where jess ate

Mike and I came here on a Wednesday night, only to find BLD nearly empty except for two other tables. Guess we really didn’t need to make a reservation! Upon entering, we were greeted warmly by a server who was very hospitable throughout the entire meal. BLD stands for breakfast, lunch and dinner and they start their days at 8am for breakfast. I wonder if they actually get much business during the weekdays since people generally don’t have much time for a sit-down breakfast (especially in the financial district!).

After reviewing the menu, none of the appetizers really jumped out at us (likely due to the fact that we both had large lunches), so we decided to go straight to the mains. I went for the Spanish Risotto – “chorizo sausage, asparagus, red onion, white gulf shrimp” (aka the paella) for $25. The chorizo was chopped pretty finely, which was actually kind of nice since you could get a bit of it in each mouthful. It came with 5 large shrimp and the overall portion of the risotto was pretty generous. The flavour of this dish was nice and I really enjoyed it.

Mike chose to go with the Miso Marinated Black Cod – “golden heirloom carrot puree, purple carrots, baby bok choy” ($23). I was disappointed to see that it came with shanghai bok choy and not baby bok choy (one of my favourite veggies!). The carrot purree was very buttery, and tasted just okay to me. Mike mentioned that the more of it he ate, the more he liked it (guess it kinda grows on you). It also came with purple carrots, which I’ve never actually seen before. They tasted like yams. The black cod itself was great, but I think it’s difficult to do this poorly. I often order black cod since it’s one of my go-to dishes, and I’ve rarely seen it done badly.

Since Mike’s entrée wasn’t very big, he was still a little hungry so we decided to order dessert (all of which are made in-house, according to their menu). The server recommended the bread pudding – “raisins and cranberries Crème Anglaise and fresh berries” ($8). What a great recommendation! I never order bread pudding since it sounds really unappetizing to me, but this really changed my mind about it. It was similar to French toast, which is something I really enjoy. Some of the pieces on the edge were crispy, while the inside was moist. Delish!

I really enjoyed my experience at BLD. The food was good, the prices are reasonable and the service was great. They recently started doing brunch as well, which features some pretty appetizing menu items such as the Banana Bread French Toast and Beef Tenderloin Benedict. Although I enjoyed their dinner, I think my next visit would have to be brunch… my favourite meal of the day!

At a glance:

Prices were pretty reasonable – $23 for black cod!

Great service – our server was very friendly and hospitable

Fantastic bread pudding

Ratings (out of 5):

Food: 4 stars

Service: 4 stars

Atmosphere: 3 stars