Date Night at BJ's Restaurant

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight 

campaign  with Pollinate Media Group™ and BJ’s Restaurants  

but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BJsrestaurants 

http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO”

Friends - have you ever been to a BJ's Restaurant?? Tony and I never had until last Friday, and um.....why did no one tell me how awesome this place is? We walked in for the first time and were instantly struck by how fun the restaurant was - it had a great atmosphere! Music that was just the right volume (I can't stand when it's so loud you have to shout at the person you're with to talk), lighting that was just right (again, what's with it with the "mood lighting" at restaurants that's nearly pitch black?), friendly hostess and an awesome, fully-stocked bar!

Once we sat down our awesome waiter told us about their new Big Poppa's Smokers BBQ menu. Normally I'm not a big fan of BBQ, but honestly - everything looked and sounded amazing so we decided to give it shot. First off, though, drinks. I ordered "the strawberry patch" and Tony ordered one of BJ's handcrafted beers, the oasis amber. We loved our drinks, and ended up going for a second round of the same!! (Hey, it was a date night!)

How cute is my date??

During our drinks, the appetizers came. We ordered the Jallelujah-Spiced fries (the perfect mix of spicy and salty!) and the corn fritters with bacon aioli off of the special Big Poppa's Smokers BBQ menu. They were slap yo mama good! (I especially loved the fritters!)

Then it was time for the main course. We had a super hard time deciding (everything sounded amazing!) but Tony and I ended up getting the Blue Ribbon BBQ Combo for two. It was a steal at only $19.95 and came with a half rack of ribs, half a chicken, two sides of our choice and cornbread with two amazing butters .

Holy moly, it was served on the BIGGEST plate I've ever seen in my life, and everything was amazing!!!

I'm not normally one to get my hands dirty for anything, but the ribs were worth it!

....and I don't know if you noticed from the above pics, but we got steamed veggies for our sides, so we wouldn't feel so guilty about ordering dessert! Couldn't go to BJ's without getting one of their famous pizookies, right??

As good as it looked, it tasted even better!

It may have been our first time at BJ's but it won't be our last. Tony and I both loved it, and are looking forward to bringing the girls back for a family night out soon. We will definitely be ordering off of the Big Poppa's BBQ Smokers Menu again too, especially since it will only be available until September 2, so get there soon!! I'm looking forward to trying their BBQ lunch platter next time - pulled pork sandwich + a jallelujah-spiced chicken breast.

What would you be interested in trying?