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

Boulder Creek Brewery & Cafe

So I had reviewed Surfrider Cafe earlier this year that's down in Santa Cruz. They feature beers from the Boulder Creek Brewery up Highway 9. Now it's time to try the food there!

BC Brewery webpage (FB)

Walking in, there's the bar and huge brewing vats on the left and the main dining area with tables and booths on the right. My guest and I sat in one of the booths in the back. We were looking for a light lunch and some good brews.

Our waiter said he'd be right back after dropping off some menus. "Right back" was more like five minutes, which is a lifetime if you are thirsty! There were some Trivia Pursuit cards on the table, so we tested each other's useless knowledge until he came back. I chose the Red River Blonde ($5.50) to drink and she got a guest cider ($6).

When the drinks came, we ordered our food. The Four By Four cheese dip ($8.95) looked good with its secret recipe of four onions and four cheese, served with ciabatta bread. And we got the Santa Cruz burger ($9.50) with avocado, mushrooms and cheese. We paid a little extra to get garlic fries on the side.

So this dip was amazing! Caramelized onions were hiding in all the creamy cheeses... cheddar on top and cream cheese and mozzarella inside. Not sure of the other ingredients, but man, was it tasty! We were fighting over each bite!

The burger was good too and the fries were busting out all over. Big chunks of garlic and parmesan gave a strong, but wonderful flavor. The burger was well cooked and juicy and the bun was soft and chewy. I mixed some of the garlic chunks in with the cheese dip to knock it out of the park. Ooof!

Now the bad news... our waiter was distracted and slow the whole time. I asked him for the check and he said "okay, be right there....". Then we proceeded to help several other customers. It's not like we were hiding in the back, we were right on his path through the restaurant! I would forgive one mix up, but he was slow to give us menus too. No excuse for that.

This is the only brewery in Boulder Creek and the beer and food is good. Worth the drive up. But expect some slow service.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 7
Overall: 6.50

Mission St. BBQ

I'd been meaning to get over to Mission St. BBQ for a blog post, but I knew I needed an expert to help with the review. There's nobody else close to my son Chris when it comes to a love of BBQ.

Website (Facebook page)

We got there late for dinner around 7:15pm, but the place was busy. There's menus on the shelf when you walk in and they have all the standard meats and sides for a BBQ place. This place has the same owners as Aptos St. BBQ, so if you've been there, it's the same menu.

This place used to be a KFC and then it was an Italian place. Since I work close-by, my co-workers and I were very happy to see a BBQ place move in. Lots of tables inside and few on the patio too. They also have an extensive beer list with several taps. Check out Wednesday for a $5 pint night. We ordered and then got cups for the soda machine ($2.49 each).

Chris went with the Pulled Pork dinner ($9.99) with 2 sides (beans and potato salad). It also came with toasted bread and hog wash. What's that, you ask? Hog wash is a vinegar/pepper sauce if you like your meat tangy. It's a nice extra. He was happy with the hearty meal and didn't even finish all the beans.

I went with the Westside Combo ($8.99), which is a choice of three of their meats and bread and a side. I got the tri-tip, pulled pork and a beef rib. I was a little sad when it was brought out to me... was this going to fill me up? The tri-tip was very tender and flavorful, but I wished I had more. The pork was great, but the rib had barely any meat on it. Good thing I could finish Chris' beans!

There's not another BBQ on the Westside of town, so this is it. Luckily, they fill the bill with good quality food, but I would knock them for the portions. I guess when you are the only one around, you can charge what you want.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 5
Overall: 6

West End Tap & Kitchen

One of the best places to go in Santa Cruz is the West Side. A walk along West Cliff, a jaunt through Natural Bridges, a bike ride to Wilder Ranch... what could be better? Food! West Side has some fun, little places here and there and one of the most recent additions is West End Tap & Kitchen.

Website

Located in the Swift Street Courtyard, it's across from the SC Mountain Brewery and besides a couple winery tasting rooms. That's tall company to keep! How does it measure up?

My brother Mike and sis-in-law Diane met me there for lunch this week. Diane had been a couple times last week and wanted to go again. They have two large dining areas, a good-sized bar, a fireplace with comfy chairs and a small patio as well. We sat along the wall at some high tables.

It was cold and cloudy that day, so I started off with something to warm me up - a small French-pressed coffee from Verve ($3.50). It was strong and good, but I would have preferred it served in a smaller cup. It looked dinky!

After scanning the menu, we all decided on an appetizer, fried calamari with jalepenos ($9). It was served with homemade ranch and garlic oil. Yes, those are big slices of jalepenos battered up with the calamari. Yes, it was a crunchy, spicy sensation. We all dug in with happy smiles. The server said it's even better during happy hour (M-F 3-6pm) when it's only $5.

Diane said there's lots of things she wants to try on the menu, but keeps coming back to the bleu cheese burger ($11.95 + $2.75 cheese). It comes on a large tray with crispy french fries. Even though I consider a lunch burger and fries over $14 a bit expensive, she went on and on about how good it was. The bread was from Gayle's in Capitola (why not Kelly's next door?).

I got the Chicken sandwich with a side salad ($11). The chicken was buttermilk-coated and fried and was nice and flavorful. It had a tangy coleslaw and marinated onions on top, which was a good contrast to the slightly sweet bread and salty chicken. The side salad was just dressed with a mild vinaigrette, which was sadly bland. I should have gotten fries!

Mike's burger lunch came with bacon ($11.95 + $2.50 bacon) - how could you go wrong? It was gone in two shakes of a pig's tail. Man, that guy can eat!

So, West End is a nice place for a good lunch, but I would have like to have seen more choices on the menu. Sandwiches, burgers, flatbreads and salads are about it. Maybe there were daily specials I missed, but our server didn't mention any. The prices were a bit higher than I like to pay, but the food was quality. This place would be good to impress a date or your parents. Happy hour sounds like a deal too.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 7
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Value for price: 6
Overall: 7