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Everyday Eats: Brussels Pie at Voila

This new salad bar in La Jolla also stocks some tasty desserts

By Erin Jackson August 5, 2013

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Everyday Eats: Brussels Pie at Voila

Erin Jackson

Despite repeatedly sending out the Bat Signal over the past few years for a new pie shop to open in San Diego, it would seem my/our collective wishes haven’t been answered. We were getting by with Rachel Caygill’s lattice-crusted spiced apple pies at Bankers Hill Bar & Restaurant (and then later, whole pies by special order), but now that she’s packed up and moved to Arizona, once again, it’s pretty much Julian Pies or bust… unless your definition of pie is a bit more flexible.

Voila, a new built-it-yourself salad bar and cafe that recently opened on Pearl Street in La Jolla, puts out an impressive variety of pre-packed and ready to go desserts, including raspberry tarts, chocolate mousse, cheesecake, and this Brussels Pie ($4.50). In Dutch, it’s called Rijsttaart, or just Belgian Rice Pie in English.

Belgian-born co-owner Laurent Hebbelinck says the dessert has roots in Verviers, Liège (a province in Belgium that’s also famous for waffles). Made of rice, milk, and vanilla, the pie tastes a lot like rice pudding. Voila veers a bit from the traditional recipe, adding a few shakes of cinnamon, which gives it a bit more dimension.

Everyday Eats: Brussels Pie at Voila

Erin Jackson

Served cold, right out of the cooler, a slice is nice with a milky glass of iced coffee, and since it’s not overly sweet (and quite filling) you could even make a solid argument for eating it for breakfast. Really.

Voila is located at 723 Pearl Street in La Jolla (map)