BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse – Corona

According to its website, BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. operates 115 restaurants across the country, almost half of which are in California. If you live in California, chances are you’ve seen or visited a BJ’s restaurant.

The first BJ’s restaurant opened in 1978 in Santa Ana. I’m not sure if I went to that original location, but I do remember going to a BJ’s on Bristol in Santa Ana when I was a kid. I also remember watching one of the epic Lakers / Celtics battles of the 1980’s at the BJ’s in Balboa.  Now that I live in Riverside, I take my kids to the BJ’s in the Crossings at Corona.

We went to BJ’s in Corona Crossings over the weekend and enjoyed it as always. The restaurant was packed, but we ended up being seated without too long of a wait.

On this visit, we went for the classic Deep Dish Pizza.  Since our daughter wasn’t with us, my wife shared the pizza with me and the boys, and allowed us to skip the tomatoes.  Otherwise, she probably would have shared a Vegetarian pizza with my daughter.  BJ’s has an extensive menu along with its own handcrafted beers.

BJ’s is also great for lunch. Two of my favorite lunchtime options are the Turkey Club and Roast Beef Dip, while my wife prefers the half salad / half California Chicken sandwich.

I’m not a big dessert guy, but the Red Velvet Pizookie is pretty awesome.  If you haven’t had a Pizookie, just imagine a big warm cookie straight out of the oven topped with ice cream.

If you haven’t been to BJ’s, give it a try.  If you have, give it a try again.