A New Local Habit for Hillcrest

BY CANDICE WOO

Hillcrest’s Pizza Fusion has closed, but by early July, a new restaurant should be popping up in its place. The co-founders of Eco Caters, an all-organic catering company with locations in San Diego and L.A., have taken over the space and renamed it Local Habit.

The team is currently testing recipes, but they plan to utilize the built-in pizza oven to create 11-inch Napoletana-style pizzas, available with white, wheat and gluten-free crusts. Toppings will be sourced from organic farms in California, including Suzie’s Farm and pizza flavors—seven in all with two rotating specials—will include quattro formaggio, braised pork and bacon & egg. The menu will be rounded out by salads, bar snack and sides and sandwiches made with homemade bread, including a B.L.T. with house cured bacon and “The Habit Sandwich,” a pickled beef sandwich with house made aioli, sautéed kale and pickled onions.

Local Habit’s drinks will come exclusively from California, which means a lot of craft beer—Stone, AleSmith and Russian River—and boutique wines, plus handmade sodas.

San Diego catering company, Eco Caters, loves the San Diego Oceans Foundation and wanted to give back to them. We teamed up with a few other leading local chefs to provide the SD Oceans Foundation gala with yummy sustainable seafood dishes. All seafood was donated by our friends at Carlsbad Aqua Farm and Catalina Offshore. San Diego caterer, Eco Caters, brought out our love of southern food with our Chargrilled Oysters with Louisiana Liqueur and Parmesan Cheese. Guest were raving over them. The event was held at a beautiful home in Ranch Santa Fe, there was live music and a silent auction, all helping to raise money for the SD Oceans Foundation. They also had students from Scripps Oceanography program talking about each type of sustainable seafood, which San Diego catering company, Eco Caters found very interesting!

The mission of the San Diego Oceans Foundation is to promote ocean stewardship by leading community-supported projects that enhance the ocean habitat and encourage sustainable use of the oceans resources. SDOF recruits and trains community members to assist with our marine programs. These volunteers work at the grass-roots level where they learn new skills and become educated in marine conservation efforts. This is all something the San Diego caterer, Eco Caters believes in and was so happy we got a chance to support them. Check out how you can get involved at SDoceans.org

We want to thank all of our amazing clients and friends for voting for Eco Caters as one of  the best caterers in San Diego. This year Eco Caters rose from 5th place (2009) to 4th place in 2010. We are also the only caterer to be on the list 2 years in a row! Eco Caters works hard to provide a fresh take on catering, using local and organic ingredients during all of their events. Thank you San Diego!

San Diego Catering company Eco Caters provides a picnic lunch for Cesar Millan and Scooby-Doo

Cesar Millan and his Great Dog Adventure hit San Diego this week. The event  featured a  50-dog pack walk in San Diego led by Cesar Millan, a picnic lunch catered by green company Eco Caters, live animal presentation, and opportunities to explore the San Diego Zoo, a book signing with Scooby-Doo and Cesar Millan, and a giant scavenger hunt.

Dog enthusiast filled Heritage Park in Old Town for a delicious picnic lunch and some family fun. Organic catering company Eco Caters provided freshly made wraps, chips and brownies for all the volunteers and event attendees. Eco Caters is a San Diego based company that uses all organic food, purchased from local farmers. Eco Caters also subscribes to a “no-waste” mentality, which makes a difference at an event this size.  They compost all of their food scraps and never waste any food.

The picnic was filled with dog loving people and their adorable pooches, all set on the amazing Heritage Park lawn. Heritage Park, maintained by the San Diego County Department of Parks & Recreation, is home to stately Victorian homes that were moved there during the ’40s in order to protect them for generations to come. The area includes Senlis Cottage 1896, Sherman-Gilbert House 1887, Italiante Christian House 1889, Queen Anne McConaughy House 1887, Stick Eastlake Burton House 1887, Classic Revival Temple Beth Israel 1889, Classic revival and the oldest Jewish temple in the city.

It is an amazing place for a wedding, party, and of course the Great Dog Adventure.  The Great Dog Adventure, created by Cesar Millan and his team was the first event of this kind. It featured a contest to win a vacation in San Diego and more doggie prizes. Guest got the pleasure to meet and learn from Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan.

