BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse: Dessert Before Dinner

by Saloni Shah, Reporter

The aroma of hot, freshly baked pizookies permeates the air as the elaborate ambiance of the dimly lit restaurant glows with recessed lights. The lively atmosphere at BJ’s is open to customers from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. for lunch to dinner to midnight cravings.  

At BJ’s, the temptation to eat dessert before dinner is powerful; their world-renowned pizookies, a warm and soft cookie in a pizza skillet, baked fresh in the oven for five to six minutes and topped with vanilla bean ice cream, melts in a burst of chocolatey flavor.

Saloni Shah

Since the opening of BJ’s Chicago Pizzeria in 1978 in Santa Ana, California, the restaurant has grown into a nationwide chain of BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse.

The ingredients make the food exceedingly special: fresh and hand-cut salmon, fresh guacamole, hand-pressed pizza dough, hand-rolled avocado egg rolls, and quinoa which comes directly from the Andes.

Consisting of over 18 signature flavors of pizza, BJ’s menu features pizzas from tavern-cut to deep dish to made-to-order combinations; the hand-pressed deep dish pizza dough is made to rise twice in order to both look and taste better.

BJ’s specialities are the Southern California twist on the Chicago-style pizza and BJ’s Favorite. The Chicago-style pizza is filled with cheese, sauce and toppings, in the form of hard to choose combinations: Pepperoni Extreme, Chicken Bacon Ranch, Mediterranean and Vegetarian; BJ’s Favorite includes oven-baked meatballs, pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, white onions and seasoned tomatoes.

In addition to pizzas, BJ’s offers a wide selection of delicious appetizers and entrees, including burgers, pastas, sandwiches, tacos, garden fresh specialty salads and many more options. Additionally, for the health conscious customer, the Enlightened menu features a selection of low-calorie, vegetarian and gluten-free options, as well as superfoods.

Saloni Shah

If you are an avid sports fan, BJ’s is an exhilarating place to enjoy the game. The restaurant has 12 TVs that enable an exceptional view of the ongoing game from any angle, along with their award winning handcrafted beer, which has won over 160 awards.

Bustling with Apple employees due to its adjacent location to the current Apple headquarters, the Stevens Creek location is usually short of parking space, but they do offer complimentary valet parking from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The restaurant has one special each day, and it also has an adjacent party room in order to celebrate enjoyable times; this room can accommodate up to 200 people.

In spite of the fact that chain restaurants carry the risk of poor customer service, BJ’s is definitely a family favorite, creating gratifying and exceptional memories.