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bjs brewery coming in march 11 to the north austin

bjs brewery will open in the arbor walk in march 11 per a sign i saw yesterday.that shopping center needs a decent sports bar with good food and beers.

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  1. And it still won't have "a decent sports bar with good food and beers."

    15 Replies
    1. re: TroyTempest

      That"s kind of a negative remark, don't you think? What do you base that on?

      1. re: marfaboy

        perhaps he's been to their original location down south.

        1. re: dinaofdoom

          yeah. The food is underwhelming. I got the distinct impression that they don't even make the pizza in house. When it arrived at our table it was ice cold in the center but was fully cooked. Seemed like it was just reheated. It was also very salty which is usually a dead giveaway that it was prepped in a central facility since salt is a preservative.

          1. re: achtungpv

            BJs does have cheap beer at lunch ($3 house pints), and they are very generous with their samples. The beer they brew on site isn't that bad, plus they sport lots of local taps as well as the nationally distributed standards (Guinness, XX, etc). They do serve root beer, cream soda, and orange soda on tap. The menu tries to appeal to everyone by offering pasta, meat loaf, chicken fingers, sandwiches, pizzas (thin crust and deep dish), soups, salads, pot stickers, all of which is oily, greasy, salty, or fried. Very corporate, and yes, they have lots of televisions, but I would classify it more like a Cheesecake Factory with big screens than a sports bar.

            Cheesecake Factory
            10000 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78759

            1. re: karma belle

              Wow, that synopsis alone makes me not to want to go there.

              Also, I thought that St. Arnold contract brewed the beer for the brodie location...so they don't even make their own beer. It doesn't sound much different than a crappy BW3.

              I'll just go over to NXNW and chill at the bar.

              1. re: karma belle

                Hey! Please don't badmouth Cheesecake Factory and put it in the same boat. While it may not have the best chowish food, it is always very good, quick, huge selection, and in a quiet atmosphere that allows patrons to actually TALK without YELLING. I get so tired of the modern trend of loud restaurants, and Cheesecake Factory is a very welcome change from that trend. And the cheesecake selection is amazing too.

                Cheesecake Factory
                10000 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78759

                1. re: karma belle

                  Just FYI - BJ's does NOT brew any of it's beers in Texas at any of their Texas locations. St Arnold's in Houston brews all the beers for them

              2. re: dinaofdoom

                And even that's not really "original." They're a chain based in California. I used to have to eat there occasionally in L.A. County, where my parents live, and it's not great. Some of the beer is decent, but the food is bad and the atmosphere is cheesy.

                1. re: hlk

                  I loved BJ's deep-dish pizzas when i was in college in San Diego back in the early 90's. Totally unhealthy, but a delicious, guilty pleasure. I guess I was eating at one of the original half-dozen or so stores, according to their web site. Maybe that's why I thought it was good (or maybe it was simply better than eating on-campus; or maybe it was because I only knew Round Table and DiGiorno for comparison). I actually ate at the same San Diego store again, maybe 6 years ago, and still enjoyed the deep-dish pizza.

                  I recall mostly pizzas on the menu, not the smorgasbord I see on their web site now. Will probably try it here in Austin, for old-time's sake, but now that it appears to be a mega-chain -- and so far from home -- I fully expect to be disappointed.

                2. re: dinaofdoom

                  dina is correct. I base that on my one visit to the south location. The food is about what you'd get at a Chili's or TGI Friday's, but not as good. The beers that they brew are ok, but the ones i had were not as good as similar styles offered other places in town. Sorry for the lack of detail, but they just weren't that memorable.
                  Another comment as per the beer. The beer menu obviously was written for someone who doesn't know a lot about beer. For example there is a little description about each style, such as , "A stout is typically a dark colored Ale,. blah, blah..." I don't know why this bothers me.
                  Now, this was over a year ago, shortly after they opened, so things could have changed, but I'm not going back to find out.

                  1. re: TroyTempest

                    I went to one in Dallas. Certainly not great food, but what I expected from a bar. comparable to bw3

                    1. re: chrisdds98

                      I went to BJ's in So Cal and had an enjoyable experience. They were generous with the beer samples and the appetizers were good. I live in RR so I have not been to the S. Austin location, but looking forward to the Arbor Walk spot.

                      1. re: Heknawder

                        If you are looking for food way better than pub grub and great beer that is actually brewed by the restaurant, check out North by Northwest. Just down 360 from Arbor Walk. And it's locally owned.

                    2. re: TroyTempest

                      Just FYI - BJ's doesnot brew any of it's beers in Texas at any of their Texas locations. St Arnold's in Houston brews all the beers for them

                  2. re: marfaboy

                    I didn't realize there was already a BJ's location here in Austin - I went to a BJ's in Mau'i several years ago, and thought it was pretty good. Maybe it was just being in Mau'i.....

                3. I went to the BJs in Oklahoma City and wasn't at all impressed with the food- boring and I think that it was pre-prepared then warmed in their kitchen. We did the beer sampler and thought the beers were pretty good but nothing really stood out. If I wanted to go to a brewery in Austin I would definitely stick with NXNW. The food and beer are vastly superior.