Chicago style pizza and beer: BJ's in Escondido

Place: BJ's Restuarant and Brewhouse
Westview Mall, Escondido
(760) 466-0700

Time: 5pm (happy hour!)

Agents: Brittany, Geo, Felix and Joe

Overall: 9 out of 10

Pizza: 9 out of 10

Atmosphere: 9 out of 10

Between the deep-dish Chicago-style mini-pizzas we each devoured and BJ's own crafted brews, there wasn't much left to be desired. BJ's is without a doubt Chicago-style pizza done on a professional's budget, but at the same time the quality of the pizza and beer are not completely out of range of the bill.

We planned to kill two birds with one stone by checking out the pizza during happy hour and also reviewing the beer. In this review I don't into the beer but focused on the pizza. See Brittany's review of BJ's happy hour for a review of the booze. As it turns out, the happy hour discounts not only applied to the beer, but also offered all the mini-pizzas at half off. So we decided to take advantage of this bargain.

Felix decided to go with the Mediterranean, which was a mini deep-dish delight topped with grilled chicken, basil, pesto, roasted garlic, roasted garlic, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped pickles. Simply put: it was Mediterranean, and it was good.

The southwestern was a slightly spicy selection chosen by Brittany. This baby pie consisted of chipotle sauce with spicy blackened chicken, green chilies, cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes and cilantro. Its merit was in its spiciness; its vice was in its somewhat dryness, particularly stemming from the chicken.

The only vegetarian pie on the table was the spinach and artichoke pizza ordered by Joe. Here we had a creamy mix of spinach, artichoke hearts, cream cheese and mozzarella all topped with basil and Parmesan. The crust was noticeably moist and tender. Considering all the pizzas each deep-dish crust was prepared with care and the results revealed it.

Unfortunately, the pizza Geo ate is a mystery, but being someone who went to BJ's the night before he highly recommended the Pizookie desert, which is basically a freshly baked cookie topped with scoops of ice cream. Anonymous critics, who also adored the Pizookie, also wished for me to mention it in the review.

The Atmosphere could be said to be a California Pizza Kitchen done up in dark chic style. Both establishments bring pizza to a luxurious status, despite its humble origins as a peasant food. But the restaurant is a pleasurable sight nonetheless. Brittany suggested that BJ's would be a decent potential candidate for daters. Marble tabletops, black booth seats and black polished wood separated booths and tables. The bar had two immense walls packed with liquor that reached up about fifteen feet high. In between the walls there was a big screen TV, playing the USA vs. Czech soccer game, flanked by two smaller TVs, one playing highlight reels of the Stanley cup playoffs, and the other basketball.

The musics was a mixture hard to pin down. Shortly after we walked in BJ's was playing The Black Keys, a band with a bluesy vibe. Later, there was an unnoticeable transition to some otherwise decent electronic music with which I was unfamiliar. Overall the music seemed to appeal to people in their twenties.

We each ended up having a couple drinks and a mini-pizza a piece, plus a side of chips and salsa that ran us about 20 bucks a piece. Note: that these were happy hour prices. The bill would have been much more unfriendly if we had come during typical hours.