "Kid's Corner" that catered to the picky tastes of little kids: mac and cheese, chicken fingers, whole wheat pizza, and mini pancakes. One of the best items that I had at this brunch was the prime rib. Most buffets have a prime rib that's been sitting under a heat lamp for so long, it it gets tasteless and dry (remember the one that made my aunt's silverware fly?) The restaurant was contstantly bring out a new piece so it was always fresh and tender. I'm not that big of a fan of prime rib but this was excellent. I wish I had room for more of the yummy food!

Of course, just as I did with the other place comes my favorite part. Although I couldn't eat much of it, I'm always impressed with the desserts and the presentations. The dessert table was the centerpiece of the brunch and I'm sure you'll see why with my pictures. The website listed Tony Martin as the pastry chef and all I have to say is, well done Mr. Martin! I hope you take a moment to appreciate the presentation of the desserts like I did.



Chocolate Centerpiece
Cool! It's like what they make on the competitions on the Food Network.



Chocolate Fountain with almost anything you would want to dip in chocolate



Assorted Tarts and Cakes
I couldn't tell you what most of these were because I obviously couldn't try everything or I would have been in a serious sugar coma.



Triple Chocolate Martini Pot de Creme
One of the prettiest presentations and very popular because a lot of people were carrying this one around. Unfortunately no one at our table had room to taste it!

 

Lemon Merguine Tarts.
I'd like to recreate this one sometime but I'm not sure I could make the meringue so pretty!



Panna Cotta & Apricot Gelee
 I apologize for the missing bites in the picture. I saw it on the dessert display and it was so interesting looking, I had to know what it was in it!



Myers Rum Profieroles
 My mom says not many people make their cream puffs like this anymore with the hard sugar glaze and disc. She was impressed.

The last plus side to the brunch at La Gran Terraza was the service. When I made the reservations online, one of the managers called the following day to confirm. The hostesses were pleasent and very orgranized...I did not have to wait for them to get my table ready. Although it was brunch, the wait staff was extremely friendly and came by several times to see that we had everything we needed. One friendly waiter (I wish I had asked his name) even took the time to describe the desserts to me so I could pass on what everything was ;)

La Gran Terraza met all three of my mom's requests. It made me happy to see my mom happy with what was presented at this brunch. Sometimes it's good to try something new and it's always a bonus when the experience is this good. I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

La Gran Terraza - University of San Diego

5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110

Phone: (619) 849-8205

Website: http://www.sandiego.edu/dining/lagranterraza/

Suehine Note: This is a review of the holiday brunch at La Gran Terraza. I have not tried their happy hour, lunch, or dinner menu but I hope to do so sometime soon.

A Cake Fit for a (future) King and Queen

When I first heard about the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine "Kate" Middleton, I probably didn't have the same reaction as most women.


"Aww he gave her his mother's ring!"
"What designer will Kate wear?"
"He sure did wait long enough to propose to her!"
"What celebrities are invited to the wedding?"
"But I'm supposed to marry Prince William!!"

My first reaction: "I wonder what their wedding cake will look like!" Okay, okay I know most of you are pretty sick of hearing about the wedding and are happy that it's finally over with so I'm just going to do a quick commentary on the wedding cake because, well, I'm a baker and I think that Fiona Cairns deserves all the recognition for the beautiful cake she created.

Source for all pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy/

Kudos to Fiona Cairns for leaving her graphics design job in the mid 80s to pursue something that she loved doing. She started her business making cakes for friends at her kitchen table and now here she is selling thousands of cakes a week to some of the biggest stores in London. Then to be chosen to make the cake for a royal wedding is amazing. I'm sure thousands of pastry chefs would have died to have that opportunity. From the distant photo of the cake, it looks so simple but up close, it's insane how many details are on this cake. The 8 tiers of fruitcake (I know some of you are making that yucky face but I personally like fruitcake!) covered in cream and icing took her and her team 5 weeks to complete. The piping (the intricate designs on the cake) and string work (royal icing that hangs suspended away from the cake itself) are beautiful and I could not imagine how much time that alone took. Coming from a person who is learning to pipe details, it's not in any way easy on your hands that NEED to remain steady. There are 900 (!!!!) sugar paste flowers of 17 varieties that range from roses, shamrocks, orange and apple blossoms, acorn and oak leaves, etc. that have different meanings for the couple and their families. The only thing that I wish this cake had was a little color. I understand that the bride wanted to keep it elegant but for it being a spring wedding, I think it would have popped more if it were like an English garden and had touches of color here and there in the flowers. But then I saw the groom's cake made by McVities.....

....I think I understood why it was all white. I think the two cakes were a perfect contrast to each other with the groom's cake being dark, angular, and had modern water lilies....very masculine while the main wedding cake is light, rounded, and covered in traditional flowers. You can tell there was not only a lot of hard work but lots of thought put into these cakes.


As a few people know, I'll be heading to London in the fall and I would love to indulge a tiny bit by purchasing a McVities chocolate biscuit (from what I understand, it's like a shortbread cookie to us in the States) and one of Fiona Cairns's fruitcakes from Harrod's. Her website boasts that her cakes not only look good but they taste just as good.


On a side note, I'm currently taking a cake design and flowers cake class on Monday nights. I had my first class last night and we made button flowers and pansies. What did I learn tonight in class: 1) Gum paste and fondant are NOT my mediums of choice. 2) My teacher talks really really fast so who knows what I'll be able to retain 3) I need to put my wedding ring away before class (it went flying when I took it off to roll fondant. I nearly had a heart attack but I did find it!) Next week I'll be making sugar flowers made of royal icing and I'll finally have a piping bag in hand....something I know I am much better at. I promise I'll give an update next week on how class goes. Fiona Cairns better watch out! I might be making Prince Harry's wedding cake soon! ;D


Fiona Cairns website: http://www.fionacairns.com/

Source for more cake details and the meanings for the various flowers: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1381944/Royal-Wedding-cake-Kate-Middleton-requested-8-tiers-decorated-900-flowers.html