Karl Strauss Brewing Company - Costa Mesa
After having my iPhone replaced at the Apple store in South Coast Plaza we decided to head over to Karl Strauss Brewing Company in Costa Mesa for a bite to eat. This isn’t my first experience with Mr. Karl Strauss, I’ve drank his beer on occasion, and I’ve even had his fries at the ball game, but I’d never ate his meals. First thing you notice as you enter the restaurant is that it pretty much looks like most Brewery/Bar/Restaurant places, which isn’t a bad thing; it’s dark, filled with HDTVs playing sports, and has the required beer making area. Once again, this isn’t a bad thing; I like my Oggi’s and BJs so Karl just adds to the mix. Beer is a big focus at Karl Strauss, they even have a Cask Night on the first Thursday of every month at 5:00 PM that I’m planning to hit some time soon.
Since beer is the focus and I usually like beer, I got myself beer. Not just one beer, not just two, but SIX BEERS!
Karl Strauss Beer Tasters
Ok actually I just got the Taster 6 ($6.95) which is a 2oz. tasting of 6 of their beers, but it’s still six beers (and they even gave me two more because of the food I bought!).
Karl Strauss Beer Tasters
To go along with my beer I got the Big Beer Burger ($11.95) which I can only describe as their menu does
Karl Strauss - Big Beer Burger
“Basted with Karl Strauss Amber Lager, topped with Red Trolley Ale onions, I.P.A. mushrooms, Woodie Gold brined seasoned bacon, gruyere, tomato, lettuce, and fries. Served with I.P.A. steak sauce.” The burger was good, nothing really stood out, and the patty was huge (1/2 lb. I think), I think it would stand up better as a 1/3 lb.
Karl Strauss - Big Beer Burger
I couldn’t really taste the steak sauce which meant the burger was a little on the dry side, but all the toppings mostly made up for that. Sticking to tonight’s burger theme (oh you thought the theme was beer?) Mrs. DanGarion got the BBQ Cheeseburger ($10.50) that comes with, Red Trolley BBQ sauce, white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, and fries.
Karl Strauss - BBQ Cheeseburger
She liked it and was enjoying it till she got close to the center and realized that her medium well burger was actually medium rare, so she tossed out more then half the patty and ended up just eating the toppings and bun. We both enjoyed the fries, they were thin and crunchy, just the way I like them.
Service was good, the waitress explained what the numbers meant on the beer tasting sheet and explained that I should drink from light to dark (which I already knew), it’s nice to know they at least are acting like the know what they are serving. Overall it was a good meal, except for the fail on the one burger patty, unsure how it didn’t get as cooked as mine since they were ordered together, but I’ll give them a pass since this was our first visit.
Visit on 10/28/08 @7 PM
Karl Strauss - DanGarion drinking a taster
Pros : Beer, Beer Tasters, Burgers made with Beer
Cons : Undercooked Burgers, Not Enough Sauce
Rating: 
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
901A South Coast Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 546-2739
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse (Review #2) - Huntington Beach
We went to BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Huntington Beach two weeks ago. Now I’m a huge fan of BJ’s pizza, so much so I’d never ordered an entrée, until my most recent visit! Everyone else in our party shared a BJ’s Favorite Pizza, while I splurged and got a new item on their menu, the Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast, as well as a side caesar salad.
BJ's Caesar Salad
I used to like their caesar salad but it wasn’t really that good this visit, it was so drenched with dressing that it overpowered my mouth, but the croutons were good. My entrée however was delicious that it made me regret previous visits to BJ’s that I contemplated getting an entrée. The chicken is marinated, lightly coated with Parmesan and panko. Next it is pan fried to a nice golden brown. It was served with white cheddar mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. The chicken topped with a lemon chardonnay butter sauce, sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese.
BJ's Parmesean Crusted Chicken
The chicken was cooked just about perfect, since it didn’t appear to retain much grease, and the sauce had a different flavor to it because of the lemon, but it was a very refreshing flavor, it didn’t overpower and went well with all the other flavors. The mashed potatoes were great, I mean unless they are runny or something I don’t see how anyone could screw them up. The broccoli was just a little on the overcooked side, but went well with the bits of sauce on my plate. I would order this meal again, if I wasn’t feeling up to pizza.
The rest of my party thoroughly enjoyed their pizza. BJ’s pizza is one of my wife’s favorite which is funny because she is usually only interested in thin crust pizza, but BJ’s has a special place in her heart.
BJ's Pizza
The BJ’s Favorite comes with oven-baked meatballs, pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, white onions and fresh Roma tomatoes. The crust is great; especially the outside parts that crisp up a bit with the mixture of slightly burnt cheese on top. I’m sure someone out there will cry foul saying I consider a chain companies “Chicago Style” pizza superior to most, but they really know how to make their pizza, I’m not biased to a chain if they do a good job (as I’ve stated in the past when I reviewed Islands).
BJ's Pizza
Service was good, and I’ve always liked the atmosphere of this BJ’s. I love that if you are in the main area of the restaurant that you can watch the huge screen TVs they have in the bar area. They also have a great selection of house label beers, I didn’t have one tonight but I’ve had them in the past. Mrs. DanGarion is a big fan of the berry cider that they pour.
Visit 8/5/08 for Dinner
BJ's Berry Cider
Rating:
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
16060 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
(714) 842-9242
Tustin Brewing Company - Tustin
I’m back! I know you all missed me. My wife and I just celebrated our 2 year anniversary down in San Diego. I’ll post about our eating experiences there probably later tonight; we had some great food and great times in LoCal. And now back to the reviews!
