Austin Bites: BJ's Brewhouse

BJ's Brewhouse (American)
Location: 5207 Brodie Lane #300 [map]
Phone: (512) 358-7474
Cost: Entrees $8-15
Atmosphere: Market-tested slick with a throwback-in-a-bad-way soundtrack. (Bobby Brown anyone?) We're calling it Post-modern Chain Cheese.
Food: We weren't really there for the food, but it was surprisingly good. The Mini BJ Pizza (the idea of which was met with mirth at our table as it doesn't sound very satisfying) was chock-a-block with sausage, peppers, sweet red onion, high-quality olives, and roasted tomatoes on a deep-dish crust. We also enjoyed a calzone with a superb crust and a just-right cheese-to-sauce ratio. The sauce was good, straight ahead marinara (not overly sweet like some chains seem to perpetrate.) The hot wings were decent, standard pub-grub, served with sauce on the side, and plenty of bleu cheese dressing. The real star here is the beer: many, many pages of sweet, sweet beer. The house brew is bracingly good, and not sparing in hops or malt. We expected this seemingly boomer-demo chain to be a bit more timid in its flavor profiles, but BJ's ales and porters are tasty enough for more extreme beer enthusiasts. Skipping the blond, all the other beers are tops. If it's your flavor, BJ's even has an Imperial Stout on the main list. Setting aside the house beers for a minute, the menu has a dizzying array of Belgians, dunkels, pub ales, indies, and locals. For just a minute, we were so happy it hardly mattered that the restaurant playlist induced ironical chuckling in regular intervals. Go for the beer and the reasonably-priced beer samplers, and try not to laugh too hard when your server asks if you'd like a Pizookie.