Dine and Dish: The Bear Club Restaurant in Reedley

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Bear Club Restaurant at Manning Avenue and Buttonwillow has been serving Reedley residents since 1976.

"You don't need to drive to Visalia. You don't need to drive to Fresno, Clovis if you're local obviously," Manager Juan Reyes said.

There's something good brewing here. Maybe its the special "sand" seasoning. Maybe its the way steaks are char broiled.

"It has lava rocks in between the flame and that gives it that really nice texture," Reyes said. "What we have is a 12-ounce certified Angus New York steak."

The jalapeno burger has peppers mixed into the patty. But when you add a slice of pepperjack cheese.

"When you first take a bite of it, you will taste the explosion of different flavors," Reyes said.

Holiding the burger in place is what's called an "octopus jalapeno."

"You can taste the jalapeno but it's not too hot," Reyes said.

But Bartender Carlos Eduardo loves to create towering infernos, particularly flaming cocktails.

Chef Reyes put together a shrimp scampi pasta dish for my visit.

"It's got a little bit of white wine, garlic, some crushed pepper, some shrimp, spinach, tomatoes and some linguini. noodles. It's just delicious," he said.

When Chef Juan bought the place in 2013, he ensured Grandma Koobation's lamb shish kabob stayed on the menu.

Along with the black and blue flat bread, which has been a hit.

"Herb flat bread topped with garlic cream sauce,caramelized onions, sauteed spinach and then we're going to top it with New York steak," Reyes said.

Chef Juan relies on locally grown produce like asparagus, zucchini which are deep fried into sticks and pistachios from the family farm top this salmon dish.

"I wanted to be different than everything else out there. That's the reason why I do a lot of entrees rather than sandwiches and burgers," Reyes said. ""It's something we need around here for the local community, just in case they want to celebrate something."

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