Black Bear Diner - Phoenix

The Black Bear Diner has been one of my breakfast hangouts whenever I am over on the west side, which was the case on Saturday morning. I love their theme, very "woodsy" and "Bearsy."



The food is always very good, I especially like the homemade breakfast sausage.

My favorite breakfast combination of all time has to be two scrambled, home fries, sausage with biscuits and country gravy...all doused with good hot sauce.



Black Bear Cafe is now a southwestern regional chain, starting out in the high country of California. Every one I have eaten at has been consistantly good, for lunch I get the Patty Melt......a Patty Melt lover's dream!

If you are one of those folks who hasto eat at In-and-Out while traveling to the west coast, you really should add the Black Bear Cafe to your list of must eat places.



http://www.blackbeardiner.com/

DD
Are there any other locations in the Valley of the Suns?

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

DD
Are there any other locations in the Valley of the Suns?

There are only 3 in the Valley, all west side. The one I went to is off of the I-10 at Dysart, and there are two up on Bell Road, one at 24th Ave and one at 60th Ave.

Hope they get one over here on my side someday, I gotta imagine they would do well in the Scottsdale area.


DD

I see they have a Santa Maria Tri Tip dinner.....

DD, they have I-5 covered from North of I 80 to our Medford Location.
Willows, Hanford, Redding, Mt. Shasta, Yreka, Medford.
They've got US97 covered too, with K Falls, Bend, and Madras.
A high Quality chain.

Tulare right off the 99. Consider me there on my next trip to Sanger.

There is one in Beaverton, Oregon, a Portland suburb.

When I lived in Northern California, I used to go to the Black Bear Diner in Gilroy, which had the best orange juice I've ever tasted. On a Saturday or Sunday, I would drive 40 miles from Saratoga just to get that OJ. Over the years, I've been to several other Black Bears -- and all of them offer a very nice breakfast -- and I frequently eat at the Original Pancake House and other excellent breakfast places. But I have never had orange juice to compare with the BB in Gilroy (and I've lived all over California and Texas and in South Florida). I hope it hasn't changed in the two years since I moved to Southern California, because I sense a road trip coming on.

quote:

Originally posted by sbritchky

When I lived in Northern California, I used to go to the Black Bear Diner in Gilroy, which had the best orange juice I've ever tasted. On a Saturday or Sunday, I would drive 40 miles from Saratoga just to get that OJ. Over the years, I've been to several other Black Bears -- and all of them offer a very nice breakfast -- and I frequently eat at the Original Pancake House and other excellent breakfast places. But I have never had orange juice to compare with the BB in Gilroy (and I've lived all over California and Texas and in South Florida). I hope it hasn't changed in the two years since I moved to Southern California, because I sense a road trip coming on.

Maybe that OJ in Gilroy has a secret (local) ingredient in it...

There is a very new one in Federal Way, WA. It is a welcome addition to this neck of the woods, not many good breakfast options.

quote:

Originally posted by desertdog



The Black Bear Diner has been one of my breakfast hangouts whenever I am over on the west side, which was the case on Saturday morning. I love their theme, very "woodsy" and "Bearsy."



The food is always very good, I especially like the homemade breakfast sausage.

My favorite breakfast combination of all time has to be two scrambled, home fries, sausage with biscuits and country gravy...all doused with good hot sauce.



Black Bear Cafe is now a southwestern regional chain, starting out in the high country of California. Every one I have eaten at has been consistantly good, for lunch I get the Patty Melt......a Patty Melt lover's dream!

If you are one of those folks who hasto eat at In-and-Out while traveling to the west coast, you really should add the Black Bear Cafe to your list of must eat places.



http://www.blackbeardiner.com/

Got back over to Black Bear Diner this morning for breakfast, this time the one at 59th Ave and Bell.

I ordered the Volcano - Three pancakes, two eggs, bacon and sausage.




The cakes were huge and fluffy, with a nice texture and flavor to them. The bacon was just right and the sausage links were juicy and a bit smokey, mmmmm they were good!





The fresh squeezed OJ was cold and refreshing - really hit the spot. I'm tellin ya, folks, look this place up when you are out anywhere up or down the West Coast, Nevada, Arizona or Colorado.

They really seem to know what they are doing - Very tasty food and a comfortable atmosphere will keep me coming back.


DD

On our trip north on I5 we passed a sign for this Black Bear Diner as we were heading into Mt. Shastna. Unfortunately we did not stop in because it looked too much like a Denneys. We were hoping to see a real diner. Never judge a book by it's cover I guess, because that food looks pretty darn good.

That's a good looking breakfast DD, thanks.

Wow. I didn't know Black Bear Diner was a chain. We have a Black Bear Diner here in Las Vegas on W Tropicana. It took over the space once occupied by one of my favorite places in town: Keuken Dutch. That place was fantastic; the waitresses had these Dutch outfits and the breakfasts were consistently in the A range. I think it was a chain, but it eventually bit the dust in the 1990s.

I ate at the BB Diner on Dysart Rd, PHX this week. Terrible! Ordered their corned beef hash, 2 poached eggs, biscuit,home fries. The hash came as a CHUNK of Corned Beef, nothing else, cooked to death on a griddle, tough as a mother-in-laws heart, full of fat and gristle. The Poached eggs were hard boiled. The biscuit was hard as a hockey puck! Won't be going back!

Wow, foodbme, that is a bummer. Especially after seeing DesertDog's pics, which, if I am correctly reading it, are from the same location you went to. Was it just an off day, perhaps?

