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| - To explain my rating, please remember that 3 stars means A-OK, it is not a bad rating, but it doesn't mean excellent either.
A group of 9 of us stopped there just after 8 PM on a Saturday night. One would think being able to get in to a restaurant at Desert Ridge on a Saturday night would not be easy but they seated us immediately. The place was full but not packed. It was a pleasure to go to a place that is not so noisy that you can't have a conversation with the others in your group. I think part of that is that BJ's was designed with good acoustics. We were surrounded by other diners but the noise level was well tolerable.
Our waitress was generally pleasant, but we agreed she looked bored, or even upset. She messed up numerous times throughout the meal in taking orders and bringing the right items. Again, the place wasn't that busy that she was overloaded.
As far as the food is concerned, I give BJ's high marks. I am generally not a fan of chain restaurants (although BJ's isn't as huge a chain as Olive Garden for example). The menu is creative and varied and surprisingly inexpensive. Most of us started with a beer, and we all liked the featured selection.
Although BJ's originally started as primarily a pizza place, they now offer a lot of different types of foods, many of which are not usually found in restaurants of this type. None of us had Italian food however. My choice was Cajun Talapia, two large filets cooked as perfectly as you can imagine, over a bed of rice and seved with a spring salad. The entre was served with a half lemon that was blackened at one end, perfect to squeeze on the fish and salad, resulting in a low calorie meal. Although the entre was under $10 the quantity of food was quite filling.
Others in our party had burgers, jambalaya, thai shrimp lettuce wraps and a nice Ahi Poke, all of which looked delicious. Everyone in our group agreed the food was great and the prices were reasonable. Our only negative was that the waitress wasn't that great.
BJ's is a cut above the typical chain restaurant but not at a higher price. Just an informal place to enjoy a decent meal with family or friends.
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