East valley’s Blue Skillet Pancake House caters to an off-Strip crowd

By Bailey Schulz / Las Vegas Review-Journal

7 years ago

The storefront of The Blue Skillet Pancake House on 5000 East Bonanza Road. (Bailey Schulz/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

A cup of coffee sits atop a table at The Blue Skillet Pancake House. (Bailey Schulz/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The Blue Skillet Pancake House’s “Little Boy Blue” order includes two blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, two eggs and a choice of three bacon strips, three sausage links or ham ($10.69). (Bailey Schulz/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Two blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, part of the restaurant’s Little Boy Blue order ($10.69). (Bailey Schulz/Las Vegas Review-Journal.)

The Blue Skillet Pancake House is all about the classics.

Waffles, pancakes, french toast and crepes are some of the top sellers, said manager Romeo Deleon. The East Bonanza Road location opened in 1993 and makes its pancakes from scratch.

The 10-page menu also includes lunch, such as salads ($9.69-$10.39), sandwiches ($8.99-$10.89), chilaquiles ($9.69) and tacos ($9.19).

And of course, there are the skillets. Options include the the meat lover’s skillet, filled with sausage, bacon, ham, onion, green peppers, tomatoes and cheese ($10.79), and the Mexican skillet, with seasoned ground beef, green peppers, onions, tomatoes and cheese and a side of hot salsa ($10.29).

Deleon worked in the original location in Chicago before moving to Las Vegas with the company in 1990, when another location opened on East Charleston Boulevard. Deleon said it wasn’t a hard decision.

“There, the weather was so cold,” he said of the city on the shore of Lake Michigan. “Now, I get the heat.”

Most customers are locals, given that the location is far from the Strip, Deleon said.

The restaurant offers classics such as Belgian waffles ($8.49) and buttermilk pancakes ($8.49), as well as specialty sweet-tooth dishes such as chocolate Oreo pancakes ($9.39) and cinnamon swirl pancakes ($8.99). The Blue Skillet also offers entrees, including hamburgers ($8.99) and patty melts ($10.19).