Under Brewhouse Whelming

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
5929 West Waco Drive
Waco, TX 76710
254.776.0200 TEL

               

           I know I don’t normally review chains, but with all the hype this place has gotten since moving into Waco I decided I’d throw my 2 cents into the mix.  BJ’s is one of the largest growing chains in the USA, and this is attributed to 3 main reasons; 1) They are a publicly traded company, and expansion is a must. 2) Their menu caters to a large group of people.  3) Quality is pretty standard all around. There is an article on them in last month’s National Restaurant News about their expansion plans that was pretty interesting. I will try to post parts of that later on.

I almost never go to a restaurant during the first couple of weeks. This gives them some time to get their game together on food quality, customer service, and such. I nearly went one weekend, during the first couple of weeks but I held off, and good thing to. I later found out, through a coworker, that BJ’s nearly run out of all their food to serve, resulting in a very limited menu that night. I also heard that they were still having problems with service, great turn around & sitting time, but lacking in service. 

I finally made my way down there one night, my cousins just got into town, so we decided to hit them up and try it out. Both of them have eaten at other BJ’s before, this is my first experience for this joint ever.

My cousins arrive there before me; by the time I arrive they already have their brews. I look over the beer menu, and ask our server for a couple of the house beer samples. The ones I try are alright, a little too bitter for me and I’m in a liquor mood anyways. I order their Mojito, since it is their drink special for the night for $5; which begs the question, if $5 is their sale price what is the regular price? Ouch! Don’t think I will be coming here just to chill at the bar, not with those prices. Lets not forget to mention that it also took 10 minutes to get my drink, our server made it sound like someone dropped the ball.

                While waiting on my drink we looked through the vast menu that BJ has. I personally think their menu is too much, but hey they have made a great success out of it, so kudos to them.  Still, it made it a pain for me to decide on what to eat. After a while I narrowed it down to pasta, salad and a pizza; I knew right off the bat though I didn’t want a burger or sandwich. After much debate I finally decided on a pizza since my coworker had previously recommend it and the fact that the first BJ’s was a pizza joint, specifically deep-dish. I ordered a small cheese, pepperoni, and roasted bell pepper pizza; minus tomatoes. My cousins went with a salad and pasta.

Our food arrives in a timely manner, but once we start to dig in we realize that we don’t have our napkins or silver-wear. We hail our server and get our gear. Then I notice that my pizza is wrong, it has tomatoes and the wrong kind of bell peppers. Our server offered to take it back and have them make a new one, but I didn’t want to wait for a new one and just rolled with it. Besides messing up the toppings, which is fairly baffling to me. The pizza was alright; nice crispy crust, flavorful sauce, good amount of cheese…. really lacking on the amount of pepperoni. Totally not worth $10 for the small, wrong, skimpy topped pizza. 

 

                Overall it was alright; food decent enough, service slightly lacking, nice atmosphere. Really over hyped though and overpriced; $18, $21 with tip, for a small pizza and a single drink? Really? I could’ve had a decent night at one of my local bars (of better drink quality) or ordered a couple of medium Pizzas (of equal quality) from Papa Johns for that price. On top of my lone experience, I keep hearing plenty of complaints from friends on the service at Waco’s BJ’s Brewhouse. These factors combined, I really don’t plan on going back any time soon. Once Waco gets over the “new smell” hype, Wacoan’s will get tired of the higher prices and lacking service and move back to packing in Chedders, and hopefully some of Waco’s great local joints.

El Sabor Del Mar

Sergio’s – Fine Mexican Seafood
608 Austin Avenue
Waco, Texas 76701

www.SergiosWaco.com
sergio7mares@yahoo.com

            Before there was “Sergio’s” on Austin Ave there was “Siete Mares” on Dutton Ave and there was even a short time, between the two, when “Sergio’s” was located down on David Street. I have eaten at all 3 places, but my best memories are from my dining experiences at Siete Mares.

 My family and I used to dine there very frequently; for birthdays, random get together, even took some dates there. Siete Mares was a high light for Waco’s restaurant spread, introducing high quality authentic Mexican sea-fare. Not only did the locals love the joint, it spread to the White House. President George W. often had Siete Mares cater out at his ranch when he was down here visiting. Sergio (the owner) would come back all the time with presidential treats and knick-knacks, and would hand them out to kids at the restaurant. The press also liked Siete Mares and would dine there often enough while in town covering the Prez. I don’t want to go pointing fingers, but soon after the press starting dining there the food & menu started to change… it started to morph in to a more Americanized menu; small example- the meal started to come with white rice and you’d have to request Mexican rice. Then of course the economy tanked and the neighborhood took a turn, and Siete Mares closed.

