Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant
Bottomless Coffee
Warm Blueberry Muffin
Honey Coconut Chicken and Waffles – Honey Coconut Hand Battered Chicken Breast, Butter Cream Waffle drizzled with Honey, Honey butter
Chocolate Chip Pancakes – Chocolate Chip Studded Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes with Whipped Cream
Carrot Cake
Blueberry Crumb Cake
Newly opened in a renovated Marie Callender’s on West Flamingo near Yonaka, it was in forgoing one last stop at The Griddle Café that I entered the newest location of family owned local favorite Blueberry Hill Family Restaurant, and with service as friendly and efficient as ever it was a five-part order that constituted breakfast as well as later-day snacks – some items absolutely delicious, while others decidedly lacked.
Located on a busy corner, with a parking lot nearly filled to capacity by 9:00am though the enormous restaurant was only perhaps 2/3 full, it was with the first of several cups of 100% Arabica coffee that the meal began and with bold flavor and a smooth finish one must say this is an area where Blueberry Hill excels, a statement no less justified in describing the ‘limited’ run of Blueberry Muffins, baked fresh each day and served warm with a streusel top and sidecar of butter, quick to sell out and “gone when they’re gone.”
Having sampled the Monte Cristo and Oreo Pancakes on a prior visit to the Decatur location it was once again in two entrees that appetite was invested and with a rich buttermilk recipe handed down since 1966 the supple texture of a 3-stack of pancakes was only improved by smooth whipped cream and a handful of melting chocolate chips, a chocolate fudge drizzle requested in place of the included syrup making things all the more decadent at absolutely no additional charge.
Moving next to something somewhat savory, suffice it to say that Blueberry Hill’s Chicken and Waffles is nothing like that which one will find down South, yet having watched a young line-cook hand batter each strip in the kitchen, roll it in coconuts, and then toss it in a fryer the attention to detail was appreciated as each piping hot piece paired nicely to a pliable golden waffle well suited to soak up a drizzle of honey and plenty of butter soaked in the same.
At this point happily sated, but with a long wait at the car dealership ahead, it was with two slices of cake made in the on-site bakery that I took my leave and although the carrot cake was dry, spongy, and almost entirely devoid of flavor aside from sweetness from the cream cheese icing the Blueberry Crumb cake was a masterful composition with moist yellow cake, buttery crumbles, and bursting blueberries beneath bright blue frosting that tasted surprisingly natural, and not overly sweet.
THREE AND A HALF STARS: A bit more expensive than chains such as IHOP, but obviously committed to using better ingredients and taking extra steps to assure customer satisfaction, Blueberry Hill remains one of Las Vegas’ best 24/7 locally owned stops – the sort of place I’d probably never eat dinner, but one where breakfast is never a bad choice.
RECOMMENDED: Warm Blueberry Muffin, Honey Coconut Chicken and Waffles
AVOID: Carrot Cake
TIP: Open 24/7 with a total of five locations throughout the Valley those interested in specific items should note that only a few Blueberry Hill’s are licensed to serve alcohol, while this new location is the only one with a full bevy of cakes and pastries made in-house, the others receiving shipments from this location at varied times throughout the day.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor