The combination of salty bacon, crisp lettuce, juicy tomato and warm, toasted bread may seem simple, but Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches can be one of lunch’s greatest pleasures. Of course, for some chefs, those three letters aren’t enough, but their embellishments work wonders. Learn about some of the top Los Angeles BLTs I’ve experienced.
Establishments appear in alphabetical order instead of in order of preference.
UPDATES SINCE JUNE 27, 2014
Additions: A Cut Above Butcher Shop, Bread Head, Clark Street Bread, Friends & Family, Hank’s Bagels, Jasmine Corner Market, Jon & Vinny’s, Little Nelly, Lodge Bread, Maple Block Meat Co., Penny Oven
Subtractions: Chi Spacca (N/A), Cooks County (CLOSED), Del Rey Deli (CLOSED), FIG (chef change), ink. sack (CLOSED), Maximiliano (CLOSED), Paninoteca by Scarpetta (CLOSED), Square One at the Boathouse (CLOSED), Superba Food & Bread (N/A), Tart (CLOSED), Upstairs 2 (CLOSED)
Since I last tried A Cut Above Butcher Shop‘s BLT ($15), chef-butcher Eddy Shin swapped lettuce for arugula, so this may not technically be a BLT, but applewood smoked bacon, tomato, avocado and aioli on soft toasted rye bread still help this sandwich sing.
Bread Head chefs Alex Williams and Jordan Snyder serve sandwiches on crackly salt dusted focaccia they bake in Santa Monica. Their stellar BLT ($17,Half $9) also layers Neuske’s bacon with tomato, crisp iceberg lettuce and punchy garlic mayo.
Clark Street Bread owners Zack Hall and wife Michaela have three L.A. locations. At the Echo Park gulch bakery-cafe, I enjoyed a great BLT ($13) with Hobb’s bacon, heirloom tomato, lettuce and special sauce on toasted house-baked country sourdough.
Clementine, Annie Miler’s Century City café, serves “The Best BLT” ($17.95) with heirloom tomatoes in-season and roasted tomatoes off-season. This classic take also tucks thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon, iceberg lettuce and mayo into toasted rustic white levain.
At Friends & Family in Thai Town, world class baker Roxana Jullapat and chef-partner Daniel Mattern tag team to great effect. Their brunch friendly BELT ($16) features thick-cut bacon, over easy egg, market tomato, crisp lettuce and basil mayo on beautiful bread.
Liz Hollingsworth and family run Ginger Corner Market across from Pasadena’s Grant Park. Their standout BLT ($12) fills Homeboy sourdough with crisp romaine, tomato, mayo, and beaucoup bacon caramelized with brown sugar, pepper flakes and spices.
Valley Village’s Harvest Moon Kitchen + Marketplace shares a name with a great Neil Young song/album. Their BLT ($15.95) combines sweet & spicy bacon (mainly sweet), Roma tomato, lemon aioli, organic arugula on buttery grilled country white bread.
Blog Comments
RockieK
June 28, 2014 at 5:27 PM
Holy crap. I recently had a BLT for lunch at The Oaks Gourmet in Hollywood and it was incredible. May as well had a slab of bacon! It was built beautifully around (what seemed to be) an entire avocado, heirloom stripy tomatoes and the freshest lettuce ever. I’ve been thinking about it for two weeks.
Joshua Lurie
June 30, 2014 at 7:15 AM
RockieK, thanks for the Oaks Gourmet tip. It’s been awhile since I’ve visited that spot, but they serve some good, comforting sandwiches.
RockieK
July 13, 2014 at 5:38 PM
I went back the other day… there’s camembert cheese on the thing too. Did not have to eat dinner that day either! 🙂
DW
June 28, 2014 at 12:07 PM
Have you tried Industriel’s (downtown LA on 6th and Grand) BLAT? I haven’t tried it yet…
Joshua Lurie
June 28, 2014 at 1:05 PM
DW, I still haven’t tried Industriel. Have you heard good things?
Lisa
June 27, 2014 at 1:36 PM
Courtyard Cafe in Santa Monica also makes a great one
Christine
June 27, 2014 at 10:21 AM
Am I the only one who thinks salmon on a BLT sounds like overkill? Beyond adding avocado, I guess I’m a traditionalist. I think the Boathouse’s looks the best, which also happens to be the cheapest and closest by – win for me!
Brian Allen
June 27, 2014 at 10:13 AM
What about Bottega Louie? I thought their BLT was great.
Joshua Lurie
June 27, 2014 at 10:33 AM
Brian, I wasn’t aware of Bottega Louie’s BLT, but thanks for the suggestion.