Nothing says “class” quite like French cuisine, and at East Village’s Café Chloe, located at 721 Ninth Ave., the menu and interior design are the epitome of this statement.
Whether it’s cool and breezy or one of the sun-filled days that San Diego is famous for, the sidewalk-style patio is great for getting fresh air and people watching during your meal. The quaint indoor tables and posh bar are just as lovely and perfect for enjoying brunch, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner.
Café Chloe’s menu features locally grown and raised ingredients from the likes of Suzie’s Farm, Sage Mountain Farm, Jidory Poultry and Crow’s Pass – showing that both quality and sustainability are key points to their mission. Dive into their menu to see these two entities collide in a mind-boggling fashion.
Every meal from brunch to dinner is available at Chloe, and though the traditional breakfast ingredients of eggs, ham and toast are used, the variation is uniquely French.
One such dish – the croque madame sandwich – is the perfect combination of ham, gruyere, sunny-side up eggs and a healthy portion of mornay sauce that screams with caloric bliss. The sandwich is served with a simple salad of lightly dressed baby mixed greens and a sundried tomato, making it the perfect plate of farm-fresh greenery and gooey comfort.
If something light and fresh better fits your idea of breakfast, then the Greek yogurt with apricot-hazelnut granola and lavender honey is a great starter dish. As a main dish, the breakfast salad will fill you up a little better – just don’t guilt trip yourself over the delicious brioche croutons, pancetta and poached egg that gracefully accompany the frisée.
Dinner items at Café Chloe are equally as decadent as their brunch and breakfast counterparts. A quintessential French dish – moules et frites (mussels and fries, for the not-so-language inclined) – gets a bit of a twist with a Belgian ale infused cream sauce with leeks. Dip the fries in the sauce in between slurping down the mollusks for an astonishing balance of flavors.
For some, brunch is pointless without a little libation to kick start the morning and Café Chloe is happy to oblige. Their bloody Mary and several varieties of mimosas await the eager day drinker.
