Small Bites: BLD plans to open Pasadena location by year’s end; Breadbar’s ‘Hatchi’ series

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

BLD for Pasadena: Co-owner Amy Fraser confirms reports (via Eater) that BLD will open a second location in Pasadena in the newly built Raymond Renaissance building at the corner of Raymond and Holly Streets, next to the Raymond Theatre. Fraser and her husband, chef Neal Fraser (also the proprietors of Grace restaurant), expect to open by the end of the year. It’s the same concept -- breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week -- with a similar design (the designer is Robert Weimer) and menu (no chef picked for the new spot yet). ‘But certainly, we want to cater to our audience,’ Amy Fraser says. ‘Pasadena is really starving for restaurants. [Amen.] So at dinner, it will be more restaurant than bistro or cafe.’

Breadbar’s hatches ‘Hatchi’: Breadbar, always coming up with new ideas, now introduces chef Noriyuki Sugie‘s once-a-month ‘Hatchi’ menu. ‘Hatchi’ means ‘eight’ in Japanese, hence the rotating menu will feature eight dishes priced at $8, created by a guest chef. The inaugural ‘Hatchi’ dinner -- June 25 -- will feature Debbie Lee, a finalist on ‘The Next Food Network Star,’ and her Korean- and Southern-inspired small plates (crab and corn fritters with kimchi aioli and pickled watermelon rind, for example). Breadbar Century City, Westfield Shopping Center, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., No. R-2, Los Angeles, (310) 277-3770, www.breadbar.net.

-- Betty Hallock