"Steve Jackson" > wrote in
news:ks4qf.5587$vJ4.1985@trnddc07:

> "Blake S" > wrote in message
> k.net...

> BBC brews very nicely balanced beers. It's not the place to
> go for an overload of hops by any stretch. Locally, to be
> honest, I'm not sure which brewpubs I would put in that
> camp, actually.

Or really big beers, neither.

Pizza Port is the only place that comes to mind that fits both bills
consistently. Of course, it's hardly in the area under discussion.
Frankly, Blake, if you've not been, it might be worth the 125-mile (one-
way) drive from Ontario. And I mean that. It just might be worth it.

In any case...Makes me all the more grateful for places like Boogaloo
and Father's Office (the latter of which is becoming more and more of a
nightmare - a victim of its own success).

>> Surprisingly, I've found the BJ's (at least the one in
>> West Covina), to brew better better beer than the ones up
>> here in Oregon (IMO).

Hmm. That shouldn't be. BJ's is not like Rock Bottom in that (my
understanding is that) they don't give the local brewers too much leeway
'cept for the Beer(s) of the Month. Alex Puchner told me once that he
spends a lot of time traveling to insure consistency.

>> It's also strange to me that BJ's
>> is always packed in West Covina/Arcadia, but up here
>> they're better known as an also-ran brewpub

I think they make a good beer. I particularly like the Tatonka Stout.
And The Commander would kill you for the last pint of their Porter on
the planet.

But the fact that they're packed (try the one in Brea sometime) has less
to do with the beer and more to do with atmosphere, location, and food.
And the service is almost always good.

And I have to say: "Up there" includes such things as Tugboat. And
Widmer is an also-ran if ever there was one. Oh yeah...and
Hart/Pyramid, and McMenamins, and... You's got WAY more Culture than we
do, and Oregon is one of the few places that can support a beer-only,
small brewpub that caters to beer geeks. Witness Lucky Lab - Hard to
find, not so hot part of town, still in business after at least a decade
(?) But I think there's a legitimate place for chains. If the
excremental Chili's can rule every mall and off-ramp, then BJ's is
****ING FABULOUS.

>> that's not on
>> the radar of most beer enthusiasts.

Frane (and Brools?) has had nice things to say about them in the distant
past.

>> The food at BJ's is
>> pretty good though (especially the buffalo chicken pizza).

I like the chowder. I don't know (or care) if it's "real" New England
style or not. LOTS o' clams and it is to my liking.

> Eh. BJ's has never impressed me. They're not bad, and they
> do have a couple rather nice beers. The food's OK, as long
> as one steers well clear of the pizza (and that's without
> getting into my customary rant about how there's nothing
> remotely Chicago-style about the stuff).

And yet, you just had to sneak that in...

Dunno about Chicago style pizza. I suspect your view is based on your
direct and somewhat nostalgic experience and is therefore far too narrow
to be useful to most people.

I think the pizza at BJ's is good, but perhaps not excellent. Chicago
(pronounced "Chikwago" if I'm not mistaken) style pizza...maybe not.
But what do you call it? BJs Style? They're so insanely successful
they could probably switch to Babyshit Style Pizza ("And You WILL Wipe
Your Own Bottom.")

I'm also guessing there's variation (and therefore the subject of
endless discussion) in Chicago itself. Just a guess.

I saw some guy on the Food Channel one night and he claimed the business
he inherited (don't remember the name because I don't care) invented
Chicago style pizza. And then he made one. "Gotta put the cheese down
first. A *real* Chicago style pizza starts with cheese, *then* the
sauce." Looked like New York style to me with bigger crust and covert
cheese. Did it look like a BJ's pizza? Not even sort of. Haven't had
a "real" Chicago pizza, so I will reserve opinion (for a change), but I
do think that BJ's makes a good pizza no matter what the label. I'll
take one over that California Pizza Kitchen nonsense any day. And the
Pizzookies are genius.

How 'bout another one: The Philly cheesesteak (disclaimer: I've never
been to Pat's or Geno's). There's a reason you can't get a "real"
Philly cheesesteak outside of, what?, two venues at the source? It's
just a stupid ****ing mess of a sandwich. Not a hard sandwich to make -
give me 30 minutes notice and I'll whip one up for you. And yeah, I
can. I'll have to go scare up the ribeye, Cheese Whiz, and "Italian"
roll (I suspect Italians have the same opinion of Geno's roll as you do
about BJ's pizza). Onions I have, and it seems to me that they should
be required rather than optional. The roll *might* be the only thing
that gives me trouble.

While there's certainly something to be said for a mess of a
meat'n'cheese sandwich, I'd rather have some green crunchy stuff,
perhaps some garlic, real cheese, tomatoes - sure, habenero sauce, etc.
on mine. And I'd rather not have to bend over to eat it 'cause I just
don't care for that position. So, here's another example of something
that doesn't translate well (IMO) and yet is successful locally. Fine.

But to your point: One ought not call Heineken a Belgian Tripel. And
you should stop snivelling/whinging/whining about BJ's pizza.


Scott Kaczorowski
Long Beach, CA