L Blu Jam: hearty breakfasts, lunches · ing in a scrum for 45 min-utes can be. The menu points out...
1
By Merrill Shindler When you eat breakfast and lunch at Blu Jam Cafe, it’s hard not to wonder what dinner would be like. Of course, all you can do is wonder because only break- fast and lunch are served at Blu Jam. But each of those meals is packed with dishes so substantial — and so crazy delicious — that din- ner may well be a non-ne- cessity. Just consider the Ar- gentine Brunch Steak. For those of us who think of brunch as a fine time to kill a couple of bagels, some cream cheese and lox, this is a crazy big meal. It’s a grilled beef tenderloin of considerable heft, with grilled spuds and grilled veggies, topped with an egg done sunny-side up (which is to say, perfect), with a fla- vorful, house-made chimi- churri sauce. Perhaps even more sub- stantial is Kamil’s Break- fast, which allows you to begin your day with a platter of pan-roasted macaroni and cheddar, with scrambled eggs, ba- con, ham and garlic. It’s a breakfast (or lunch) of mac ’n’ cheese with scrambled eggs and pig meat. I need to take a Lipitor just think- ing about it. Then there’s the Morn- ing Hash, which instead of traditional corned beef is made of Black Forest ham, onions, spinach, sundried tomatoes, grilled potatoes and mozzarella to hold it all together. With scram- bled eggs. It’s crazy — and crazy good. The San Fernando Valley branches of Blu Jam are in Sherman Oaks and Wood- land Hills, making it a go- to destination for hungry locals at both ends of Ven- tura Boulevard. (There’s another branch on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood.) On weekends, the wait for a table can be considerable, but it’s a happy wait — or at least as happy as stand- ing in a scrum for 45 min- utes can be. The menu points out that there are no take- outs on weekends and hol- idays, which is reasonable, I guess. (The folks who have been waiting for a ta- ble should be served be- fore those sitting at home watching golf.) And I should add that even when seated, figuring out what to order can definitely take a while, especially if you’re at a table of more than a few. The options go on and on, with many dishes identi- fied as Gf (gluten free), V (vegan) and Vp (vegan pos- sible), which means that, in numerous cases, a non- vegan dish can be veg- anized with the removal of cheese and a substitution of tofu for eggs. As you can imagine, the servers are kept busy, trying to parse all this. They do it with re- lentless good humor. If you’re livin’ large, there’s the Brunch Carbon- ara, where pasta is replaced with arborio rice with ba- con, peas, parsley and Par- mesan, topped with a pair of poached eggs and a green herb sauce. Along with the Black Forest ham-based Morning Hash, there’s a beef tenderloin-based Steak Hash, with a proper hollan- daise sauce. There are nu- merous Benedicts and I do like the Tex-Mex classic called migas, which is kind of a kitchen sink of a dish — eggs scrambled with jalape- nos, chipotle, chorizo, pep- pers, tortilla chips, mozza- rella and salsa. Lest I give the impres- sion that this is an all- breakfast restaurant, it’s far from it. There’s an ad- mirably rich, thick goulash that travels home very well for later enjoyment. The sandwiches are grilled and pressed, a wonderful touch. The salads are of the mo- ment — kale, beets, aru- gula, balsamic — complete with all the buzzwords. For those who want lunch for lunch, there are several Wagyu beef burg- ers, along with wagyu beef tacos, chicken schnit- zel, grilled salmon, pepper steak and more. There’s probably dessert, but I’ve never gotten around to it. I’m too busy wondering if I’ve got any looser pants in the closet. Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Send him email at [email protected]. RESTAURANT REVIEW Blu Jam: hearty breakfasts, lunches Brunch Carbonara: arborio rice with bacon, peas, parsley and Parmesan, topped with poached eggs and a green herb sauce. ★★★ Address: 15045 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 23311 Mulholland Drive, Woodland Hills. Information: 818-906- 1955 (Sherman Oaks); 818- 222-1044 (Woodland Hills); www.blujamcafe.com Cuisine: American. When: Breakfast and lunch, every day. Details: Soſt drinks. First- come, first-served. Prices: About $18 per person. Cards: MC, V. BLU JAM CAFE Crunch French toast at Blu Jam Cafe Norwegian Benedict: poached eggs on toasted English muffin with smoked salmon, spinach, tomato and dill hollandaise. La Maida St. Camarillo St. Moorpark St. Ventura Blvd. Sutton St. Lemona Ave. Kester Ave. Noble Ave. Burnet Ave. PAUL PENZELLA/LANG Blu Jam Cafe 15045 Ventura Blvd. 101 Sherman Oaks Smoked salmon platter Download our new Restaurant Guy App in the iTunes store. Hungry? dailynews.com/mobileApps Blythe Danner Life Goes On. Go With It. Picks “Blythe Danner and Sam Elliott have a natural, sexy rapport.” “Elegant, funny and entirely engaging. The perfect outlet for the exquisite Blythe Danner.” NOW PLAYING AMC PROMENADE 16 WESTFIELD PROMENADE 888/AMC-4FUN THE LANDMARK AT W. PICO & WESTWOOD 310/470-0492 WWW.LANDMARKTHEATRES.COM JULY 26 TICKET TO RIDE A tribute to the BEATLES JUNE 21 DSB A tribute to the Music of JOURNEY JUNE 28 STAYIN’ ALIVE TheWorld’s No.1 Tribute to the BEE GEES JULY 19 WHICH ONE’S PINK? A tribute to the Music of PINK FLOYD AUG. 2 THE MODERN GENTLEMEN Performing the music of FrankieValli and The Four Seasons and more! AUGUST 9 SUPER DIAMOND The NEIL DIAMONDTribute Band JULY 12 THE LONG RUN Experience THE EAGLES AUG. 30 MR. SPEED JUNE 14 LED ZEPAGAIN A tribute to LED ZEPPELIN AUGUST 16* (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM) HOLLYWOOD U2 & QUEEN NATION A tribute to U2 A tribute to QUEEN L.A. PIERCE ORCHESTRA Presented by 1:30 – Tizer Quartet – World Fusion 2:30 – Aztec Dancers of the Valley 3:00 – Katia Moraes & Brazilian Hearts 4:00 – Chalo Eduardo 4:30 – Young Dubliners 6:05 – Artists for Trauma Presents • The 2 nd Annual AFT Fashion Show • Macy’s Wheelchair Hip Hop Dance • Live Performance Painting Artist 7:00 PM – The Music of Sly & The Family Stone featuring“The Family Stone” JULY FOURTH FIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA! Concert 6 PM Fireworks at 9:08 PM World’s No. 1 Tribute to KISS AUGUST 23 PONCHO SANCHEZ AND HIS LATIN JAZZ BAND SUNDAY EVENINGS 6 PM - 8 PM *UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED WARNER PARK JUNE 7* WORLD MUSIC & CULTURAL ARTS FESTIVAL VALLEYCULTURAL.ORG • HOTLINE: 818.888.0822 • WARNER PARK 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd.,Woodland Hills Premium parking ($15) available on Califa west of Owensmouth. Additional parking ($15) available on Owensmouth between Califa and Oxnard. america australia VALLEY CATS RAFFLE DRAWING FOR AIRLINE TICKETS!!! Enter for your chance to win two trip passes on or mailing a self-adressed stamped envelope to VCI Raffle Drawing 23705 Vanowen St. Box 130 • West Hills, CA 91307 Tel: (818) 992-3225 • Fax:(818) 782-6975 All proceeds from the sale of the raffle tickets will benefit Valley Cats Inc. dba Petopia Animal Rescue Tickets: $25.00 each http://petopia-animalrescue.com/virgin-raffles/ Drawing: June 20, 2015 *Travel restrictions apply.Official terms & condition and rules may be obtained by visiting www.Petopia-AnimalRescue.com or www.valleycatsinc.org | SPOTLIGHT | LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS » DAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015 6 L Issue Date: an/ge/les
Transcript of L Blu Jam: hearty breakfasts, lunches · ing in a scrum for 45 min-utes can be. The menu points out...
