Review: Blondie's, Big Bear Lake Village

Blondie's Steak House
Pine Knot Blvd
Big Bear Lake, California 92315
Cuisine: American
Features full bar

Food
Service
Price/Value
Atmosphere
Overall

We had mixed feelings as we put this review of Blondie's Steak House together. Our dining experience at Blondie's was plagued by several serious issues and we're going to be frank. We want to be fair in our explanation of what went wrong at this new Big Bear Lake restaurant, and we want Blondie's to know it is with concern that we point out the problems. We hope this review will help illuminate some trouble spots that if corrected may help improve diner's experience at Blondie's.

Appetizers


Creamy and rich homemade soup.


Cheddar Potato Soup with bacon and sausage.

The Soup Of The Day ($2.95) at Blondie's Steak House was a chunky and satisfying cream based soup. Of all the potatoes served to us on this visit, this soup had the most pleasant potato texture and flavor. We liked the aroma and mouthfeel of the base. It was slightly smoky. We were served this soup around seven o'clock and it was in great shape. There were no overcooked flavors distracting from the rich ingredients of this very pleasant, comforting soup.


Sampler Platter

Blondie's appetizer sampler features the standard line up of popcorn shrimp, chicken fingers, onion rings plus a signature offering, Blonde Bombshells with Chipotle Aioli ($8.95). The main problem with the platter that we were served was the uneven cooking of the fried foods. It's clear from the photograph that the onion rings were dark brown on one side and pale on the other. The onion inside was overcooked and so we stopped eating them. The popcorn shrimp had many soft and pale spots in the breading. We were left with the impression that they may have gone into the frier in clumps that weren't separated. The cocktail sauce had a horseradish kick but a juicy lemon wedge sadly, was not present. The chicken strips were pleasantly cooked and served with ranch dressing.



Blonde Bombshells

The platter's highlight are two whipped potato fritters called a Blonde Bombshells. Smoky bacon, cheddar cheese, green onion and chipotle chili stud the potato mixture and the Bombshells are rolled in a touch of parmesan cheese. They had an earthy taste that wasn't pleasant. We debated whether the light dirt flavor was from the potatoes or the scallions. What was less subtle was the gluey texture of the whipped potatoes. They were crisp on the outside. The taste and texture of the Bombshells on our platter we're not what we expected. We weren't sure if the aioli was freshly made, but the chipotle chile in it overwhelmed anything we put it on. It wasn't overly spicy, but the smokiness of the chipotle was very strong.


Entrees
Once again we apologize for the absence of entree pictures. We have discovered the technical problem with our camera and will make sure that all the pictures record for the next review

Blondie's Steak House has great looking steak selections on the cover of the menu, and when we asked our server what she recommended she strongly suggested the steaks. The head chef of Blondie's, Tom Ramirez has a solid reputation for selecting and cutting excellent beef. He's a grill master and we've experienced his finesse with beef at another location. We had no doubt that Chef Tom's steaks would be excellent but we both had prime rib over the holiday and wanted to try other things on the menu. We still have plans to return to Blondie's at a later time to give the steak dinners a try.

What we did sample on our visit to Blondie's was the Liver and Onions dinner ($9.95)and The Classic Burger ($6.50) with fries.


A very juicy burger patty

I hope you can see from the only surviving photograph of our entrees that this burger is juicy and thick. Seven ounces of fresh ground sirloin are hand pressed, charbroiled and served on an onion bun. The burger we were served was nicely cooked just a touch under medium. The quality of the ingredients are great. The main problem with this burger is that the meat seemed overworked. It had a meatball like texture. The bun was not extraordinary, it was a little disappointing because it reminded us of grocery store buns. The iceberg lettuce was crisp but the huge clump that was on it, hanging out over the sides of the burger was a pain to deal with. The tomatoes had a nice color and were flavorful. The fries were soggy and pale but had potential.

Liver and onions at Blondie's is sauteed in butter with onions and bacon. Like other dinner selections, it's served with soup of the day or salad and a choice of fries, garlic mashed or baked potato. The salad had iceberg lettuce as it's only green but it was very crisp, clean and had no signs of oxidation. The tomato, cucumber and croutons were all fresh. The blue cheese dressing was not sharply flavored.

