Tuesday, March 3, 2009

BJ's - Oakridge Mall, San Jose

Sunday was a pretty drizzly day. Perfect for shopping at the mall right? Well, wrong. Everyone thought the same idea and nothing is more annoying than a packed mall! I pretended it didn't bother me for awhile and tried to think happy thoughts. I was at a mall and about to indulge into some retail therapy - happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts... Nope! I was just too annoyed with strollers ramming into me, people coughing in my direction and the messy stores from inconsiderate shoppers. I needed out! That lead me outside to find...



After only a couple minutes wait we were guided to our table. It was a pretty cool place! Looked sort of like a warehouse but had the sports bar like feel. We had a quiet corner of the restaurant right by the kitchen door, I guess our food would be coming out piping hot! Yes! The menu the hostess sat us with was like a novel. It featured deep dish pizzas, salads, sandwiches, pastas, steaks, baby back ribs and so much more. And of course, BJ’s own handcrafted beer.



I was definitely in the mood! I wanted to try a little sample of each. If you haven't guessed by now I like to try new things and a sample of different brews included. It was all in the name of research! The BJ'S Brewhouse Blonde was good as well as the BJ’S Jeremiah Red - the rest could have been flushed down the toilet.




With the weather beating down on us I decided to fight back with soup! I ordered the Clam Chowder in a bread bowl with a butter toasted top! The Clam Chowder was pretty standard. Didn't knock my socks off but it was not a huge disappointment. I liked that it was creamy, rather than chunks of boiled potatoes. The bread was made soggy, perfect for tearing and sopping action. The beautiful entree shown below the Chowder is the Parmesan Crusted Chicken. Two marinated chicken breasts were coated with Parmesan cheese and crunchy Panko breadcrumbs, lightly pounded and pan fried to a golden brown. They were served with white cheddar mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and topped with a lemon butter sauce, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil and Parmesan cheese. This dish was pretty much perfect. No complaints.

All in all BJ's allowed me to find refuge. Allowing me to refuel and find balance after the hectic chaos experienced inside the mall. Malls on rainy Sundays are malls to avoid. I had heard how great BJ's was from many people, I wouldn't ever say it was great but definitely average. You know what you are going to get and it probably will be just the same every time - franchise baby! Would I return, maybe. Would I suggest somewhere else? Yes. Will I stop asking these questions anytime soon? Most likely not. Melissa Good Taste says 1.5 thumbs up for being a good franchise restaurant.

5 comments:

pinknest said...

ohhh yum!! i love delicious things served in bread bowls.

pinknest said...

yum! i love delicious things served in cute bread bowls!

Diana said...

Aww BJs... reminds me of when I was young and my parents would take my brothers and I there for pizza on Friday nights. I thought it was soooo good.

Anonymous said...

is that breadbowl as big as it looks? wow!

Merrie said...

I went to the one in San Jose last year -- I remember laughing that the blonde was almost clear. ;) We had appetizers to share and I remember enjoying them, but it takes some work to ruin appetizers. Glad you enjoyed.