Solunto has closed. It will be missed.
mmm-yoso is being blogged by Cathy today. Kirk is doing something else. Ed is sweltering.
Hi, again. The Mister and I were downtown early on Saturday morning and wanted breakfast. We have a few "regular" spots we like to go to before the crowds (and parking meters) kick into gear, and since I do blog about the foods I eat…here we go!
Solunto Bakery on India Street. Been there forever. They supply the bread to most of the Italian restaurants- in a par baked form- so it is always fresh. We go to the source.
Technically the food area in the back is "Honey Bee Ltd." It is run by the same ladies who work in the bakery. They use the same cash register.
The red menu is the breakfast menu; the middle one is the sandwich and specialties menu and the third, more yellow one is the bakery items price sheet. (Click onto any photo to enlarge)
I got the spinach and cheese two egg omelet ($6.95) It comes with the potatoes and a fresh roll and butter. You can watch the ladies crack the eggs and make the omelet and grab a par-baked Frenchette roll and warm it in the convection oven. (You can buy the par baked frenchettes for 40¢ each or $4.35/dozen).
You can see from this cross section that there is plenty of fresh spinach inside the omelet. The cheese was a mild cheddar. The potatoes are nicely crispy on the outside and flavorful, soft on the inside…olive oil for cooking, Not overly buttery. Of course the Frenchette is excellent. Crispy outside, with a great sesame flavor in every bite.
The Mister saw the calzone in the refrigerator case and asked if we could have one heated up for breakfast…of course we could! ($5.95)
As you can see, it is filled with ham, pepperoni and capicola as well as the nicest, creamiest, freshest ricotta and mozzarella I have had in a long time, surrounded by that wonderful handmade crust. The sauce for dipping was a very nice tomato based one, with a slight amount of garlic and olive oil added. Just right. Tastes so fresh.
The regular coffee here is, meh, and the cappuccino is better with breakfast, but we knew we were heading to the New Downtown Albertson's (it has a Peets inside) and so we just got a regular coffee on this day.
We always get something par baked ( panini are 55¢ each or $5.75/dozen or a demi loaf $1.75), but I didn't take a picture and since it is Tuesday, well, it's gone.
Occasionally, as it says on the menu, they have Sfingi for 25¢ each or 5/$1 and I grab them up when I can…(basically small fried donut holes, made with orange and lemon zest- usually eaten for the Feast of San Guiseppe- and sometimes stuffed with a ricotta mixture if you get it from a Good Italian Home)(The Mister and I had some from this teensy bakery in Naples, still warm, and it brings back good memories to taste the warm orange/lemon flavoring in a lightly fried dough…)
Solunto Bakery and Honey Bee Ltd. 1643 India Street San Diego 92101 (619) 233-0881