“Mother Nature clearly intended us to get out food from the ‘patty’ group, which includes hamburgers, fish sticks and McNuggets….”
Dave Barry
A friend of mine was in town on business last week. He had ridden the bus to Placerville, so afterwards I offered to drive him back to Folsom, where he lives. He offered to buy lunch and recommended BJ’s Brewhouse, which is located at 2730 E. Bidwell Street, kind of across the street from Home Depot.
When we published “Folsom Life,” a few years ago, I had written about BJ’s, but it wasn’t open at the time and this was my first chance to try it out.
It was about 11 a.m., and they had just opened , so they were still a bit empty. Thus we had our choice of places to sit and chose a table near the bar. The restaurant is very attractive, clean and pleasant inside and the help turned out to be very courteous and also pleasant.
BJ’s Brewhouse makes their own beers, but being that it was still morning and both of us had important things to do the rest of the day, we ordered ice tea.
Looking over the lunch specials on the menu I ordered a bowl of their Piranha Pale Ale Chili and a half roasted turkey Cobb sandwich, both of which sounded interesting and were. My friend ordered the same chili, which he had recommended to me, along with a salad.
They have quite a selection of delicious looking burgers, but again it was a bit early in the day to eat a large burger or something else heavy, and, besides, my sandwich came with their thin cut fries that I wanted to try.
The Piranha Pale Ale Chili, which is made with pork and beef, pinto beans and their own Piranha Pale Ale, came hot with melting cheese and a dab of sour cream on it. The chile was a lot better than most restaurant chiles, although a bit hard to eat because the melting cheese kept stringing out from my spoon and trying to get on my shirt and beard. Fortunately, they provided me with a nice, large napkin.
The sandwich was made with roasted turkey breast, tomatoes, avocado, applewood smoked bacon, bleu cheese dressing, lettuce and Dijon mayonnaise and was served on a toasted garlic cheese French roll. I loved it. And just a half sandwich, to go with the chili, was perfect.
The thin fries were served very hot and were well cooked with that crispness I like. There were a lot of them and they stayed good and hot for quite a while. As I always say, fries, soup and chile; if they aren’t served hot, they shouldn’t be served at all.
BJ’s has a very large menu including: appetizers, snacks and small bites, deep dish pizza, garden and speciality salads, “enlightened” (low cal) entrees, gourmet burgers and sandwiches, pasta dishes, speciality entrees, culinary creations, desserts, kids menu items and even gluten-free dishes. They have curbside take-our and can even host your event.
The Folsom BJ’s Brewhouse is open from 11 a.m. until midnight Monday through Thursday, until 1 a.m. on Friday; from 10 a.m. until 1 a.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. until midnight on Sunday.
For more information call (916) 404-2000. You can get a lot more information on BJ’s by going to their web page at www.bjsbrewhouse.com. You will be delighted with the number of delicious looking items they serve.