In front of Costco Jacksonville Town Center? BJ’s Brewhouse!

For those of you looking to see what they are buildng front of the Costco at St Johns Town Center, it is a BJ’s Brewhouse. You can read a review below of another BJ’s location. The new BJ’s Brewhouse will be by Pollo Tropical, Zaxbys, Toys r’ Us, and Costco. Look out Bold City Grill in the Jacksonville Sheraton!

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BJ’s Brewhouse Restaurant at the Rim
Posted on 23. Jun, 2010 by mercedesandhondas in Business Lunch, Celebrations, Foods, Group Friendly, Late Night Dining, Outdoor

This past Saturday, a good friend and I decided that we needed to go have dinner and drinks somewhere new and different to us (and bring some more friends along), and we decided to give the new BJ’s Brewhouse Restaurant at the Rim a try. Its a chain-type restaurant, in that they have locations throughout much of the U.S., but lacks the typical chain restaurant feel.

We arrived shortly after 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, to a full parking lot and a 25-30 minute wait. We took the liberty of spending our wait at the bar. BJ’s Brewhouse offers a wide array of beers as well as a decent selection of wines. They are a brewhouse of course, so focus is on their custom choice of handcrafted, brewed in-house beers. My tastes that night, however, led me to try one of their cocktails. While I skimmed through the drink offerings, I noticed that most of the mixed drinks they offered were created or inspired by BJ bartenders from around the country. I think this adds a nice amount of variety in their cocktails and allows the bartenders an avenue to create their own unique drinks. My initial choice that night was a Strawberry Confusion, made up of Hpnotiq Liqueur, Stoli Razberi Vodka, pineapple juice and finished with a lively splash of fresh strawberry.

It was a great mixture of flavors, especially with the Hpnotiq, and I found that it offered an acceptable degree of strength without overpowering your sensibilities. Before we knew it, our buzzer was buzzing and it was time to be seated.
Our waiter proved to be friendly, but often forgot some of the most basic dining necessities, including our silverware and napkins. We didn’t receive either until after our table had finished our first and second appetizers (keeping in mind there were 6 at the table). And while she was friendly to our faces, we quickly realized it was just a facade, as her attitude away from our table and to other servers was less then pleasant. All in all, not the worst server ever, but not the best either.

Now, onto the food. First, for our appetizers, we ordered the Piranha Pale Ale Nachos and the Avocado Egg Rolls. We had high hopes for the nachos, but they proved to be nothing more special than your standard nacho offerings, with melted cheese, green onions, sour cream, and diced tomatoes. However, the Avocado Egg Rolls were another story. I’m not a huge fan of avocados, but I’m always willing to give new things a try and will eat avocado when served with the right food. The egg rolls were a wonderful combination of avocados, cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, pine nuts, and chipotle peppers served with a sweet tamarind sauce. They served up just the right combo of crunchy wanton outside and creamy avocado and cream cheese inside. They truly melted in my mouth!.

For my entree, I ordered the Angus Pot Roast Sandwich (which they proudly tout as a “Knife and Fork” kind of sandwich) and the BJ’s Irish Root Beer to wash it down with. I had high expectations for the pot roast sandwich, and while it wasn’t a complete let down, I couldn’t get past the taste of artificiality. It consisted of your typical pot roast vegetables, laid atop white cheddar mash potatoes and a toasted cheese French roll. I’ll give them credit for offering a staple American dish with a new spin, but I don’t feel it was differentiated enough. As for the Irish Root Beer, it was yet another one of the creative mixed drinks offered by BJ’s, it was smooth, and offered a delicious combination of root beer, Bailey’s Irish cream, and whiskey.

When all is said and done, the atmosphere, drink offerings, and extensive menu offerings makes BJ’s Brewhouse at the Rim a restaurant worth giving a try.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in front of Costco at Town Center

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
4907 Gate Parkway
Jacksonville, Florida 32246

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse will build a $1.4 million, 8,400-square-foot restaurant, at 4907 Gate Parkway. Heavy equipment and survey crews are working to prepare the plot in front of Costco wholesale club for construction.

Monster.com and other career websites have Job listings for the Jacksonville town center restaurant.

Known for its deep-dish pizzas, handcrafted beers and its famous Pizookie dessert, BJ Restaurant and Brewhouse means casual family dining. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse might be best know for a fresh-baked cookie topped with vanilla ice cream served up in a deep-dish.

Based on information in a news release issued last week, the Jacksonville restaurant could seat 250 or more guests. It certainly looks big enough to handle that many customers.

According to news releases about other stores opening around the country,

“BJ’s 103 plasma display as well as several high-definition flat panel televisions, creates a high energy, fun and family-friendly dining environment.”

Among the highlights of the menu on the chain’s website are:

Deep Dish Pizza

• BJ’s Favorite Pizza: Oven-baked meatballs, pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, white onions and tomatoes.
• Sweet Pig Pizza: Pineapple, tomatoes and oven-roasted ham.
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza: Diced celery, red onions and grilled chicken breast marinated in hot and spicy buffalo sauce, drizzled with ranch dressing and buffalo sauce.

Half-pound Angus burgers

• Cuban Burger: Served sandwich-style and topped with oven-roasted ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickles, Dijonnaise and mustard.
• California Burger: Served on sourdough bread and topped with avocado, roasted green chilies, pepper jack cheese, chipotle mayonnaise and ranch dressing
• Grilled Burger Melt: Topped with cheddar and Swiss cheeses, caramelized onions and special sauce on grilled sourdough bread.
• Entrees include:

Chicken Marsala

Grilled Pork Chops

Tuscan Chicken Limone

Thai Salmon

Fish Tacos

Baby Back Pork Ribs

Old-Fashioned Pot Roast

• Salads, pasta and stuffed potatoes round out the menu.
• On tap, look for BJ’s eight regular brews:

BJ’s LightSwitch Lager

Harvest Hefeweizen

Piranha Pale Ale

Nutty Brewnette

Tatonka Stout

and more.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse follows the 2010 openings of BlackFinn American Grill, Pollo Tropical, Whisky River, Suite Nighclub, Libretto’s Pizzeria,  and Zaxby’s at the Markets at Town Center