Thanks for posting about the Black Bear. They have four locations that are less than a hours drive to me and I never knew about it! I may try the Gilroy or Monterey location soon and report back!

Matt,
Aptos, CA

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

I ate at the BB Diner on Dysart Rd, PHX this week. Terrible! Ordered their corned beef hash, 2 poached eggs, biscuit,home fries. The hash came as a CHUNK of Corned Beef, nothing else, cooked to death on a griddle, tough as a mother-in-laws heart, full of fat and gristle. The Poached eggs were hard boiled. The biscuit was hard as a hockey puck! Won't be going back!

After reading your review Foodbme, I needed to check it out for myself. I was over in Estrella Mountain Ranch this morning, so I took the chance to stop in.

I ordered exactly what you ordered...it came out fine. The poached eggs were served in the cup that they were poached in, so I dumped them onto the CBH. The hash itself was definitely homemade and had a nice crunch without being dry. The biscuit was light, hot and fluffy, and tasted great with the butter served on the side. The potatoes were only so-so.

Maybe we'll have to go back and try it again together, my treat. If I would have gotten what you described, I would have talked to the manager, James. He is a real hands on store manager and would have gotten you squared away immediately.

DD

quote:

Originally posted by desertdog

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

I ate at the BB Diner on Dysart Rd, PHX this week. Terrible! Ordered their corned beef hash, 2 poached eggs, biscuit,home fries. The hash came as a CHUNK of Corned Beef, nothing else, cooked to death on a griddle, tough as a mother-in-laws heart, full of fat and gristle. The Poached eggs were hard boiled. The biscuit was hard as a hockey puck! Won't be going back!

After reading your review Foodbme, I needed to check it out for myself. I was over in Estrella Mountain Ranch this morning, so I took the chance to stop in.

I ordered exactly what you ordered...it came out fine. The poached eggs were served in the cup that they were poached in, so I dumped them onto the CBH. The hash itself was definitely homemade and had a nice crunch without being dry. The biscuit was light, hot and fluffy, and tasted great with the butter served on the side. The potatoes were only so-so.

Maybe we'll have to go back and try it again together, my treat. If I would have gotten what you described, I would have talked to the manager, James. He is a real hands on store manager and would have gotten you squared away immediately.

DD

Usually I would have but the menu said it was their "special" way of doing corned beef hash, so I figured that's the way they did it. By the time a got 1/2 way through the meal, I figured, "Screw it" and just ate a fewmore bites andcut my losses and left. If I'm over that way again, I'll give them a second chance.

We have a fairly new Black Bear diner up in Olympia, WA. I think it's got a pretty solid breakfast menu overall. My personal favorite is the Bigfoot 3/4 lb chicken fried steak and eggs. It's a CFS that's about the size of a boogie board

BTW, my 1st post! Finally delurking as my love of food overpowered my desire to remain on the sidelines.

There is a Black Bear in Pottersville, NY deep in the heart of the Adirondacks. Trust me, it ain't a chain!

Wally

The most recent list of locations from the website:
http://blackbeardiner.com/

36 Diners & Growing!
Arizona
Bullhead City, AZ
Glendale, AZ
Goodyear, AZ
Lake Havasu City, AZ
Phoenix, AZ

California
Alturas, CA
Carmel, CA
Gilroy, CA
Gridley, CA
Hanford, CA
Monterey, CA
Mt. Shasta, CA
Porterville, CA
Redding, CA
Rohnert Park, CA
Salinas, CA
Sonoma, CA
Suisun City, CA
Susanville, CA
Tulare, CA
Walnut Creek, CA
Willows, CA
Yreka, CA

Colorado
Colorado Springs, CO
Grand Junction, CO

Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
Reno, NV
Sparks, NV

Oregon
Beaverton, OR
Bend, OR
Klamath Falls, OR
Madras, OR
Medford, OR

Washington
Federal Way, WA
Olympia, WA
Redmond, WA

quote:

Originally posted by wallhd

There is a Black Bear in Pottersville, NY deep in the heart of the Adirondacks. Trust me, it ain't a chain!

Wally

Trust Me. It IS a Chain!

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

quote:

Originally posted by wallhd

There is a Black Bear in Pottersville, NY deep in the heart of the Adirondacks. Trust me, it ain't a chain!

Wally

Trust Me. It IS a Chain!

NO Trust me, Black Bear in Pottersville, NY is NOT a chain. http://blackbear.adirondackinternet.com

quote:

Originally posted by desertdog

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

DD
Are there any other locations in the Valley of the Suns?

There are only 3 in the Valley, all west side. The one I went to is off of the I-10 at Dysart, and there are two up on Bell Road, one at 24th Ave and one at 60th Ave.

Hope they get one over here on my side someday, I gotta imagine they would do well in the Scottsdale area.


DD

There is one that recently opened in the Mesa - Gilbert area, just west of Gilbert Rd. on Baseline. Haven't been yet, though it is very close to me. I'll definately have to give it a try!

quote:

Originally posted by SuperDave70

quote:

Originally posted by desertdog

quote:

Originally posted by Foodbme

DD
Are there any other locations in the Valley of the Suns?

There are only 3 in the Valley, all west side. The one I went to is off of the I-10 at Dysart, and there are two up on Bell Road, one at 24th Ave and one at 60th Ave.

Hope they get one over here on my side someday, I gotta imagine they would do well in the Scottsdale area.


DD

There is one that recently opened in the Mesa - Gilbert area, just west of Gilbert Rd. on Baseline. Haven't been yet, though it is very close to me. I'll definately have to give it a try!

I've been to the Gilbert location numerous times. It's just fine and a friendly wait staff