Madlon's Restaurant
"Gourmet Finds Big Bear Lake"
Madlon’s
Restaurant
By Bill Anthony
Gone are the days when fine dining in Big Bear meant that the chef skinned a squirrel---sprinkled onto, what remained, some dry rub prior to finishing it well done on the grill---and then topping it off with a port wine reduction. The new chefs, the new cooks and the new owners on the top of the mountain can go toe-to-toe, oven-to-oven, grill-to-grill with the best of the really good food magicians down in LA, Newport Beach, Vegas or wherever spot and place you name!
I, and a few other foodies, enjoyed the best the mountain had to offer last month over a three day visit, and it all started with dinner at Madlon’s Restaurant----a serious fine dining place with a flair to the French side of cuisine. Chelsie Orr, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate of the Minneapolis/St. Paul campus and her husband, Robert, also a Cordon Bleu graduate of the Pasadena campus are co-owners of Madlon’s. They have transformed and dressed up a gingerbread-style cottage into an intimate and elegant dining room.
The wine list is one of the best that this “wine snob” has seen in any of the better fine dining spots around. The markup is low, prices are reasonable, and the selection should please any wine lover who has to have that certain bottle. The food is even better. Rave reviews by all and not one complaint. I will not bore you with the menu (go and try this “find” yourself)---you will not be disappointed, I guarantee. Appetizers prices range from $6 to $9; entrees $11 to $28; and dessert $6 to $8. Seating is limited so reservations are a must. Rating 10 pigs being the best--this is a 9.5! Service and value---rated a 10.
Madlon’s is located at 829 West Big Bear Road in Big Bear City and the phone number is (866) 640-0303.