Brew house atmosphere more than meets the eye

By Tom Linek, Special to the Online Forty-Niner

Thursday, November 19, 1998

There is nothing more exciting than unwinding at the end of a rough week with good friends and a smooth beer.

It is easy to find breweries around town, but to find a good one requires a little searching.

If you are in the market for a good brewing company, search no further than the Rock Bottom Brewery on East Ocean Boulevard in downtown Long Beach.

Once inside the restaurant, you can see the wheels of brewing in motion because of its large on-site tanks that brew six selections of draft beer.

My friend and I decided to have lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

We were immediately sat at a spacious booth and were promptly approached by the server.

I choose the red beer and my friend tried the restaurant's honey beer.

The beers were brought in frosty beer mugs, which impressed us both.

The red was dark and smooth and the honey had a lighter refreshing taste.

The menu had little selection, but featured more popular items such as chicken, steak and pizza. We began with the barbecue chicken pizza as an appetizer, which was flavorful and satisfying.

For the entrée I choose the herb-grilled chicken and my friend had a chicken salad.

The salad was large and had a tasty balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It was filled with mixed greens and a variety of vegetables.

However, the herb-grilled chicken was extremely bland.

Ranch dressing could not even help this chicken. It was served with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, which were fair.

The best part of any meal is always dessert. It does not matter how full you are, once that dessert is in front of you there is room.

There was a nice selection of homemade desserts, but the brownie sundae with ice cream and raspberry sauce was calling to me.

It was pure pleasure.

The brownie was moist and heated with vanilla ice cream and smothered in a raspberry sauce. Although the people next to us claimed that their carrot cake was better, I think they were jealous.

Over all Rock Bottom Brewery has a fun atmosphere and is a good value.

The restaurant is a welcoming place for people who like to have fun on the weekends.