Wildland, Carlsbad, CA

Wildland makes me jealous of the residents of Carlsbad.  This is a lovely restaurant open all day (from 8AM to 9PM).  It serves California modern food with items like avocado tartine, wood-fired pizzas, pastas, grain bowls and more.  We were there for brunch.  My friend had the avocado tartine, which he ate before I could get a picture.  I had the brioche French toast.  It had a lovely orange, vanilla whipped ricotta.  The brioche was tender and the ricotta was rich.  We also had a whipped orange juice and a cardamom black tea.

This is a huge restaurant with a large outdoor front patio.  There is great selection of pastries and plenty of people had just pastry and coffee.  One woman had a selection of four pastries for her family and was gleeful.  She was beaming with happiness.  There were also people getting beautiful loaves of bread to take home.

When we arrived, there was a line out the door.  This is because you order at the counter rather than be seated first.  The line moved along at a leisurely pace, so if you are in a hurry, avoid peak brunch time.  There is a breakfast menu (served until 1 PM), a lunch menu (served from 11 AM to 2:30 PM) and a separate dinner menu, as well.  There are plenty of choices.  The house-made pastas on the dinner menu look like they are worth another visit.

There is only street parking.  We found a spot across the street from the restaurant.