By Merrill Shindler
When you eat breakfast and lunch at Blu Jam Cafe, it’s hard not to wonder what dinner would be like. Of course, all you can do is wonder because only break-fast and lunch are served at Blu Jam. But each of those meals is packed with dishes so substantial — and so crazy delicious — that din-ner may well be a non-ne-cessity.
Just consider the Ar-gentine Brunch Steak. For those of us who think of brunch as a fi ne time to kill a couple of bagels, some cream cheese and lox, this is a crazy big meal. It’s a grilled beef tenderloin of considerable heft, with grilled spuds and grilled veggies, topped with an egg done sunny-side up (which is to say, perfect), with a fl a-vorful, house-made chimi-churri sauce.
Perhaps even more sub-stantial is Kamil’s Break-fast, which allows you to begin your day with a platter of pan-roasted macaroni and cheddar, with scrambled eggs, ba-con, ham and garlic. It’s a breakfast (or lunch) of mac ’n’ cheese with scrambled eggs and pig meat. I need to take a Lipitor just think-ing about it.
Then there’s the Morn-ing Hash, which instead of traditional corned beef is made of Black Forest ham, onions, spinach, sundried tomatoes, grilled potatoes and mozzarella to hold it all together. With scram-bled eggs. It’s crazy — and crazy good.
The San Fernando Valley branches of Blu Jam are in Sherman Oaks and Wood-land Hills, making it a go-to destination for hungry locals at both ends of Ven-tura Boulevard. (There’s another branch on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood.) On weekends, the wait for a table can be considerable, but it’s a happy wait — or at least as happy as stand-ing in a scrum for 45 min-
utes can be. The menu points out
that there are no take-outs on weekends and hol-idays, which is reasonable, I guess. (The folks who have been waiting for a ta-ble should be served be-fore those sitting at home watching golf.) And I should add that even when
seated, fi guring out what to order can defi nitely take a while, especially if you’re at a table of more than a few. The options go on and on, with many dishes identi-fi ed as Gf (gluten free), V (vegan) and Vp (vegan pos-sible), which means that, in numerous cases, a non-vegan dish can be veg-
anized with the removal of cheese and a substitution of tofu for eggs. As you can imagine, the servers are kept busy, trying to parse all this. They do it with re-lentless good humor .
If you’re livin’ large, there’s the Brunch Carbon-ara, where pasta is replaced with arborio rice with ba-con, peas, parsley and Par-mesan, topped with a pair of poached eggs and a green
herb sauce. Along with the Black Forest ham-based Morning Hash, there’s a beef tenderloin-based Steak Hash, with a proper hollan-daise sauce. There are nu-merous Benedicts and I do like the Tex-Mex classic called migas, which is kind of a kitchen sink of a dish — eggs scrambled with jalape-nos, chipotle, chorizo, pep-pers, tortilla chips, mozza-rella and salsa.
Lest I give the impres-sion that this is an all-breakfast restaurant, it’s far from it. There’s an ad-mirably rich, thick goulash that travels home very well for later enjoyment. The sandwiches are grilled and pressed, a wonderful touch. The salads are of the mo-ment — kale, beets, aru-gula, balsamic — complete with all the buzz words .
For those who want lunch for lunch, there are several Wagyu beef burg-ers, along with wagyu beef tacos, chicken schnit-zel, grilled salmon, pepper steak and more. There’s probably dessert, but I’ve never gotten around to it. I’m too busy wondering if I’ve got any looser pants in the closet.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Send him email at [email protected].
RESTAURANT REVIEW
Blu Jam: hearty breakfasts, lunches
Brunch Carbonara: arborio rice with bacon, peas, parsley and Parmesan, topped with poached eggs and a green herb sauce.
★ ★ ★ Address: 15045 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 23311 Mulholland Drive, Woodland Hills.Information: 818-906-1955 (Sherman Oaks); 818-222-1044 (Woodland Hills); www.blujamcafe.comCuisine: American.When: Breakfast and lunch, every day.Details: So� drinks. First-come, � rst-served.Prices: About $18 per person.Cards: MC, V.
BLU JAM CAFE
Crunch French toast at Blu Jam Cafe
Norwegian Benedict: poached eggs on toasted English mu� n with smoked salmon, spinach, tomato and dill hollandaise .
La Maida St.
Camarillo St.
Moorpark St.
Ventura Blvd.
Sutton St.
Lemona A
ve.
Kester A
ve.
Noble A
ve.
Burnet A
ve.
PAUL PENZELLA/LANG
Ventura Blvd.Ventura Blvd.Ventura Blvd.
Sutton St.
Blu Jam Cafe15045 Ventura Blvd.
101
ShermanOaks
Smoked salmon platter
Download our newRestaurant GuyAppin the iTunes store.
Hungry?
dailynews.com/mobileApps
Blythe Dannerr DanneheBlyt
Life Goes On. Go With It.
Picks
“Blythe Danner and Sam Elliotthave a natural, sexy rapport.”
“Elegant, funny and entirelyengaging. The perfect outlet for the
exquisite Blythe Danner.”
NOW PLAYINGAMC PROMENADE 16
WESTFIELD PROMENADE888/AMC-4FUN
THE LANDMARKAT W. PICO & WESTWOOD 310/470-0492
WWW.LANDMARKTHEATRES.COM
JULY 26TICKET TO RIDEA tribute to the BEATLES
JUNE 21DSBA tribute to the Music of JOURNEY
JUNE 28STAYIN’ ALIVETheWorld’s No.1Tribute tothe BEE GEES
JULY 19WHICH ONE’SPINK?A tribute to the Music ofPINK FLOYD
AUG. 2THE MODERNGENTLEMENPerforming the music of FrankieValliandThe Four Seasons and more!
AUGUST 9SUPER DIAMONDThe NEIL DIAMONDTribute Band
JULY 12THE LONG RUNExperienceTHE EAGLES
AUG. 30MR. SPEED
JUNE 14LED ZEPAGAINA tribute to LED ZEPPELIN
AUGUST 16* (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)HOLLYWOOD U2 & QUEEN NATIONA tribute to U2 A tribute to QUEEN
L.A. PIERCE ORCHESTRA
Presented by
1:30 – Tizer Quartet – World Fusion2:30 – Aztec Dancers of the Valley3:00 – Katia Moraes & Brazilian Hearts4:00 – Chalo Eduardo4:30 – Young Dubliners6:05 – Artists for Trauma Presents• The 2nd Annual AFT Fashion Show• Macy’s Wheelchair Hip Hop Dance• Live Performance Painting Artist7:00 PM – The Music of Sly & The Family Stone featuring“The Family Stone”
JULY FOURTHFIREWORKS EXTRAVAGANZA!
Concert 6 PMFireworks at 9:08 PM
World’s No. 1Tribute to KISS
AUGUST 23PONCHO SANCHEZAND HISLATIN JAZZBAND
SUNDAY EVENINGS6 PM - 8 PM*UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED
WARNER PARKJUNE 7* WORLD MUSIC & CULTURAL ARTS FESTIVAL
VALLEYCULTURAL.ORG • HOTLINE: 818.888.0822 • WARNER PARK 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland HillsPremium parking ($15) available on Califa west of Owensmouth. Additional parking ($15) available on Owensmouth between Califa and Oxnard.
america australia
VALLEY CATS RAFFLE DRAWINGFOR AIRLINE TICKETS!!!
Enter for your chance to win two trip passes on
or mailing a self-adressed stamped envelope toVCI Raffle Drawing
23705 Vanowen St. Box 130 • West Hills, CA 91307Tel: (818) 992-3225 • Fax:(818) 782-6975
All proceeds from the sale of the raffle tickets will benefitValley Cats Inc. dba Petopia Animal Rescue
Tickets: $25.00 eachhttp://petopia-animalrescue.com/virgin-raffles/
Drawing: June 20, 2015*Travel restrictions apply. Official terms & condition and rules may be obtained
by visiting www.Petopia-AnimalRescue.com or www.valleycatsinc.org
| SPOTLIGHT | LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS » DAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, MAY 22, 20156 L
Issue Date: an/ge/les
