Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

It's a Chain, But Hey: It's Gastro

Is there a wide selection of gastropubs in South Bay? Uh, no.

I'm desperate. This is Friday night. I’m in Chula Vista, lookin’, walkin', searching…

Aha! In the big shopping mall at 3rd and H, a sign: “BJ’s.” It’s an eatery, it’s a pub, it's huge, it’s a…uh oh. A chain: BJ’s Restaurant Brewhouse, 555 Broadway, Chula Vista, 619-591-2490.

They have over 100 places throughout California and beyond. Still, they started in California (Huntington Beach, in 1978), and they do brew their own beer. (Well, their breweries distribute. Nearest one to here is in La Brea.)

If you can just swallow your “this ain’t local” thing, the food’s actually pretty good.

And it doesn’t have to be that expensive. I go the appetizer route. I like the four mini bruschetta: squares of focaccia bread topped with cheese, tomatoes, onions, roasted red peppers, basil, and a pesto dipping sauce ($2.95). Or tomato bisque for $5.75. Or baked potatoes with different toppings.

Soup-salad combos are about $11, and the deep-dish pizzas that launched BJ’s back in the seventies start at $10.25 and top out at $23.95.

Michelle, gal behind the bar, is pretty knowledgeable about their drinks. The star of BJ’s brews that I’ve tried is Tatonka stout ($5.25 a pint). It’s like the mild li’l brother of Arrogant Bastard, but not bad. I’ve tasted the Jeremiah Red (nicely fruity) and the Piranha Pale Ale (almost enough lemony bitterness to justify the name).

What I’ll definitely have next time: the messy, chocolately thing the couple next to me is sharing. I have to ask. It’s BJ’s own foodie invention, the Pizookie, a hot, baked-on-the-spot dessert cookie of white chocolate and macadamia nut or chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin walnut that they serve in a kinda pizza pan with a vertical pile of vanilla ice cream.

So yeah. You want to dis BJ’s for being a Walmart of brewpubs, but it buys you off quite nicely.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024

Is there a wide selection of gastropubs in South Bay? Uh, no.

I'm desperate. This is Friday night. I’m in Chula Vista, lookin’, walkin', searching…

Aha! In the big shopping mall at 3rd and H, a sign: “BJ’s.” It’s an eatery, it’s a pub, it's huge, it’s a…uh oh. A chain: BJ’s Restaurant Brewhouse, 555 Broadway, Chula Vista, 619-591-2490.

They have over 100 places throughout California and beyond. Still, they started in California (Huntington Beach, in 1978), and they do brew their own beer. (Well, their breweries distribute. Nearest one to here is in La Brea.)

If you can just swallow your “this ain’t local” thing, the food’s actually pretty good.

And it doesn’t have to be that expensive. I go the appetizer route. I like the four mini bruschetta: squares of focaccia bread topped with cheese, tomatoes, onions, roasted red peppers, basil, and a pesto dipping sauce ($2.95). Or tomato bisque for $5.75. Or baked potatoes with different toppings.

Soup-salad combos are about $11, and the deep-dish pizzas that launched BJ’s back in the seventies start at $10.25 and top out at $23.95.

Michelle, gal behind the bar, is pretty knowledgeable about their drinks. The star of BJ’s brews that I’ve tried is Tatonka stout ($5.25 a pint). It’s like the mild li’l brother of Arrogant Bastard, but not bad. I’ve tasted the Jeremiah Red (nicely fruity) and the Piranha Pale Ale (almost enough lemony bitterness to justify the name).

What I’ll definitely have next time: the messy, chocolately thing the couple next to me is sharing. I have to ask. It’s BJ’s own foodie invention, the Pizookie, a hot, baked-on-the-spot dessert cookie of white chocolate and macadamia nut or chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin walnut that they serve in a kinda pizza pan with a vertical pile of vanilla ice cream.

So yeah. You want to dis BJ’s for being a Walmart of brewpubs, but it buys you off quite nicely.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.