With breakfast this good, who needs the L & D?

I’ve heard people raving about BLD for some time now, particularly about their incredible ricotta blueberry pancakes. The restaurant has been featured on Food Network and in Food and Wine, not to mention the word of mouth buzz throughout Los Angeles. I’ve meant to visit to try their food myself—okay, mainly to try these pancakes I’ve heard so much about—but it seems like every opportunity I’ve had has been after 5pm, which is when they switch from their ‘Supper’ menu that still includes the pancakes to the ‘Dinner’ menu which omits them.

Finally, this past Sunday, I had the chance to visit for brunch with a few friends. However, after seeing the variety of breakfast and lunch options on all of the surrounding tables, pancakes was the last thing on my mind. Everything looked tasty. Fortunately, my companions all had the same dilemma. With a little collaboration, we decided to go family style and order a bunch of plates for the whole table to sample.

We ordered four items, but unfortunately I can only recall three of the four. If I were a real journalist, I’d admit this memory lapse is unforgivable. Fortunately, I’m not a journalist. However, I’d much rather place the blame on my friends who ferociously guarded this fourth plate.

The other three items that I can recall included Spanish scramble, eggs Florentine and, of course, the ricotta blueberry pancakes. The pancakes, as expected, were incredible. The portion was generous and they tasted great. I think there’s enough hype that not much more needs to be said.

The egg entrees were given a choice of potatoes. Whether the Spanish chorizo home fries, fingerling potatoes or french fries, you can’t go wrong no matter which you choose.

What really made the Florentine was the hollandaise. A great hollandaise is a must for any solid breakfast menu, and I would be confident ordering any item on the menu that includes the sauce, whether the Florentine or any of the Benedict variations.

As for the Spanish-inspired dish we shared, diners have the option of ordering it as a frittata or scramble. We opted for the scramble, however, either is likely to offer the same colorful punch of flavor. Such a large plate on it’s own might have been a bit overwhelming though, but it made a great dish to share.

The problem with BLD is that everything looks so tasty. By the time you sit down and look at your menu, you’ve probably seen at least four or five dishes at other tables that you really want to sample. Hopefully you won’t be quite as indecisive as us and will be able to settle on just one. From our experience, I’d imagine whatever you do end up choosing will not disappoint.

BLD is located at 7450 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036-2701
Visit their website at www.bldrestaurant.com