Huckleberry Bakery & Cafe

"Everything you need for a Thanksgiving feast is here at this Santa Monica cafe: organic 48-hour brined roasted turkey, smashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, buttermilk biscuits, and more. The deadline to order is November 17th at 3pm, which you can do here." - kat hong, nikko duren, garrett snyder

"Seriously, who was in charge of naming all the berries? They did fine with blackberries and blueberries, but strawberries and raspberries make no sense. And then you get to boysenberries, lingonberries, huckleberries, and snozzberries. Are they even real? Turns out most of those are actual berries, but it also turns out that eggplants are berries, so we’re still pretty confused. Whether or not you care if huckleberries are in fact berries and not something Roald Dahl made up, you need to be eating at Huckleberry, a cafe and bakery in Santa Monica that feels like it’s been there forever. They may not sell anything containing actual huckleberries (yep, they’re real), but this is one of our favorite bakeries on the Westside. Actually, it’s one of our favorite spots on the Westside, period. In a world of grain bowls and cruffins and maple bacon goat cheese pine nut donuts, Huckleberry is decidedly old school. There’s nothing on the menu that you haven’t seen before - it’s just that those things are better here than anywhere else. Kale caesar salads, fried egg sandwiches, chilaquiles, and cinnamon rolls are all present. But that cinnamon roll is easily one of the best in town, and the fried egg sandwich is the platonic ideal of comfort food. Which is basically what Huckleberry is: comfort in restaurant form. photo credit: Matt Armendariz The whole place feels like a country kitchen: wooden tables, slightly rickety chairs, very friendly staff. Despite being loud and essentially always having a line, Huckleberry is overall low key. You order at the counter from the same full breakfast and lunch menu every day - including weekends - so if the thought of brunch makes you want to curl up in the fetal position, Huckleberry is your kind of place. But really, this is everybody’s kind of place. What looks like a simple salad and sandwich joint is way more than that. Huckleberry brings the kind of comforting familiarity that makes you feel like your grandmother will come out of the kitchen, or you might see Huckleberry Finn himself causing a ruckus near the baked goods. You’ll just have to find the huckleberries themselves somewhere else. Food Rundown photo credit: Emily Hart Roth Green Eggs & Ham You’re probably not eating these in a boat or with a goat, but you should still be eating them at Huckleberry. Because there aren’t many better things in life than poached eggs with prosciutto and basil pesto. Except maybe the English muffins they come on top of. If you don’t order this, get a side of the muffins - they shouldn’t be missed. photo credit: Emily Hart Roth Fried Egg Sandwich You can’t really go wrong ordering anything that comes between slices of bread at Huckleberry, but if you’re having trouble deciding, just go for this guy. The eggs come perfectly runny, the bacon is thick, and you can pretend arugula counts as being healthy. Huck Caesar Yes we know a kale caesar salad is the most basic of all the basics, but we don’t care, this one is delicious. Falafel Salad A salad in the loosest sense of the word. Not-at-all greasy falafel come on top of a white bean puree, with tomatoes and cucumbers and arugula on the side to mix in. Another way that you can feel like you’re being healthy, even if you’re probably not. Roasted Turkey Salad Sandwich If only our Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches were this good. The turkey is done chicken salad style (aka lots of mayo), with cheddar cheese, spinach, and cranberry compote. The best part is possibly the onion focaccia that it’s all between. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Pastries If you come to Huckleberry and don’t get a pastry, you are doing life wrong. The cinnamon rolls and kouign amann are legendary for good reason, but the crostada, cookies, and coffee cake are all worth your time as well. So yeah, you should probably come back here enough times to try them all." - Jess Basser Sanders

"Most people think of Huckleberry as that breakfast place where you have to stand in a line for a while, changing your mind ten times about whether to get that berry crostata or not. But this ignores the fact that the line is worth it and that lunch here is the best time to go, especially if you order the roasted turkey sandwich. And you can always still get a crostata too." - sylvio martins, jess basser sanders

"This excellent Santa Monica bakery is currently serving a variety of holiday treats. For Christmas Eve, they’ve got specials like a whole-roasted chicken, braised short ribs, and a bunch of sides and desserts. All details for ordering here." - brett keating

"The Santa Monica cafe is taking preorders for its organic pumpkin and double-crust apple pies through November 17th, with a "take & bake" option if you want to pull it out fresh from the oven at home. " - sylvio martins