Sugar Pine Bake Shop

So, I was visiting Big Bear the other weekend and stopped by the Sugar Pine Bake Shop for some morning pastries. The quarter pound cinnamon roll and the blueberry cheese danish were destined to be on my menu for the day. Both were fantastic, and are now on the top of my list when visiting this local bake shop.

The cinnamon roll had a giant spoonful of frosting on top and since these pastries were to go, I was able to heat it up in the microwave for 20 seconds and eat it while it was all nice and gooey, with frosting dripping down the sides. It was such pure goodness, I wish that I would have bought 2 more (or maybe even 3)...There was a lot of frosting, but it was nice and light and had great flavor. I give it 5 stars....

The blueberry cheese danish was also excellent. I have had the regular cheese danish in the past and loved it, but they did not offer them on this particular morning, so I went with the blueberry cheese instead. It was even better than the cheese danish. I do not know how they keep the crust so light and flaky, but it was perfection. Of course I warmed this one up for 20 seconds as well. My motto is that when it is 28 degrees outside, you should be eating warm food. I give this 5 stars too.

I visited the Sugar Pine Bake Shop shortly after they first opened and tried a few sugar cookies, and I am sad to say that I was not a fan. But, then I decided to give them another shot, and I am glad I did. The last 3 times that I have been back, I have had great pastries. I have not tried any other varieties of cookies or the cupcakes yet, but every pastry I have had, has been excellent.

By far the best pastries on the hill.

Sugar Pine Bake Shop

40191 Big Bear Blvd

Big Bear Lake, Ca

http://www.sugarpinebakeshop.com/

Big Bear Gourmet Coffee/Teddy Bear's Pantry...

I love the Teddy Bear Pantry.....stopped by there again this weekend to pick up my monthly supply of ground delight! They have over 170 different flavors of both regular and decaffeinated blends to choose from. They use only the finest Arabica beans and feature coffee from all over the world including Hawaii (Kona and Kauai), Jamaica (Jamaican Blue Mountain), South America and Africa. All the coffee is roasted and flavored on-site, so quality and freshness are guaranteed.

Although you can get a cup of coffee there (tea, hot chocolate or apple cider too, if you like), it is not a place where you pop in and get a cup of coffee, like Starbucks or Coffee Bean..It's a place that you go and get your coffee - whole beans or ground - to use at home instead of Folgers etc....The Teddy Bear Pantry/Big Bear Gourmet Coffee has by far the freshest coffee around with none of that burnt smell or taste like Starbucks coffee...At the Teddy Bear Pantry, you can actually taste the flavor of the coffee.

As if the quality of the coffee weren't enough, the customer service is superb.  We stop by about once a month to bring coffee back to Orange County and the same lady is behind the counter and we pick up the conversation right where it ended at our previous visit.  If you can't make it up to Big Bear, you can order online at www.bigbearcoffeecompany.com.  Once you try it, you'll never drink that store bought coffee again!

My favorites are Jen's Blend, Mountain Magic, Highlanders Grog and French Caramel....