Bonus: BJ's Brewery Holiday Beer Dinner

There are many things this get this hombre in a holiday mood - searching Amazon wish lists, over-priced gingerbread lattes (kidding), putting up blinking lights only to find that half the string is out... But what really gets my goose cooking are the seasonal holiday brews. Pumpkin ale is a popular one, but BJ's Brewery had more to share at their Holiday Beer Dinner last week. Let's check it out!

BJ's Brewery website

They do this $30 prix fixe meal every couple of months and this time's theme was the holiday. Parking at the Cupertino BJ's is like parking on Black Friday. Get there way early to get a nearby spot. The Apple campus is right there and it's a busy place. The dinner started at 7pm, so we arrived early and sat at the bar.

The dinner was four courses served with seven beers or "four courses and 7 beers ago". Each diner got a cool etched glass like the one on the cover of the menu. The warm up beer was Sam Adams Winter Lager and it was very good.

The first course was Fritos Nachos paired with Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. This spiced ale was bold and intense with citrus and woody aromas. A nice counter to the savory and salty nachos. This was a great way to start off!

Next up was a Thai Chicken Mango Salad paired with Woodchuck Winter Chill Cider and this was her favorite. She's a fan of fruit ciders and this one fit the bill. It had a rich apple flavor with hints of vanilla and Oak. The salad wasn't dressed very well and the chicken was sort of bland. Oh well, drink up!

After a palate cleanser of Rogue's Yellow Snow IPA (not made with real yellow snow, happily), the main course of Grilled Pork Chop, White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans was served. The Annual Grand Cru brew from BJ's Brewery was paired with it. We both liked it very much as it wasn't too heavy with some fruit and spice flavors. The chop was a bit overcooked, but still tasty. The star of the plate was the mashed potatoes - who doesn't love those?

After yet another palate cleanser, you can never be thirsty here, the dessert was a Triple Chocolate Pizookie with Ghiradelli ice cream. The palate cleanser was Green Flash's Green Bullet, which was too hoppy for my tastes. But the pairing with the pizookie was Stone Coffee Milk Stout and it was perfect. You need to like stout, which is a very strong flavor, but with this rich chocolate dessert, it was great. The triple chocolate was the cookie dough (1), the chocolate chips (2) and the ice cream (3). Needless to say, we were glad to each have our own one!

I'm not going to rate each course, but overall it was a equisite night of eating and drinking. The tastings were not too much to make us loopy and we were quite full by the end. The waitstaff were all knowledgable about what they were serving and seemed happy to be working this special event. We will be looking for that cider and stout at the stores back home.

The next beer dinners are in February and March - check out their website: www.bjsrestaurants.com/beerdinners

Hindquarter Bar & Grille

Well, hello everybody and welcome again to the SC Food Blog (tip of the hat to Evan). Today we are talking ribs and one of the best places in town is the Hindquarter, downtown. Just over the bridge from CVS, across from Riverside Lighting.

Hindquarter website

We went on a Wednesday night about 6pm and it was crowded. Not "can't find a table" crowded, but we got the last parking spot in their lot (score!). There's plenty of street parking around back. We heard they extended the Santa Cruz Restaurant Week prix fixe menu, so we had to try it. You get an appetizer, entree and dessert for $25. My folks went and raved about the French Onion soup and Creme Brûlée.

The hostess seated us right away and also brought us some bread and water. After our drinks were ordered, we ordered our meals. Our sever was busy with lots of tables and was a bit slow to get back to us. Maybe more people were there for the $25 deal.

Man, Dad was right! This delectable French Onion Soup was so tasty. It was hot and all the cheese was melty. The onions were translucent and the broth was very good (not too salty). The bread on top soaked in all the soup and made for a nice texture. A++! We were both very happy we both ordered this.

Next up was my entree, St. Louis Ribs plus mashed potatoes and cole slaw. This is what the HQ is all about. Ribs and steaks. The pork melted off the bone and made my fingers all saucy. In a good way. The slaw had a peppery taste, which balanced off the cool crunch. And who doesn't like mashed taters? Everything on this plate was top notch.

She got the Margartita Steak with sautéed Brussel Sprouts and a baked potato. The beef had a tart, green sauce over it and it didn't taste right to her. Luckily, it was easy to brush off. I tried it and it was okay, but not a good match for the steak. She liked the potato, but was disappointed with the sprouts. They were cooked through, limp and soggy. Better to have them crispy.

Dessert was the Creme Brûlée and it had a nice crunch to the top. Any food you have to crack to get to is okay by me. I'm looking at you, Mr. Egg. Anyway, the caramelized sugar on top matched perfectly with the silky custard underneath. She was very happy and even let me try a bite.

This was because I ordered the Hot Fudge Brownie with vanilla ice cream and she wanted a bite back. The presentation on this dish left a lot to be desired, but tested great. The fudge was warm and dripping down the chocolate walnut-filled brownie. Too bad it looked like an afterthought. But the flavors were all there.

This is the main dining room and they have several other rooms off of this. Also, the sports bar is around the corner with TVs and a full bar. Check out their happy hour (4:30-6:30pm) for good deals. And their website lists daily specials and sometimes a coupon too.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7 (but 10 for the ribs)
Service: 6
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 7
Overall: 6.75