            A few months after Siete Mares closed, I honestly wasn’t sure if Sergio was going to open a new joint. I had heard rumblings, and I knew he was working on other projects. He eventually bought a Mobile Kitchen and started taking that to Waco’s Farmers Market and other places around Waco. You can still find his Mobile Kitchen every Saturday at the WFM. He also eventually bought a little place down on Davids Street, with a much more limited menu and seafood only on the weekends I believe. I only ate there a couple of times, sticking with their homemade chicken Taquitos. That place didn’t last very long, with such a poor location. When I finally heard that he was looking into buying the place over on Austin, I was very excited.

            Once Sergio’s was finally opened we wanted to go try it out, but I have a simple rule when it comes to new places, even if it’s just a reopening. Always wait a couple of weeks to let them work out the kinks. It will save you a lot of trouble… example that is unrelated with this particular restaurant: When BJ’s opened here in Waco I knew they would be slammed, hard, so hard in fact that they were over whelmed/under-prepared and ran out of 80-90% of their food supplies one weekend. I almost went that night, but thank goodness I avoided that mess. Back to the original topic though, Sergio’s. After a couple of weeks passed, and heard some feedback from friends and read some reviews on WacoFork I figured it was time to dive it. Gathered up most of the family (about 12 of us), like in the old days, picked up some ice-cold beers and nice bottle of wines and headed out. My cousins and I arrived first, and had to wait for them to put some tables together for us all. Once all seated, we begin to browse the menu. He has many of his classic dishes and a few new things. I for one stick with my old standby, since I haven’t had it in ages- La Diabla, with mixed veggies and rice. La Diable is a dish of sautéed shrimp with a habanero sauce, MUY CALIENTE!

            The rest of my family places their orders, but of course we are crazy people so none of them really order off the menu. They all want to replace sides, swap one sauce of another, ask if they can get with that, etc. Not the easiest task for a waitress, whom in my opinion, hasn’t been in the bizz for very long. Our food comes out 2-3 at a time, and of course there are a few mix up and switches that need to be made, 10 minutes later it is all sorted out and we are ready to dig in. Everyone was very pleased with the food; very tasty, nicely cooked, hot… just like we used to remember it. Besides the minor chaos mix up, it turned out to be a great night with the family.

            I went again this past week with just my immediate family. This time I ordered a little something different; Blackened Mahi Mahi, with a Smokey chipotle sauce on the side, along with white rice and mashed potatoes… not the most colorful of plates, but I mostly just wanted to try the fish & sauce. I must say, it was pretty dang tasty. The fish was nice and flaky, perfectly cooked. The seasoning was just right and had a nice little kick to it. The sauce was awesome, Smokey, spicy, smooth in overall flavor… a little went a long way. If you like chipotles, you’ll love this sauce! The mashed potatoes were nothing spectacular and rice is rice… at least neither one was over cooked.

Over all I have had positive dining experiences both times I have been to Sergio’s and definitely plan on going back. The biggest disappointing thing about the new place is I have yet to see it full. I remember Siete Mares being packed and people actually having to wait for a table. Sergio’s is back and needs your support; Mexican Seafood lover unite and go try them out!  

I really want to go by for lunch one day and try the Crab Nachos that WacoFork wrote about, they looked mighty tasty

                                                * p.s. It is still B.Y.O.B.*

 This is a dish my brother orders: Shrimp in Green Sauce.

First Butt of the Summer

Summer ‘12

           It has been a while since I’ve posted anything, and I do apologize for that. I have excuses, but as the saying goes “excuses are like butt-holes, everyone has one and they all stink.” But I will say, I just haven’t found any places really worth writing about... And I am working on that. Hopefully I can remedy that soon, might even have to travel outside Waco a tad more. That’s why I planned on incorporating recipes and such into my blog, alas I have been dragging my tail on that too. But have no fear, I will get my act together and this is the start!

            This past week one of my co-workers brought some homemade BBQ spaghetti to work for me to try and it was delicious. Not my first time, but was definitely better than my first time- sweet, juicy, a mean bite that crawled up on you… very good. So I decided I was gonna smoke a pork butt and make my own with any leftovers. Unfortunately “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry” or something like that… all the pork was eaten in sandwiches that night rendering us with no leftovers. Least this gives me reason to smoke another pork butt and make the spaghetti that day.

This post will not contain a recipe for BBQ spaghetti, but instead I will share a recipes for; Pulled Pork, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Cole Slaw.


1) The first dish served up is Cole Slaw. I usually make this the day before or early in the morning once I have the meat into the smoker and ‘chilling’ comfortably. Now usually when I’m making this for a big group I will buy fresh head(s) of cabbage and raw, fresh carrots and do it all from scratch. But when it comes to just 4-6 people, I don’t need that much so I go the easy route and buy a bag of Dole’s, 16 ounce, pre-shredded slaw mix from HEB.

So the ingredients are:
-16 ounces or Slaw Mix
-1 Cup Hellman’s Mayo
-1/3 Cup Sugar
-1/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
-2 Table spoons chopped Sweet n Spicy Jalapenos                     *Forgot to take Pics of Slaw :(*
-1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (optional)
- Salt and Black pepper to taste

Very simple, mix together in bowl cover with lid or plastic wrap and let marinate.


2) Mashed Sweet Potatoes. To be honest, I just threw this together. I had 3 lying around and I wasn’t in the mood to bake them. So I decided to make some mashed.

Ingredients:
- 2 to 3 good size sweet potatoes, peeled and medium cubed

- 1 Apple peeled and chopped
- 2/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
- 1 Table Spoon Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Table Spoon Unsalted butter
-  ½ Cup Heavy Cream

- 2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Make sure to wash and peel the potatoes and soak in light lemon water until ready to boil. I also peeled and chopped up an apple to throw in. Boil the potatoes and apples together, and just like you would regular potatoes cook until tender. Drain thoroughly and pour into stand mixer bowl or regular bowl if using hand masher or hand held mixer. Beat/mix to mushy consistency, slowly add dry ingredients first. Once they dry ingredients are well incorporated, whip in the butter then start adding the heavy cream until desired consistency is attained.

3) Last, but far from least the mighty Boston Butt! I bought this one at HEB, a nice 8 pounder. But you can also get them at Waco Custom Meats and Waco Beef & Pork. Usually I will rub them down and let them season for a couple days before throwing them on the smoker, but if I am just gonna throw it in something like spaghetti then it really doesn’t need to season as long. 

Since I was only planning on making a couple sandwiches that night with it I cut the pork butt in half, cryovacced and saved the other half for a rainy day. Speaking of rain, when I had decided to smoke this hunk of meat I didn’t realize it was expected to rain that day, a good 50-70%. It actually poured cats n dogs the night before, but I wasn’t gotta let that stop me. Would’ve put up my EZ-Up before calling it quits, but luckily the BBQ Gods smiled good fortune on me and I only got a light drizzle early in the morning while lighting the chimney.

- Boston Butt, bone in.

- 4-6 Sour Dough buns, toasted with butter.
- Your own special seasoning, I can’t give you mine!
- I prefer to smoke with hickory and apple wood, giving it a sweeter complex.
- ¼ Cup Heated Sangria, chill the rest and enjoy with the meal.

            Smoke at 250F until at least 190F internal temp and bone pulls out cleanly. The meat should be tender enough to pull apart and shred to desired consistency. I like mine a little meaty and don’t fully shred the pork. Pour the sangria and about 2 tablespoons of your seasoning over the pulled meat, mix together and let sit covered with plastic wrap for a couple of minutes. I’ve never tried it with beer, but with room temp beer you could get similar results… will have to try that next time.  While pork is sitting, toast the buns.

Now it’s Chow Time! Pile the pork on the bun, top it off with some slaw and go to town. MY family completely devoured it, so no BBQ spaghetti this time around as previously mentioned. But ever one loved the pulled pork, and I’d love to give out the exact recipe and method I used… but I plan on using this for a competition soon so I'm keeping it under tight wraps. And one of the best things about BBQ is making it your own in the first place.

Now if you have never smoked a Boston butt before and would like more guidance, since I really didn’t dive that much into the method. Same goes for any of the recipes I post; Please feel free to contact me on my blogs Facebook page. I will be more than glad to help you out and answer just about any of your questions… if you get my drift.