The Blu Jam Cafe started out as an idea between friends Kamil Majer and David Fris. They envisioned it as a casual cafe in Hollywood that would become a destination for a gourmet breakfast or lunch at a price that locals could afford on an everyday basis.
The name Blu Jam Cafe was chosen to celebrate the history of their first location, which had been an underground Jazz club where Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and countless greats once played. Due to their hard work and success, they now have locations in DTLA, Brentwood, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, and Tokyo. I invited two friends to join me and dine at their Brentwood location.
We quickly discovered that street parking is almost non-existent. Fortunately, the building has a garage and the Blu Jam Cafe validates parking ($2 charge). As we entered, the host directed us to a Yelp Nowait Kiosk where I signed in with my mobile phone and declared the number in my party. From my phone, I was informed about my position in line.
Due to the noise level, we tried to obtain quieter outdoor seating. That day, it went to the dogs as we noticed quite a few people with dogs in tow headed towards the patio. We took solace in the fact that our table was in the back of the restaurant and was slightly quieter.
Each of their specials was calling my name. When I see housemade chorizo, I tend to order it because it is so much tastier and healthy than Cacique chorizo found in the supermarket. The chile relleno omelette reminded me of a dish called Huevos Flamencos. The Thai Breakfast with arborio rice, onions, peppers, spinach, ginger, coconut milk, poached eggs, curry hollandaise, and crispy noodles was also difficult to pass over.
Because it was my first time there, I selected their signature Crunchy French Toast and a side of bacon. The toast was quartered with a cornflake exterior and dusted with powdered sugar. It was crunchy and very sweet. I was slightly disappointed that it didn’t come with more fruit (like the picture on their website). The bacon was thick, lean and crispy.
The combination of eggs and spinach is a pairing that I enjoy and I was happy to taste the Florentine Benedict. The dish was perfectly prepared: poached eggs on top of a toasted English muffin, with baby spinach, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and hollandaise sauce.
Shetland Islands salmon are sustainably raised in the wild open Atlantic Ocean and they are sought after by many chefs. Because the salmon wasn’t served as a filet, I was surprised to learn that they paid the same attention to quality for their Salmon Hash. The salmon was moist and very lean and was combined with baby spinach, tomatoes, red bell peppers, potatoes, capers, pickled red onions, poached eggs,and dill hollandaise.
If you are a breakfast person like me, you will appreciate that Blu Jam’s breakfast items are offered during breakfast or lunch. From organic to nitrate-free bacon to farm-fresh organic eggs, and locally sourced produce, you can feel good about dining here. Would I order the French Toast again, probably
Blu Jam Cafe, 12400 Wilshire Blvd #150, Los Angeles, CA 90025; 424.256.2302
blujamcafe.com