We’re Jammin’

BluJam Café hopes you like jammin’ too.
by Deborah Klugman

Blueberries have always been magical to me. Years ago a friend and I spent several summers in Maine, picking sweet, wild blueberries and carrying them back to our cabin where we would mix them with yogurt or just gobble them down whole. That was decades before this lovely little fruit had publicly distinguished itself as a healthy, tasty antioxidant.

I mention all this by way of introducing BluJam Café, which takes its name from its airy, made-from-scratch blueberry pancakes and its ambrosial whipped cream-garnished blueberry crèpes. These—and everything else from the kitchen—are whipped together by chef-owner Kamil Majer, a Czech native who proves the power of breakfast to inspire and delight.

Majer went to culinary school in Karlsbad before escaping to the United States in 1980. After 20-odd years around prestigious hotels and restaurants, he finally decided to strike out on his own, first with a café in Valencia (toooo hot!), but ending up back in town on Melrose. BluJam—sandwiched between two tiny clothing shops—serves breakfast all day and specializes in soups and crèpes. The interior is long and narrow with high ceilings and wooden rafters, the walls cream and rust-orange, with a photo display featuring the Greek island of Santorini and a red, blue and white Czech flag suspended from above. There is brick behind the coffee bar and a patio styled with rattan where many customers gravitate to survey the Melrose scene while they munch. In the afternoon you’ll catch many young trendies; midweek mornings draw a more standard issue customer, both demographics brought here by quality fare and ample portions.

Indeed, talk about food with Majer and, like anyone who truly loves it, he’ll wax eloquent on the importance of quality and freshness. He scours the local farmers markets for produce and fresh eggs daily, and serves only the finest 100 percent pure Vermont maple syrup with his pancakes. With the blueberry variety ($7.95), the fruit not only tops the pancakes, it can be discerned within the light-as-a-feather cake itself.

As for egg dishes, it’s tough to choose. My favorite was probably the buttery Old World Scramble ($7.95), with its combination shitake, portobello and button mushrooms with thyme, mozzarella and a sprinkling of scallions. Majer says it’s a dish he grew up on that brings many fellow Czech to the café. The Eggs Benedict ($8.95), served on a toasted croissant rather than a muffin, is an artful construction, although the otherwise perfect dish lost a point with me because the croissant was cool. Two varieties are available: “the BluJam,” with Black Forest ham, applewood bacon and green onions, and the one-of-a-kind “Gourmet,” with dilled Hollandaise, a generous portion of top-notch smoked salmon, with a slice of tomato and minced red onion. The California Omelet ($8.95), filled with melting aged cheddar, is decked with fresh smoked bacon bits and slices of avocado. Omelets and other dishes come with fresh fruit or rustic potatoes; the latter are seasoned with sea salt (I needed more) and garnished with paprika, onion and red bell pepper. Run-of-the-mill toast, served with prepackaged butter pats, is made from ciabatta or sliced multigrain; next to the main attractions, these slices seem like an afterthought.

Lunch, which is available anytime as well, features soups ($3.95 by the cup, $5.50 by the bowl) that are all dairy-free. Majer makes 56 varieties in all. Lentil and vegetable is a delicate mix; so is the garlic, onion and paprika goulash—more soup than stew and light despite the potatoes, pork and beef sausages in the broth. Pea soup has never been my favorite, but Majer’s smooth, unobtrusive purée won me over. The chicken curry salad (single scoop, $3.50) is chock-full of celery, raisins and onions. A full-sized Sonoma salad ($8.50)— tinged with a tart vinaigrette and featuring organic mixed greens, candied walnuts, gorgonzola, granny smith apples and grapes—displays the authenticity of Majer’s commitment to freshness. The same vinaigrette leaves its mark on the portobello burger, which otherwise builds flavor around a quality mushroom, roasted red pepper and caramelized onions. Of the sandwiches, I’d recommend the smoothly calibrated turkey pesto panini ($8.95); the gourmet sandwhich, Kamil’s Euro ($8.95) was, while unique and tasty, less arresting—too much contrast between its melted brie and the distinctive black forest ham. Have I mentioned the crèpes? Yes, the blueberry crèpes with vanilla sauce are ambrosial, and the lemon crèpes ($5.50) are fabulous. As for the peach and strawberry with white chocolate ($6.95)? Well, they’re yet to be tried.

Location: Address: 7371 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, 323-951-9191
Vibe: breezy sidewalkcafé
Service: Friendly and attentive
Price: breakfast $5.50-$9.95;, sandwiches, wraps and salads $7.95- $9.50; special entrees $9.50-$11.95; crèpes, $5.50-$6.95, lattes, smoothies and blended drinks, $3.95.
Recommended dishes: Old World scramble, eggs benedict, blueberry pancakes, turkey pesto panini.
Etc.: Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., 7 days a week .
Rating: 4 out of 5