Tustin Brewing Company
Between the running of errands and house hunting in Tustin, we had the pleasure of going to the Tustin Brewing company for lunch today (8/03/08). I figured they were pretty much a pizza joint, since most brewing companies in Southern California seem focus around pizza (BJs, Oggi’s, etc.). I was right that they served pizza, but that it’s just a small part of their menu. We were set on pizza when we entered so that’s what we had on our mind. Of course this being a brewery I was also focused on beer. So as the waitress asked us for our drink order I located their beers and ordered a Lemon Heights Hefeweizen ($4.00 a pint).
Tustin Brewing Co. Lemon Heights Hefe
Now I’m not sure if they actually make their beer there, since a couple years back one of my friends smashed my dreams by telling me BJ’s and Oggi’s don’t actually brew their beer at their restaurants. I lived through that devastating discovery! But back to the Hefeweizen; it was a good solid unfiltered wheat, a great beer for a hot day. Next was an order of Buffalo wings.
Tustin Brewing Co. Buffalo Wings
It appears they only serve them one way, spicy! The wings came piping hot with a lot of sauce on them, they were juicy and extra hot in spicy. Both I and Mrs. DanGarion enjoyed our 10 drumette wings ($8.95 or $6.95 during 3pm-6pm happy hour). Then it was on to the main show, pizza. Tustin Brewing Company only has one size of pizza since it’s just part of their menu, but they have nine different pizzas on their menu; three cheese to garlic shrimp. Their pizzas are “wood fried” and can be made into a calzone for an extra dollar. We went ahead and ordered the old standby Pepperoni Pizza with extra sauce ($9.95 others range up to $12.95). They make it with homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and oregano.
The pizza is about the size of a medium from a normal pizza place. The pizza came out hot from the oven, with steam rising from it. The crust was average, not too thick and not to thin and crunchy on the outside. The sauce tasted fresh like it is was advertised with a good amount of oregano. There wasn’t too much cheese and about 3-4 pieces of pepperoni per slice (6 slices). We both agree that it was a good solid average pizza, one we would come back for.
Inside the place is open and airy. Each wall has a couple medium size HDTVs on the wall as well as two huge projection screens on opposing sides. It looks like a great place to watch the game, especially with their assortment of beers. Service was average, can’t complain about average service. There is a full bar, and also outside seating. They are also going to celebrating their 12th anniversary later this month.
Rating:
Tustin Brewing Company
13011 Newport Ave # 100
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 665-2337
Alcatraz Brewing Company - Orange
Out of all the places to eat at the Block that I’ve tried this is my favorite to go to. The food is above average and they have a nice selection of their own brewed beer. I enjoyed a Hefewiezen the last time we were there. We just went there a couple weeks ago after catching a movie. I ordered the Ruben, which was really good, although I think it was served dry, which was different, but still delicious, along with the sandwich were sweet potato fries which are always a great change of pace compared to the regular variety. My wife and mother in law ordered the fish and chips which weren’t quite as good as the ones up in Morro Bay but were pretty close.
The service has been good every time we have gone. They always make sure we are taken care of and that our drinks aren’t running low.
Rating:
Alcatraz Brewing Company
20 City Blvd W
Orange, CA 92868
(714) 939-8686
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse - Huntington Beach
I will preface this review with this.
*MY WIFE HATES DOUGHY PIZZA!*
With that said she loves BJ’s Chicago style pizza. It’s our favorite pizza to eat and the price is right. We can get a small pizza, caesar salad, a beer, and another drink for under $25. And when we leave we are fully satisfied with the size of our meal. We usually order the veggie combination with extra sauce and it always comes out great. I’ve tried most of their beers and my favorite is the Hefewiezen, but I’m a big fan of Hefe’s. Also one of my wife’s favorite things to get there is the Framboise that they have, it’s a delicious Belgium beer that has berry added to it after the brewing process.
The atmosphere is that of a sports bar if you are sitting in the main area next to the bar, they have a large screen that shows 4 sports channels at the same time. Appetizers are great, with my favorite being the avocado eggrolls and the spinach with artichoke dip.
We have never had any issues with the wait staff and they have always been able to handle any special requests we make in the years we have gone here.
Rating:
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
16060 Beach Blvd
Huntington Beach, CA
(714) 842-9242
Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Co. - Tustin
We have gone to three Oggi’s, and this one being the closest is now the most likely one we end up at. They have great pizza with lots of different types of toppings you can order it with. We normally just get something basic when we order pizza there, pepperoni and extra sauce or just a veggie.
Our most recent visit we decided to mix it up and order regular food instead of pizza. I got an order of fish and chips which were delicious. They were lightly breaded with panko and deep fried. The chips were lightly breaded with some seasoned flour and had good taste, especially when I asked for a side of BBQ and the BBQ was served to me hot. I love hot BBQ sauce.
My wife ordered the caesar chicken wrap which also came with fries. She liked it a lot, I had a taste and it was full of flavor.
Oggi’s is a really nice place to go if you are just looking to have a nice relaxing night out watching the game. The place is filled with TVs and some HD projector screens. It’s pretty much a sports bar, pizza place, brewery. It’s a nice change of pace from BJ Pizzeria which we love.
Rating:
Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Co.
13612 Newport Blvd
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 731-6444
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