Flower Child
2690 Via de la Valle, Del Mar
eatflowerchild
Healthy food is no longer a penance. The biggest trend in American restaurants is healthy gourmet, and San Diego’s newest addition is Flower Child. Yes, it’s a chain. In general, chains are garbage. But this is a good one, a spin-off of the chef-centric True Food Kitchen.
Occupying the former Sea & Smoke space in Flower Hill Promenade, Executive Chef Steven Molina (ex-Kitchen 1540, -Delicias) is overseeing quality control of standouts like the crushed avocado toast with soft egg, black sesame, and white cheddar, and the Mother Earth Bowl with ancient grains and veggies (and a killer broccoli pesto). How to fail: Forget to order the Kale-Aid.
The space is bright, happy, colorful, and has “yoga mat parking.” The target demo is crystal clear.
Photo by John Dole