I've been singing praises to Will's dessert cafe Eclipse Chocolat for almost two years now and with good reason. Though I am a self proclaimed sugar-fiend, I don't enjoy desserts just for their sugar content. I want various harmonized flavors to accent a dessert with sugar as a compliment, not the main event.
Eclipse has adopted a new system for its famed seasonal dessert plates. In the past, items from dessert plates were unique to that season. Thus, if you particularly enjoyed something, ya got no luck in seeing it ever again. Now, however, there is a rotating selection of six items (choose four) that make up the dessert plate, guaranteeing new experiences as well as trusty old stand-bys.
On my most recent visit (July 09), I had the pleasure of enjoying Eclipse's new gelato sandwiches (gelatowiches) along with Will's phenomenal bread pudding, which friends and I just can't get enough of. We'll skip over the bread pudding and focus on gelatowiches since I've raved and rambled about them far too much in the past.
Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwich - bourbon caramel gelatoBest of the two. Firm yet soft and yielding cookies are the star in this creation. It has been almost a month since this photo was taken, but I distinctly remember rich, fragrant flavors of brown sugar, sweet malts, caramel, and perhaps some cocoa. Dunno about ginger though...*@#$^!!! This is what happens when one puts off a blog entry for too long. Well what this means is, you guys get to go buy one and give me additional details. That way I can both taste it vicariously and provide a thorough review!
If Eclipse Chocolat had the option of shipping these babies, I'd probably order a dozen.
If Eclipse Chocolat had the option of shipping these babies, I'd probably order a dozen.
Sea Salt Nib Ice Cream Sandwich cyprus sea salt, cocoa nib-flecked cookies, banana-brown sugar gelato
Excellent combination of flavors, though this particular gelatowich was a touch too salty. Creamy malt and banana flavors dominate the palate with a brown sugar backbone while cocoa nibs and sea salt accent each bite. Cookie consistency and moistness were spot-on--soft and chewy with enough structure to hold this behemoth together.
The two featured sandwiches were plated with a not-to-be-missed mixed berry and sticky toffee bread pudding, but they totally stole the show. They appear as "normal" 3-4 mouthful sandwiches, but make no mistake, each beast of a gelatowich is the size of my palm.
You could share with someone, of course....but that just leaves you with less gelatowich to enjoy.
Life's too short for sharing. Order a plate for yourself and tell your friends to get with the program.
Be sure to check out my other Eclipse Chocolat posts to see what you've missed in the past year and a half!
Eclipse Chocolat
2121 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, California 92104
619.578.2984
6 comments:
Good to see you back at eclipse again! You're not in SD anymore, right?
Those look amazing. A reason to get down to Eclipse and check it out.
dude
gelato sandwiches? i'm there! sea salt nib is my fave (and my husband's too)...
When I travel out of California, I bring sea-salt nibs as my California gift for folks. As far as I'm concerned, Eclipse is the only *world-class* establishment in San Diego.
I went to Eclipse a few months ago and was not impressed. Maybe I need to check it out again ...
Damn. I gotta try those sea salt nibs especially since both CC and BBQ dude give the thumbs up... thanks for the rec, girl & guy!
Aw boo :(, LMC. I haven't been in San Diego for a really long time now so can't really discuss your recent experience, but I will acknowledge that sometimes certain desserts just are not for everyone. The coco-nib frozen banana from awhile back was only so-so, for example, but one of my college buds really dug it.
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