Toe Jam, Blue Jam?

It seems old age comes with burnt taste buds and the re-generation of new ones. I can't really complain but I wish some fat was burnt in the process of chewing as well. With that said, brunch seems to be making its way on the top of my craving list. Eggs and bacon... can you really not like either? Melt some cheese on top and serve it with a side of crisp, thin hash and say my name because I am there.

Blue Jam Cafe
Situation: I won't lie, I'm still a brunch-noob so I let my friend do the researching. She picked a place near Melrose area of West Hollywood called Blue Jam Cafe. It sounded like a hoot and their comprehensive menu had me wearing sweat pants to the place.

Food: I like sweets for bfast, but it can't ever be my only dish. Luckily, I coerced a friend to split a sweet and savory with me! First up, the Gourmet Eggs Benedict. This bougie dish consists of smoked lox instead of the traditional canadian ham, croissant instead of the english muffin and a nice touch of chives. Definitely a notch up and tasted yumm! One of my biggest peeves with benedicts is when chefs go overboard with the Hollandaise sauce. Blue Jam poured just the right amount and allowed the egg yolk to do more of the toast coverage. It's not as heavy as traditional benedicts, so it left me with enough room to eat my next dish. The only thing I would change is for the croissant to be lightly toasted to get a bit of crispness to it. Next up, the Blue Jam French Toast--stuffed with cream cheese and surrounded by fruit (the bacon rule applies to cream cheese too where it makes everything better). It sure looked like a decadent dish, but after I bit into it... Ehh. Ok. Why isn't the cream cheese warm? Why isn't it a bit sweeter? Where's my damn jam to balance the CC? It was pretty disappointing. So b*tch, give me back my couch!

Verdict: Blue Jam Cafe is ok. Mind you, the wait on the weekend is 1hour terrible. You can occupy yourself with shopping on Melrose, but I don't know about you, I am damn cranky when I am hungry. My critique might also be a bit harsh. I am spoiled. I had the best brunch experiences in San Francisco at Canteen and Toast. Everything was perfect up there. So LA... show me something good and hopefully not over-priced!

Well it isn't all bad, here are some quick recommendations of good brunch places in LA:

• Amandine - Best Almond Croissant (very crispy, non-traditional buttery pastry)
  
• 26 Beach - Order the Polar Bear which is a crazy french toasted croissant with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, plethora of fruit and caramel and fruit sauce drizzled on top, and the Monte Cristo which is a french toasted ham and blackberry jam sandwich (dabble in the sweet & savory in one bite)
• Griddle Cafe - Their Chili Omelette My Soul inspired me to make bfast again, and their Nutella French Toast is simply heaven (their portions are extremely large so order half sizes!)

7371 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046