Dining: BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

A couple weeks ago was my birthday. My husband decided to get a babysitter and take me to dinner rather than bring the whole family with us. I had a coupon for a Free Pizookie (more about that later), so I opted to go there. This restaurant opened locally about 2 years ago and it is still a happening place. There is always a crowd. So, we picked up the babysitter and headed out for dinner (we did bring the youngest munchkin with us because she will not stay with anyone but Mom). The wait was not too bad. I had called ahead of time and put our name on the waiting list (I highly recommend you do this, too!). The atmosphere is casual, so I wasn't expecting a quiet intimate dinner, but it also wasn't overly casual with TVs all over. They were placed where you could see them but they were not the focal point. While BJ's is a brewhouse and does make their own ale, we are not drinkers, so I had a water and my husband had a strawberry lemonade. The water was good...I know that sounds weird, but I have been to other places where you can tell the water came directly from the tap and it is rather nasty. But this was quite refreshing. And the strawberry lemonade....divine! It was even a little thick but very tasty!! We skipped the appetizers and went right for dinner. I was not in the mood for pizza, so we looked at the dinner selections. I chose the Angus Pot Roast Sandwich. It is "tender Angus beef pot roast slices are served on a toasted garlic cheese French roll and topped with white cheddar mashed potatoes and mushroom brown gravy. Served
with oven roasted vegetables." This was melt-in-your-mouth delicious! The meat just melted, the potatoes were the perfect compliment and the bread balanced it all out. The vegetables were good, but a little dry. The portion was just the right size. I finished it all but I was not stuffed. The hubby ordered Texas-Style Chicken Fried Steak. It is "a hearty serving of seasoned Angus Sirloins, fried to a golden brown and served with white cheddar mashed potatoes, pepper cream gravy and seasoned, steamed vegetables." It was delicious, too, although the kick of pepper in it was a little too hot for me. I actually preferred the steamed vegetables he had. He had a better variety and they were still tender crisp. Very yummy. His portion came with two pieces of steak, and so we took one home along with some mashed potatoes. And then came the moment I was waiting for. Pizookie!!! A pizookie is a "freshly baked, hot out of the oven, rich and delicious cookie topped with two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream and served in its own deep dish.Your choice of Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Peanut Butter or Oatmeal Raisin Walnut." I love white chocolate and macadamia nuts, so we opted for that one. We decided to split it. It smelled divine. And when I bit into it, heaven! It was warm, moist, gooey...then mixed with the ice cream, just heaven.

Overall, my experience at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse was fantastic. The service was great, the prices were very reasonable, and the food was just divine. Overall, we gave it 4 thumbs up!! I can't wait for my next meal there...