The entree itself was shocking. This dish should have been sent back to the kitchen. The liver was much too overcooked. It had become leathery with a lot of black char here and there. The onions were undercooked in some spots and burned in others. The bacon crumbles didn't seem fresh. The garlic mashed potatoes were served bare and were far to dry. Similar to the Bombshells, the potato starch seemed to have broken down into a gluey, pasty state. They had a grayish color and were hardly edible. The green beans were mushy and falling apart on the fork. The plate was very crowded so it was hard to cut the meat and eat the sides without spilling a little.

Desserts


Blondie's Signature Dessert

We ordered the "Blondie of the Day" ($3.95) which was presented as two huge and thick blondies with chocolate hazelnut mousse in between and on top. Each day the chefs come up with a different flavor for the mousse. The dessert is huge but it's served on a tiny, little plate. We tried to keep it together but the whole thing toppled off the little plate and all over our table after we each had a couple of bites. The blondies are well over an inch thick, super-dense and chewy. It's not easy to get a fork through them. The mousse did not have the texture we were expecting. It seemed like lightly flavored whipped cream, soft and runny. The blondies have hints of butter, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. We would have liked the blondie to be a little easier to chew and for the mousse to be more substantial in both flavor and texture.

Dining Experience Summary



Panoramic view of dishes and trash piled up next to our dessert.

Blondie's is tucked away inside of the mall it shares with Wings Jewelers. The parking lot entrance is only marked with a big X on the ground next to the jewelry store side. Don't pass it or you'll have to go around the block. Blondie's itself is in towards the back of the mall. It shares bathrooms with the mall.

The decor was very minimal. The menus were stylish, clean and well laid out. There is a large dining area and a generous sized room if you prefer tables rather than booths. Blondie's has a full bar to enjoy.

We ordered coffee and a glass of Coca-Cola when we sat down. The coffee served at Blondie's is a coffee concentrate. It has a strong flavor with a strong caffeine kick to match but coffee sticklers may miss fresh brewed coffee. They serve fresh half and half in a little cream pitcher. The Coke was as flat as it gets and overly sweet. You can see in the appetizer photos of the soup that there is not one bubble in our Coke. It came from the bar and it seemed like warm Coke poured over ice. I wasn't given a straw.

The food had problems, some were critical but it was the service that left us most concerned about the dining experience at Blondie's. Our server was nice but she didn't listen carefully to us. While we were deciding what to order she hovered but as soon as our food was served we didn't see her much. She never cleared one dish as our courses were served. She didn't return soon after our entrees were served to find out if everything was alright. We were done eating when she finally came back and asked us how everything was and if we needed anything else. I had made the mistake when we ordered of asking for a Classic cheese burger. I should have asked for a Cheese burger and I noticed right away so I corrected myself by adding that I wanted the burger that comes with cheese. When she asked how the meal was I told her I missed the cheese on the burger. She said but the Classic doesn't come with cheese. We understood that miscommunication, but when we mentioned the problems with the liver and onions and the sides that came with it, she just said she was sorry in a sheepish tone and left the plate sitting in front of us.

We ordered dessert and wondered if our table would be cleared off before it was served. Our server returned quickly with our Blondie of the Day and set it in the last little space on our table. She looked around and suggested that if we needed more napkins to just grab them from the empty seats next to us. She was about to leave when we asked if we could have refills on the coffee which had long been empty and she refilled our cups. We had our mishap with our toppling blondie tower and then waited and waited for our check.

We want to come back to Blondie's Steak House on our next round of reviews for steak dinners to give them a chance to show off what they probably do best. We've decided to hold off giving Blondie's their grade until we've tried their steak menu. Based on this experience I would recommend Blondie's to someone that wants a to duck out of the cold for a great cup or bowl of soup and a juicy burger while shopping or sight seeing in downtown Big Bear. Since Blondie's is hidden from the sidewalk foot traffic and it has such ample seating, you can dine in a set back and spacious environment.

Blondie's offers a light menu featuring Broiled Tilapia with Teriyaki Glaze ($9.95) and the Blondie Lou Shrimp and Crab Salad ($8.95) among other sensible selections. The kid's menu features all the favorites, Grilled Cheese and Fries, Chicken Dippers and Fries, Mac and Cheese and Kid's Burgers at $3.95 each for children under 12.

If you've dined at Blondie's Steak House in Big Bear Lake Village please post to tell us about your experience. If you would like us to review a restaurant in Big Bear Lake, California please leave your request.