Bakersfield Life

Enjoying brews and bites at Bj's

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David Luter on the beer

      Well, the Food Dudes are hungry once again, and a trip to BJ’s Brewhouse and Restaurant is just the ticket.

       I remember the first time I ate at a BJ’s. I was with friends in Balboa during the late 1980’s, and we found a place that billed itself as a “Chicago Pizzeria.” One bite and I fell in love with that pizza. Unfortunately, they weren’t brewing beer back then, but lucky for us 20 years later they are now.

      If you’re in the mood for a beer -- somewhere between a silver train that freezes everything around it, to one that’s dark enough to blot out the sun -- BJ’s is your brew house. To start things off we had the eight-beer sampler, with all the beers lined up from the lightest, Lightswitch, to the darkest, Tatonka Stout. The lagers, Lightswitch, Blonde, and Hefeweizen, were crisp, fresh, and great for a hot afternoon. The Piranha, a  light ale with that distinctive red hue, has a great hop flavor and goes down easy -- almost too easy. The Jeremiah Red is akin to an English strong ale that tastes great, and compliments much of the menu. The Tatonka Stout and the Nutty Brewnette, while similar in color, are different in the spectrum of taste. Where the stout has that “bitter hops” flavor, the Brewnette is sweeter and yes, nutty. They also have specials on tap all during the year, including the seasonal IPA, Oktoberfest and Pumpkin Ale.

       Now, our BJ’s does serve mixed drinks. As a matter of fact, the company has a yearly contest for their mixologists. Shannon, one of the talented Bakersfield bartenders, created an award-winning cocktail. That “Berry Delicious” is now served in all of the BJ’s across the country, and is a cool, refreshing drink combining berry vodka with fresh fruit and soda. Nice job, Shannon! We also sampled the Captains Mug with BJ’s handcrafted root beer. Think of it as a spiked root beer float, and you’ll enjoy every last drop.

Chris Hanson on the appetizers

      Appetizers are my kind of eating, and BJ’s has a broad menu of “yum” available in both their “Shareable Appetizers” and “Snacks & Small Bites” sections. We sampled from both menus and found all the selections impressive and awfully satisfying.

We started with the Thai Shrimp Lettuce Wraps and the Mini-Bruschetta. The wraps were chock-full of small shrimp, cabbage, carrots and onion, and carried enough spice to stand on their own, but when coupled with the spicy dipping sauce: “Aroi!” (Thai for ‘delicious’). The mini-bruschetta was a great representation of the Italian classic, using BJ’s own thick-cut focaccia bread. We all found the pesto vinaigrette a surprising and appealing addition.

Continuing with our appetizer gluttony, we noshed on an excellent California Club Flatbread pizza. It has everything a great California Club sandwich should have on a crispy and generous piece of flatbread with a great garlic aioli sauce. (Incidentally, I scored some big points with my wife by bringing one of these pizzas home after our excursion!) Mac and Cheese is becoming a trendy comfort food across the U.S., and they should all take a page from BJ’s Gourmet Mac & Cheese. Three different cheeses, bacon, chipotle and crushed Goldfish crackers (yeah, you read that correctly!) make it delicious and different. My only problem with this appetizer is that it is served in a small bowl. I wanted more! At that price though, I could certainly buy more.

     The most surprising appetizer was the Avocado Egg Rolls. I wasn’t looking forward to this particular selection, but after a few bites, they made an impression I won’t soon forget.  The avocado was fresh and the skins were fried perfectly. And after all this, we still had our main entrees to taste. “Oh waiter, another beer please!!!”

Kevin McCloskey on the entrees

     BJ's began making pizza's back in 1978, and while they dropped "Pizzeria" from their name in 1996, their tasty pizza is no doubt a large part of their successful expansion. For my money, they have the best deep dish pizza in town. With that in mind, I felt we should give other entrées a try from their extensive menu. But as my diminutive Food Dude mentor once taught me, “Dude or Dude not, there is no try.”

     The Parmesan Crusted Chicken with a lemon Chardonnay butter sauce is light, crisp and delicious.  I picked this particular item to see if it was good enough to topple my wife’s current favorite, the Old Fashioned Pot Roast, and I think it just might. Next across my plate were the Baby Back Pork Ribs. Slathered in a barbecue sauce made in part from their Jeremiah Red ale, the way the meat falls off the bones speaks to the kind of care and preparation -- very unusual in restaurants today.  If you are a fan of ribs, BJ’s ribs will not disappoint, and if you aren’t they could very well change your mind. For a pizza selection we chose the BJ’s Bacon Cheeseburger pizza. As a pizza traditionalist, I was really unsure about this one, but every time I’ve doubted an item on the menu, BJ’s has proven me wrong, and this one is no exception. The B.B.C. (my nickname not theirs) will surprise you, and may well be proof that they don’t make a bad pizza. Our final choice was the New Orleans Jambalaya. This one has a kick to it, so be prepared to order another beer when they drop it off. The blackened chicken, shrimp and chicken-andouille sausage were superb and the portion was big enough to take home for a fiery midnight snack and still have leftovers for lunch.

Bill Trivitt on the desserts

      The best way to finish a meal at BJ's is with one of their signature desserts. You can choose from several selections: Old Fashioned Apple Crisp, BJ's Brownie, BJ's Handcrafted Root Beer Float, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and the Pizookie.

     We all knew what we wanted. The Pizookie is a freshly baked deep-dish cookie with large scoops of ice cream on top, and you can select from Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Cookies ‘N Cream or the Triple Chocolate made with Ghirardelli chocolate. Trying to pick just one or two could end a 10-year friendship, but BJ's has you covered with the Pizookie Trio. Three mini Pizookies served with a single scoop of ice cream on each. We tried Chocolate Chunk, Cookie 'N Cream and Triple Chocolate along with a full-size Peanut Butter. All were great, but my favorite is Peanut Butter with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

      If you're free Saturday or Sunday morning, try BJ's Weekend Brunch. The menu is small, but covers all bases. We sampled the French toast, Granola with Yogurt and Fresh Fruit, and my favorite, the Kid’s Cap’n Crunch French Toast. I love Cap’n Crunch and these French toast sticks are rolled in the cereal crumbs then lightly fried. Delicious! With such a great menu that gets updated three times a year, bring your whole family down to BJ’s Brewhouse. And don’t forget to tell them the Food Dudes sent you!