BLD: It’s what’s for dinner

I was out of sorts when I finally arrived at Chef Neal Fraser’s BLD after getting sidetracked on the wrong street (It’s on Beverly, Hanh, not Melrose!). So naturally, I should have been even more pissy when I realized we had no reservations and that the Dine LA Restaurant Week crowd had hijacked the joint leaving no tables to spare. Forecast foggy indeed.

But no, it was all happy times, thanks to H.C., the LA-OC Foodie, whom I’d previously met during the inaugural real Food Marathon.

When H.C., my dining companion for the night showed up, the manager rushed to his side and assured us that some sort of magic would happen. I will not begrudge other people getting preferential treatment as long as I can benefit too!

Soon enough, I found myself at a table, sipping a wonderfully tart not-a-margarita that featured Sauza Tequila Blanco, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur subbed for triple sec and orange. I heartily approved of the frosty drink served straight up (except the glass was so tiny!).  Friday unwinding had begun.

Craving greens, I ordered the persimmon and pear salad. Sorry mom, but no matter how many persimmons I’ve tried in my life, I just don’t love ‘em like you do. Too smooth in taste without any brightness. The rest was lovely though — crisp and moist pear, mild goat cheese, a quince vinaigrette that bordered on too sweet for me and crunchy pomegranate seeds that I finished off with my fingers after trying to chase them around with a fork. Seriously, I need to start carrying my own pair of chopsticks. I’ll wear them in a holster for easy access.

A taste of H.C.’s roasted vegan cauliflower and apple soup made me wish I had ordered that. Warm and savory, with that nubby blended texture and sage oil and toasted almonds for additional warmth. As comfy as a Slanket, the original blanket with sleeves! Probably my favorite of the night.

Heh, a funny moment when the entrees arrived — server tried to give me H.C.’s lasagna and manager walking by was surprised I had ordered the whole fish. Yup, I’m hardcore like that. They should have left on the head too. I would have bitten into that cheek “Cape Fear”-style and attacked the eyeball.

Once again, can we get some chopsticks up in here? A fork and whole fish are not friends. Also: dim lighting and whole fish are not friends. Bones seemed to sneak into my mouth no matter what. (Dear dirty minded: Shame on you.) The pan-seared golden trout was well-cooked and clean tasting, but I got a little bit of fishy fatigue by the end. I loved the sides — smooth potato leek puree, al dente and meaty wild mushrooms — and horseradish creme sauce much better than the protein. They made the dish.

I found H.C.’s roasted butternut squash and apple lasagna a bit too sweet for me as an entree, but it had a curiously good ancho chili parmesan sauce.

I really wasn’t going to win with desserts this night. The caramel apple bread pudding with cinnamon ice cream sounded far too sweet for me, and I was right. One bite of it was plenty for me.

Foolish me though; I didn’t read the other dessert option completely before ordering. Chocolate crepe with vanilla creme, coffee ice cream and dried cherries. Coffee does not like me, and the feeling is mutual. After one aromatic bite, I knew I was in trouble. I couldn’t just scrape the ice cream off because there was still coffee flavor in the dessert. I suspect the dark chocolate sauce had been infused with espresso, a common baker’s trick to make chocolate taste more chocolate-y. I tried a few more bites, but couldn’t continue. H.C. gave it the thumbs up, but since he had demolished his bread pudding already, he only made a dent in my dessert.

Crap. What happened to my notes? I can’t remember the name of the hard goat cheese we ordered after dessert so I could take the coffee taste out of my mouth. Oh wait, once again, thanks to H.C. for the names:

Midnight Moon from Cypress Grove Creamery was the hard goat cheese, which was was incredibly buttery-nutty, smooth and  firm. Don’t be deceived by that small block of cheese. Its bold richness made me crave a glass of robust red wine, and I had difficulty finishing it since I was full from my meal and many glasses of water.

Similarly, I loved the salty Lomo Embuchado, a Spanish cured sausage, which was so thinly sliced, I admired my fingers through the translucent meat. That sounded creepy. Perhaps it wasn’t the perfect pairing with the Midnight Moon, taste-wise I quite liked them both. I even tried wrapping the cheese in a thin sheet of lomo, which worked pretty well except for the textures since the cheese didn’t break down as a fast as the meat.

Anyway … as you can see, the charcuterie platter also comes fully loaded. Loved the fresh fruit and spiced marcona almonds (cumin, paprika, powdered sugar, onion). The fig cake, quince paste, raisin walnut bread and sliced baguette also allowed for many permutations and combinations.

The only real issue I found with BLD’s special Dine LA menu was that certain items felt a tad unfocused, as if some of the flavors were at war with each other, trying to be the star, instead of working in concert. (Especially in my trout dish). It was all very good, but something was off and not quite satisfying. Perhaps that’s why I prefer when the Restaurant Week menu is comprised of actual items from the restaurant’s regular menu. Those are tried and true and hopefully can be ordered again. As it is, I wanted to come back for the cauliflower soup, but it was only there for that short run.

Nevertheless, BLD (which stand for Breakfast Lunch Dinner) fulfills the hipster, nouveau American cuisine promise, while it’s excellent service and tasty pours/nibbles is inviting for casual hanging out. I’ll definitely check it out again, perhaps its breakfast/brunch that’s creating so much buzz, Tuesday fried chicken night (I can’t resist fried bird) or post-work drinks. Thanks again to H.C. for setting all this up!

BLD
7450 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.930.9744

Tagged as: American, charcuterie, mid-city, Review