Eco Caters Provided Organic Catering for the Rock and Roll Marathon

We were pleased to get the chance to work with Competitor Group again for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. This year Eco Caters provided breakfast, appetizers and dinner for the VIP tent.  The VIP tent hosted many elite athletes and stars of the running world. After winning his first marathon in an astounding 2:09:56, Richard Limo was seen mingling in the VIP tent. Bill Walton was also spotted enjoying some of our healthy, organic catered cuisine in the VIP tent.

For breakfast elite athletes and friends feasted on sweet Mixed Pastries, Muffins, Assorted Bagels with Cream Cheese and Honey Whipped Butter, and a Fresh Fruit Platter. As runners started coming in they were treated to a Mezze Platter with Hummus Trio, Tabouli, Olives Salad, and Grilled Flatbread, Antipasto with Marinated Artichoke, Sweet Peppers with Arugula, Marinated Cherry Tomato with Mozzarella, Mixed Olives and Salami, and Southern Pasta Salad with Local Olives, Celery, Onion, and Lemon. Servers passed savory sliders including; Grilled Eggplant sliders with Tomato, Arugula, and Marjoram Aioli, Bacon sliders with Arugula and Cave Aged Gruyere, and Grassfed Beef Sliders with Smoked Cheddar and Caramalized Onions. Later on in the day Organic Catering company Eco Caters served a fresh Farmers Market Salad, healthy Grilled Chicken Breast with Mango and Avocado, pretty Albacore Stuffed Tomato with Nicoise Olive, Cilantro Red Pepper Rice, Grilled Farmers Market Vegetables, and Fresh Fruit.

In efforts to host a more sustainable event, Competitor Group has been working with Eco Caters, an organic catering company,  for the past three years at both the San Diego and Los Angeles marathons. We feel that this is a great partnership, as healthy, fresh and tasty organic catered food couples great with hungry endurance athletes.

You can read more about the race and winners in this Union Tribune article. Check out Limo in front of the Eco Caters Banner!

Eco Caters started as the brainchild of the two organic food munching friends Adam Hiner and Chef Nicholas Brune. The idea, according to Hiner and Brune, was based on their own passion for organic foods and the growing market demand for catering services that prepared organic foods.

Unlike traditional catering services, Eco Caters serves only organically grown foods and practices eco-friendly catering habits.

“Being organic and eco-friendly separates us from competition, and we saw that as something that would benefit our company” said Hiner.

Hiner and Brune estimate that the catering business will have earned $500,000 in gross sales by the end of 2009. Since Eco Caters has already booked many events next year, Hiner and Brune predict that sales will double once again, putting their 2010 year end gross sales at $1 million. The Eco Caters Company plans to launch the Grass Roots Grill, an organic fast food restaurant, in San Diego as early as spring 2010.

You can read the full article here. Thanks SDNN!

Adam Hiner, co-owner of Ecocaters; which specializes in organic catering, gives a few wise words for those busy brides planning their weddings published in the San Diego News Room website:

“First, figure out, with or without your wedding coordinator’s input, some kind of a budget. With the benefit of a budget your wedding coordinator can help you with every step of the process, including finding a venue, which should be the top priority. When looking for a venue, remember some venues require you to use their catering, some have preferred catering lists and some will let you use any caterer you want.  If you want flexibility with your caterer, use a venue that will allow it.”

In addition to a few practical tips, Adam also includes valuable advice that many stressed out brides may overlook.

“Make sure to implement your own style and creativity in all aspects of your wedding.  If someone else picks everything out for you, it might look nice, but it won’t be a reflection of who you are.  The more involved you are, the better your wedding will be.”

For the full article, find it at this link  http://sandiegonewsroom.com/news/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33103:skip-the-stress-plan-ahead&catid=185:wedding-articles&Itemid=252

Eco Caters is a full service catering company specializing in weddings and serving all of Southern California. We would love to schedule a meeting to help coordinate your next San Diego catering event. We specialize in many areas, but we love helping Brides plan their wedding day and making sure that the day is absolutely flawless. If you want organic catering from local farms and you are getting married in Southern California then you have come to the right place.

Recipes on page 92 include:
Stuffed Tofurkey with Organic Pumpkin Rissotto and Dried Cranberries (pictured)
Organic Broccolini and Gala Apple Slaw
Local Asparagus, Pomegranate, and Pepper Salad

Chef Brune will be posting a couple recipes every other month with Coco Eco Magazine so be sure to check back in for the Valentines issue.

http://cocoecomag.com/
Chef Nick Brune will be posting 2 organic vegetarian recipes in every issue of Coco Eco and will also be answering any questions about how to “green” your next private event.