Blondies Sports Bar

Review

It's just a matter of time before Las Vegas becomes a synonym for lavish in thesauruses everywhere. This is the city that tries to set the bar for the rest of the world.  

And if you have doubts, just ask yourself if your hometown features a wine collection that requires mountain climbing equipment in order to retrieve a bottle?

I don't think so.

It's easy to forget your roots in Vegas (believe it or not this was a cow town at one time) and there is no better example than a Vegas sports bar. It's unbelievably hard to find something similar to your favorite place back home. You know the one with the sports memorabilia strewn throughout and the simple menu of wings and nachos.

While we won't fault you for stepping out of your norm (this is Vegas after all), Blondies at Miracle Mile inside Planet Hollywood takes the sports bar back to the basics.

There is no shortage of team banners hanging from the rafters, collectables posted on the walls or even artwork drawn on the ceiling. The beer flows fairly cheaply compared to some other Strip locations ($20 will get you a bucket of beer) and the menu features everything you love about sports bars, including "the best wings," Blondies Manager Catherine Hubner says she has ever tasted.

OK, sure she's a bit biased, but with big, meaty wings and a variety of mild, medium, hot, BBQ, teriyaki or habanero, there's something for your taste buds. Other menu items include: beer can chicken, the Reuben sandwich and a variety of pizzas.

Happy hour runs from 3-6 p.m. daily with $20 all-you-can-drink wells and drafts and the bar opens early for all major sporting events.

Now, a Vegas sports bar can't just be exactly like the one back home. So for Blondies' Vegas touch, they added enough large-screen TVs to rival Times Square. OK, maybe not that many, but considering they have a 12-foot screen mixed with a large number of 60-inch TVs and more than 40 total screens in a 5,500-square foot room, it's pretty dramatic.

There's not a bad seat in the house and you don't even have to come in to see the TVs. They face out to the main hallway of the mall so if you're stuck shopping just make sure you pass by a few times to get your sports fix.

Oh, and Blondies isn't just the name of some beer-bellied, blond-haired owner. When you see the gorgeous servers decked out in the classic cheerleading outfits you loved in high school, you'll know why they went with the name Blondies -- and why this everyday sports bar is far from ordinary.

-- Review by Justin Lawson