Welcome to Bakersfield Food & Wine Adventures

This should be rich.

My fam has been after me to post a blog about all the places I go to eat and drink.  Thanks to Betty for getting me started.

Nothing like a poor dining experience to get one blogging.  BJ's Brew House.  I'm not really a big fan of corporate eateries.  But when it's a business lunch and a customer wants to go there, I have no objection.  So Friday (11/12/10) my friend and customer and I got time to visit and discuss our business.  And we have had nice meals at BJ's before.  It's close and they have lots of goodies to choose from. 

Anyway, we should have been tipped off when we got there and the hostess gave me one of the flashing vibrators while we waited for our turn to be seated.  What's the wait? there is hardly anyone here yet. 
looking back, I should have put the vibrator in my front pocket, it would have been the best part of this dining experience. 

There really are a lot of options on the menu.  Pages and pages.  Most often at lunches we tend to focus on the lunch special page.  It's not such a large meal and if seems like it would be fast and easy.  So our waiter is a nice enough young kid.  But it was amature hour for him.  My companion orered a half sandwhich and fries and I ordered the "Thai" Salmon lunch special and a cup of Clam Chowder.  This seemed simple enough at first.  Companion got his plate of half a sandwhich and fries and I got "a" cup of soup.  It's Friday and wintery - in fact it was cold in the dining room - the AC was on and the fans are going - I was geting cold and I wanted some hot soup -   anyway, the soup delivered was not clam chowder.  So I sent it back,  saying that I ordered the clam chowder.

The waiter, who looked like a young Obama, apologized and took my soup away.  Did I say the waiter looked like Obama, that pissed me off also... so I tell Companion to go ahead, my Chowder will be out any time.   He's pecking at his fries and can't get any ketchup.  But I'm focused on me not having any soup.  So, after 10 minutes, Obama brings me my soup, but it's the same wrong cup of soup he tried to get me to accept 10 minutes ago. 

Now, this is a business lunch and even though my companion is  a friend of mine, he's also my customer so I pretend that this wrong soup thing is not bothering me.  Obama says he let the manager know about his screw up and my chowder will be right out.  And it was - 10 minutes later.  At least Companion got some ketchup and was enjoying his sanwhich and fries. 

The Clam chowder was really nice.  It was full of clams and not too much potato, in fact I don't think there was any potato.  It was kind of luke warm, but I was not letting it go.  It was a little starchy also.  I think clam chowder can be either starchy or creamy, thickened with a rue or with cream.  I generally feel guilty either way when I'm done.  Either too much fat or too much flour.  But I did enjoy the chowder.  And when I was finished, I was checking my watch and noticed this adventure so far has been 40 minutes to get a cup of soup. 

So Companion is finished and my empty soup bowl is gone, and here comes my entree - "Thai" salmon, right?  Obama brings out a lovely bowl of salmon over rice and had some kind of light sauce over it.  I asked if it was the Thai Salmon and he says it was the Miso Salmon.  "No,no,no" I say.  Like I was dining at Fawlty Towers.  "I ordered the Thai Salmon.  You already brought the wrong soup twice." 

While waiting for my entree, Companoin, being finished, goes into his adventre at BJ's when his son on his birthday never got his meal.  But he did get a $50 gift certificate for the poor experience.  Oh cool, I'm thinking to myself  privately.  Maybe I can score a gift card, surely this has been a major cluster 'uck, worthy of a gift card.

Man, I'm still really hungry, it was only a cup of chowder, not a bowl.  So next time Obama comes by the table, serving everyone else's lunch, I asked him to forget the salmon and just bring me the bill.  This even took 10 minutes.  It seems like everything takes 10 minutes at this place.  The wrong soup-twice, the ketchup, the drinks, the bill.  It's been an hour and our lunch time has expired.  I just want to stop the aggravation, drop off my companion at his office and go through the new McDonalds down the street. 

Any one who knows me knows how aggraveted I must have been to even think about having to go to McDonalds.

Meanwhile, back at BJ's, I didn't get the bill -less my salmon entree as expected, I got the manager.  This kid was younger than Obama and about as lame.  He apologized and said he would pay for our meal.  And he's lucky I was with a customer and on good behavior status. 

After dropping off my customer, I went to the house and heated up a left over slice of really great pizza I made the night before. 

So, my 1-4 * rating scale will be as follows:

1* = poor - never going back
2* = OK, may give it another try, but not any time soon
3* = Good food and good value
4* = Great, can't wait to go back

BJ's = 2.5*.  Basically it's good food and good value, but I can wait a while to try it again. 
My homemade Kick'n Chicken and alfredo pizza, 4*.  Made with Kick'n Chicken sausage from the Wood- dale on Stine Rd.  I had alfredo sause, mushrooms, kalamatta olives, onions and cheese.  Bety made the dough and it really good.  Pizza recepi on request.