Reno, NV – BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

Zipping through Reno the other day, visiting my old pal Laoman, Mrs. Laoman, and Gramma Laoman, we headed out to BJ’s for a bit of lunch. I’d never heard of BJ’s (the restaurant kind), but apparently they are spread across the US – there’s even one in my back yard. Go figure.

A cavernous space with a menu to match, BJ’s offers a wide variety of foods to please most any palate, from salads, to pasta, to pizza, sandwiches, burgers. You can peruse their menu online, and find out if there is one near you, as well.

We had a great meal and even greater conversation. Although I have known Laoman for longer than Mrs. BurgerDogBoy has been alive, I had never met his lovely wife and her mother. Charming folks, a lovely couple, beautiful home. I should visit more often. Or move in.

Anyway, Laoman went with the personal size house special pizza, and gramma had the same sized pepperoni, Mrs. Laoman went with the sesame chicken salad, which looked wonderful, and I went with the Cuban burger. All BJ burgers start out as half-pound Angus patties, and the Cuban is dressed up like an almost traditional Cuban sandwich: oven-roasted ham, Swiss cheese, crispy dill pickles, dijonnaise and mustard. It comes on French bread, the menu doesn’t exactly say that, it says “served sandwich style.”

The burgers come with crispy shoestring fries or seasoned wedges. I ate more of the strings than I should have.

As for the burger? After a lively discussion about Morey’s Fish House, in Motley, Minnesota, and getting frozen walleye filets delivered, Laoman asked me about the best and worst burgers I have had, and I am sure I got glassy-eyed, and said “burgers are like women – they are all beautiful,” before I got around to discussing BJ’s burgers.

“The true test for me,” says I, “is the taste of the meat all by its lonesome, and I have to say, BJ’s has one of the more memorable burger patties I have had in some time.”  All BJ’s burgers are ordinarily cooked to medium well, but the server said I could have it anyway I wanted.  “Raw?”  I asked. “Sure,” she said.  I went with medium rare, and it was cooked to medium rare PERFECTION.  PERFECTION I TELL YOU!

I did not try any of their house brews, maybe next time. They have this giant-ass tank of beer outside, and I can envision me pulling a Homer Simpson, lying underneath the tank, opening the valve, and lettin’ her rip!

Thanks, Mr and Mrs Laoman, for a wonderful visit, and a great burger.


View Larger Map

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse on Urbanspoon

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *