They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I 100% agree. Brunch is the best meal: rich, savory, filling and has the best cocktails! In Brunch Ya Know? I feature my favorite brunch spots in San Diego. Dig in & enjoy! xoxo, natoutandabout
Calling all chocoholics! Sweet meets savory at Eclipse Chocolate ! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! Reserve your one-of-a-kind dining experiences. I recently went with my love to try their for a scrumptious and delectable brunch. I had the pleasure of meeting Will Gustwiller, owner and operator of Eclipse Chocolate.
Natalie Neece: What is your background in chocolate making?
Will Gustwiller: While I was in art school, I enjoyed making culinary creations utilizing my crafting skills. When I graduated with my MFA in sculpture from SDSU, I even catered my MFA exhibition, which was the first opportunity I had to share my chocolate hobby with the public. Since then, it’s been very rewarding to it grow to a company that supports more than 2 dozen folks on my team.
NN: What inspired your menu to be chocolate, caramel and vanilla based?
WG: Initially, presenting exotic savory infusions in chocolate confections was a fascinating experiment, especially from the perspective of an artist. After the dessert cafe opened, I designed a chocolate-themed menu for our very first Valentine’s Day Supper Club event. It was so well received, it seemed like an obvious conclusions to turn the concept of exotic chocolate inside out, to feature savory foods with an exotic chocolate infusion!
NN: What is the Chocolate Threeway dinner and what Valentine’s specials do you have?
WG: We have these events at least once a month. The next tasting is actually a partnership with the San Diego Opera, where chocolate, cheese, and wine will be paired with opera from Bizet’s Carmen! You can find full details including tickets through the opera here: https://www.sdopera.org/engage/taste-of-opera We’ll have another on March 2nd with Cellar 3, and tickets are available here: https://chocolatethreeway.eventbrite.com
Upcoming Dinners
WG: We have these events at least once a month. The next tasting is actually a partnership with the San Diego Opera, where chocolate, cheese, and wine will be paired with opera from Bizet’s Carmen! You can find full details including tickets through the opera here: https://www.sdopera.org/engage/taste-of-opera We’ll have another on March 2nd with Cellar 3, and tickets are available here: https://chocolatethreeway.eventbrite.com
EC: Supper Club, Sweetheart Dinner
Friday, February 10th & Saturday, February 11th
Five course French-inspired menu for $110 per couple (gratuity included)
Find the full menu here. RSVP online and buy your tickets here.
Valentine’s Date Night
Tuesday, February 14th
Our famous Date Night Deal becomes even more decadent, Valentine’s Night only
$85 / couple (not including tax and tip — a $120 value)
Includes:
2 mains, 2 sides, 1 dessert from our Nightly Dinner Menu
1 premium bottle of wine (select from 5 different $50 bottles) & a box of 9 truffles
RSVP online.
Eclipse Chocolate Brunch
Daily brunch service tasting combo including choice of main & side $17.00 (what a deal!)
I began my day with Drinking Chocolate: smoked brown sugar [44% milk] & added a shot of espresso.
What I indulged in
Main:
Biscuits & Gravy roasted garlic & parmesan biscuit+roasted white chocolate+sausage gravy+cress
Side:
Bacon & Buttermilk toast maple muscovado glazed bacon+buttermilk toast+jam+orange vanilla butter
Main: ( I obviously tried the Benedict!!)
Avocado Benedict sous vide farmhouse egg+hickory salted avocado+toast+chile burnt caramel hollandaise
Side:
Sea salted potatoes fried golden potato wedge & leek+chile burnt caramel hollandaise+serrano sea salt+chive
PS: Ask for a side of their Vanilla Bean Aioli & Cherry Chocolate Mole sauce
What Eclipse Chocolate offers (other than a bomb chocolate brunch)
Located in quaint & trendy South Park
They proudly pledge 10% of our net profits to local non-profits & charities.
They proudly get all of their cacao from Guittard Chocolate in San Francisco. The chocolate is Fair Trade Certified offering quality and sustainability.
Artisan Production: All of their products are made with love, all hand produced & packaged by hand in small batches, including their breads, pastries, & the components in their confections. Pick up some chocolate for your loved ones for Valentine’s Day!! <3
Who likes events?? I sure do! Here is what’s brewing this month at Eclipse
Eclipse Chocolate founder/chef Will Gustwiller will compete on the February 12 episode at 8/7c of Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games The episode challenges include transforming a German chocolate cake into a lunch, making a chocolate dessert with a budget determined by an arcade game and, in the final game of the episode, two chefs will use surprise ingredients to make a romantic chocolate dinner. Contestants have the chance to win up to $20,000.
Fans can also attend a re-airing of the episode at Eclipse Chocolate on Saturday, February 18 at 5 or 8 p.m. featuring a multi-course tasting for $40 per person. Additional details will be available on EclipseChocolate.com as the date draws near; reservations are available by calling Eclipse Chocolate at (619) 578-2984.
One last chocolate note:
On February 23rd, Eclipse Chocolate will debut monthly Build-A-Bar Workshops at which guests can enjoy a drink and make two chocolate bars using 30+ ingredients for $25. Eclipse previously offered Build-A-Bar Workshops only annually, but when 400 people signed up last year they decided to increase frequency. #yum
Along with the Build-A-Bar workshop, next month Eclipse Chocolate will launch a Build-A-Bar website allowing fans nationwide to customize chocolate bar flavors that are then shipped to their door. This will be one of the nation’s first artisanal DIY chocolate experiences offered on such a scale, and given the wide range of ingredients there are 72,000 possible combinations.