I recently met up with some friends for a Girls Day Out!  We got to sample some appetizers and Enlightened Menu items at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Burbank.  Read on for my review of the experience and food at the restaurant.

A big thank you to BJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse in Burbank for providing this complimentary lunch.  All opinions expressed in this post reflect my personal opinion and experience at this restaurant.

Girls Day Out = Cheat Day (?)

Sometimes you want to go out and enjoy time a good old-fashioned Girls Day Out.  At the same time, you don’t want to undo all of your hard work eating healthy at home.  Am I right?

The LA Mommy Blogger Tribe gals were invited to hang out at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Burbank this past week.  My immediate fear was, “Oh no, I’m going to be tempted to eat food that will undo my health and fitness goals for 2019.  Or…I’ll have to sit in the corner unhappily eating a boring salad.”  Boy was I wrong!

We got to try out some entrées from the new Enlightened Menu.  All I can say is, I will never look at zoodles the same way again!  The presentation and flavors of the food were amazing.  I think that BJ’s has set a new bar for healthy menu items on restaurant menus.

But first…can I just say that the hospitality at BJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse in Burbank was wonderful?  We got seated quickly on a rainy Sunday afternoon.  Also…they asked me for I.D. when I ordered a Pineapple Ancho Margarita.  They got this girl’s vote for restaurant of the year! 😀

What we ate

We got to sample the following menu items at BJ’s in Burbank on our Girl’s Day Out:

Appetizers:

• Best Beginnings Appetizer Combo: This delicious platter included  spinach and artichoke dip, mozzarella sticks,  avocado egg rolls, and boneless wings.  I had some dip and mozzarella sticks and they did not disappoint!  Of course, these were not part of the Enlightened menu.  But it’s all about balance, right? 😉

  

• Honey Sriracha Brussels Sprouts: Lightly fried, seasoned brussels with sweet sriracha crema.  Guys, if you order these, get double!  They were unbelievably good.  I didn’t realize that I like sriracha.  What have I been missing all of these years?!  I can’t believe that this is an Enlightened Menu item.

  

Entrees:

• Enlightened Seared Ahi Salad: Romaine with veggies, Sashimi-grade ahi tuna, cilantro, and lots of other delicious flavors.  I admit that I was a little hesitant to try this one because I am not a big seafood lover.  I’ve been trying to incorporate more into my diet and had a try.  Guys, it was good!  I am so happy that I went ahead and tried it!

 

• Enlightened Pacific Poke Soba Noodles: Sashimi-grade ahi tuna with buckwheat soba noodles and poke sauce.  This was a cold entree.  It was delicious, but keep this in mind if you are in the mood for a warm entree.

 

• New Enlightened Blackened Chicken Zucchini Noodles: This was hands down my favorite entrée! It includes both marinara and alfredo sauces, veggies, and parmesan cheese.  It was absolutely delicious!  I can easily order this on a night out with friends and family without feeling deprived.  In fact, I took some home for lunch the next day and was sad to find that the hubby ate it!

 

My thoughts on the food:

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of flavor in each of these dishes!  I used to travel for work and ordered off of many a “healthy” menu.  The dishes always tasted bland, the vegetables were usually not very fresh or well prepared, and I wound up being hungry an hour later.

The Enlightened menu items were delicious and the presentation of each dish was amazing.  It is a nice change to receive a healthier menu item that is as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the palate.  I felt pleasantly full after lunch instead of overly stuffed and weighed down.

Lunch was as it should be!  About hanging out with friends and eating some delicious food!  I enjoyed my food and company without feeling guilty about what I ate after the fact.

Goodie Bags:

Burbank BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse was kind enough to send each of us home with a fresh-baked pizooki of our choice.  I wish I could say I got to enjoy it, but my kids smelled the pizooki as soon as I walked through the door.  They split it in half between the two of them and I never got a taste :/

Tap Takeover!

Be sure to check the Ballast Point Tap Takeover on Tuesday, March 19^th at 6 p.m. at the Burbank BJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse!  The Tap Takeover will feature the following:

• Brut IPA (Bone-Dry India Pale Ale)
• Ballast Point Lager (Lager)
• Passing Haze (Hazy Session India Pale Ale)
• Grapefruit Sculpin (India Pale Ale with Grapefruit)
• Barrel Aged Victory at Sea (Imperial Porter aged in High West Bourbon and Rye Barrels)

I hope that you get a day out soon with friends and some great food.  If you do, I highly recommend the Enlightened Menu at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse!