BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse - Cupertino

4/5 stars

I don't normally review chains but ...

When my hole-in-the-walls are closed. When San Francisco is too far away. When the beau and I want "know the menu/know what we're going to get" and a GOOD BEER LIST, we go here. We've started to fall back on BJ's so often, it's kinda grown on us. We kinda heart it.

++ They've got a more than decent beer list - with a whole page of Belgiums. I LOVE their berry cider and Jeremiah Red combination. They compliment each other so well.

++ Solid food! If you don't know what you want to eat, but at least know you want American food, this place is great. My favorites: chili (it's made with beer ... how can you can go wrong?), the Santa Fe salad with shrimp, their burgers, the California chicken sandwich, the steak cut fries, the buffalo wings (fried and drizzled with mild hot sauce), their HUGE baked potatoes (where else can you order a baked potato as a meal?), the fresh tortilla chips and fire roasted salsa, and their hot-outta-the-oven pizookies (deep dish cookie topped with ice cream).

++ The service is always friendly, but sometimes, it's awesome. The other night we tipped almost 25% - I think her name was Jackie - she was so fast, generous, and attentive.

Minuses: Being the only brewery (and the only restaurant open past midnight) in Cupertino, the wait can be awful (45+ min). Parking is a PAIN. I don't like being forced to valet. Also, sometimes, the service can be really slow.

(2009)