Huevos Rancheros: BLD

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I’ve driven by this place on Beverly a few times, and I could never figure out the name of this eatery, but they usually had lots of people eating outside. I figured it’s some new gimmicky icon-instead-of-a-name, kinda like all those lame places with one word names, cuz nobody can be bothered to use some creativity these days. But once I saw it closely, it’s actually three letters: bld = breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I bet they paid some fine money for that name too.

The first time I ate breakfast here, I walked inside with a Chicana friend and was waiting to be seated. The greeter/seater whatever you call them, was helping someone else. One of the Mexican busboys walked over and looked at us for a few seconds, in that “what do you need” sorta way, as if maybe we had some other business there, a delivery or something. “Solo dos, para comer.” Oh. Ohh! You want to eat here! He didn’t say it but it crossed his face, which was actually pretty funny. It wasn’t rude or anything, he was a really friendly guy but obviously wasn’t sure what to make of us.  Which makes sense, cuz in this part of town, the Latinos are all either A.) gardners, nannies,  some other type of servant that wouldn’t normally be eating here or B.) your typical obnoxious Fresas with money and that fashionable air of conceit. Pretty much. And everyone eating talks loud, like you want to hear their fucking riveting tales. But I digress, I came here for you dear reader, to size up one plate only: The Huevos Rancheros! Let’s see how they fare.

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Did I mention this place is pricey? At $12 for HR’s, I think that qualifies. Yet, no chips and salsa, but I figured as much. I did like their coffee, which comes in your own french press. And they give you lots of water too! Damn!

That first time I was here, I didn’t get the HR’s cuz the menu mentioned they came with some sort of piece of pig, (I think it was ham, maybe bacon) which goes against one of my few rules for this dish: if I have to ask for them to take out the meat, it’s a non-starter.

And you’re not going to believe this, but today I was willing to stray from that no-special request rule (what kind of anarchist would I be if I didn’t break the rules every once in awhile? 😉 ) only to find out they had actually changed their recipe, now with no meat! Jajaja, I’m thinking things into existence, best I start charting my future. Turns out, according to the waitress, this was indeed a new recipe, and they were just about to try it out. Plus, she wanted my opinions afterwards. Gulp!

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I expected it to be either something fancy, odd, or hilarious like the Swingers joke. I took a few seconds to adjust, as I couldn’t decide what to make of this. It’s not Mexican Huevos Rancheros, that’s for certain. I can’t understand the beans on the bottom thing, where does that come from? The only places I’ve had that feature was at Swingers, Martin’s Comida Chingona, and here. That practice needs to end. It seems they used to use white beans, but are now favoring a darker 3 bean medley. The beans are decent, like some sort of farm stew type beans, assuming there is such a thing. But as where Swingers and MCC used normal warmed tortillas, bld actually fried theirs up nicely! They get some major points for that. And also for the perfectly cooked eggs, which were cooked in either butter or olive oil, and were quite tasty and satisfying. On closer reading of my pic of the menu, it turns out they use ranchero cheese, not ranchero sauce on their HR’s! Yeah, that makes a big difference. Instead they put some citrusy pico de gallo on top and some slices of avocado, neither of which belong on HR’s.

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On even closer inspection, they actually put two properly fried tortillas under the eggs. Which leads me to the major problem with this dish: how are you supposed to eat this? This is not some asshole question, I really want to know how the test-tasters ate this, because it’s hard enough to cut thru one fried tortilla, but with two and a layer of beans underneath, it gets very difficult. What I ended up doing was pulling one tort to the side, struggled cutting thru the one with the eggs, and used my hands once it was manageable. I used the other tort for eating some of those beans.

The waitress returns. “So what did you think?”

It was okay, kinda interesting.

“Interesting, eh?”

Yeah, the beans are a little odd.

At this point, she didn’t have any follow-ups. What was I supposed to say? “I’m actually very particular about HR’s, and I opine…”  Nah, I can’t do that. I was going to tell her what I did like, but didn’t get a chance.

So here goes, in case you end up reading this. If you have two tortillas, split the eggs, one on each. Think of it as the Mexican eggs Benedict, only different. Put the beans to the side. That way the tortillas don’t get all soggy and they are easier to cut. Save your money, nix the aguacate. Make your own salsa ranchera; some tomatoes, chiles, onions, garlic, your own fancy pricey spices, boil ’em up, blend ’em up. Anything would be better than pico de gallo. And a little bit of heat. Your customers aren’t that sensitive, are they?

I know you’re not a Mexican restaurant, but I can imagine an interesting, expensive, yet decent faux HR’s for the foodie class, with just a few tweaks. I submit those ideas as a first proposal.

And you don’t even have to pay me for that re-design.

bld 323.930.9744
7450 Beverly Blvd
LA, CA 90036
www.bldrestaurant.com

This entry was posted in Greater Los Angeles, Huevos Rancheros, La Comida, This Chicano Life. Bookmark the permalink.

10 Responses to Huevos Rancheros: BLD

  1. chimatli says:

    Very nice review!
    Places like this usually pay for such classy text, lucky for them this Mexican (you) works for free!

  2. don quixote says:

    Huevos Ranchero’s? Que pinchi chasco Mano, parece comida gringada, y pa que cuesta $12.? por los pelo’s rubio’s encima los huevos?

    Deja mi en paz on the Eastside

  3. Those beans are an alarm not to eat further. It’s an odd looking plate.

  4. drinking with antoine says:

    Tje beans look to be that 3-bean medley usually reserved for sopas. it’s conceiveable they’re subbing the avacado for the carne. that should be a plus for veggie folk. I’d give the dish an 8 out of possible 10 if a serrated knofe is provided to deal with the dbl. tort. Hey it looks savory. I salivated.

  5. antoine's shadow says:

    Perdoneme – It looks as though antoine is drinking again and it’s so early!

  6. meekorouse says:

    very well done review! $12 is a big much for a breakfast plate.. also it doesn’t look like any Huevos Ranchero I”ve ever eaten.. Were the beans good?? They look like my cats’ dried gooshy food.. (the comment about the look of them I agree with!) the color of the beans puts me off a little.

  7. EL CHAVO! says:

    meekorouse,
    I just realized this morning, looking thru my wallet and the receipt, that they actually only charged me $10, even though the menu has it listed at $12. My total was $14.75 so I hadn’t really thought about it, since I didn’t know the price of the coffee, which turns out to be $3.50. Not sure if someone was being nice or what, but even at $10, though pricey would still be a bit more on the reasonable side.

  8. urban memo says:

    “Hey I think that chicano eating the huevos rancheros is that blogger El Chavo. He is going to write about us on that blog of his. Give him $2 off his bill, quick!”

    -One of the Mexican busboys that reads your blog and connected the dots

  9. cindylu says:

    It looks like a fried egg tostada, which could appeal to some… I guess.

  10. jenny says:

    i’m feeling don quixote’s comment. though it’s actually kinda funny–because it was probably a mexican cooking that shit too.

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