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View the California
Brewing Company Menu
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Restaurant: California Brewing Company
Where: 100 Main St., Alhambra
Phone: (626) 943-8430
Reservations: Not needed
Cocktails: Yes
Service: Tableside wait service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: Yes
Credit Cards: All major except Diners
Kid’s Menu: Yes
Senior Discount: No
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: Yes |
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CBC
is located at 100 Main St. in Alhambra |
Homemade brews are made in big tanks right on the premises |
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CBC
offers a full bar, in addition to its beers |
Guests watch the NBA Finals on recently added big screen TV |
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They
looked (and tasted) so good we ate most of the Waikiki wings before we
remembered to take a picture |
Club
Sandwich with waffle fries |
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BBQ
Pork Sandwich with coleslaw |
½ Roasted Chicken and ½ Rack of Ribs Combo,
one of the “Fire Grilled Platters.” |
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DOT COM DINING A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
CA Brewing Company Food as Good
as the Brews
By Bill Coburn
California Brewing
Company in Alhambra offers some really good beers (in addition to their full
bar), and under new management has revamped its menu, brought in a new chef, and
upgraded the customer dining experience. General Manager Joe Rodriguez didn’t
just come in and change things, he studied the menu and sales for six months or
so before deciding what were the best sellers and what just wasn’t catching
people’s fancy. He brought in a chef he’d worked with before, and together they
added items that they knew were sure to be attractive to the clientele. The
brewery already had a top notch brewmeister, who, in addition to the popular
Indian Pale Ale, Blonde Beer and others, also creates special brews for the time
of the year, including a popular pumpkin beer at Halloween, and the beer that
came in my sampler that I never thought I’d enjoy, but did, a cherry flavored
beer. These beers are designed for people who might not like beer, but want
something a little more “flavorful.”
I started out with a
beer sampler, which included five of CBC’s home brews, including the
aforementioned cherry beer. It also included the IPA, the blonde, their wheat
hefeweizen, and a beer the waitress described as a European bitter. I enjoyed
them, though the European bitter is definitely not my usual taste, but it may be
yours. Katie tried the cherry beer, and liked it, and Katie hates beer.
On to the food. We
ordered the Waikiki Wings for an appetizer. They are flame grilled and tossed
in a teriyaki sauce and served with veggies and ranch dressing. Unlike most
wings, which are made of little drumettes, these were good sized, not as big as
a drumsticks from the chicken place, but much larger than most “wing” orders.
The teriyaki sauce was quite tasty, and had a bit of a kick to it. It was a
good way to start our meal.
Katie ordered the BBQ
Pork Sandwich, slow roasted shoulder sautéed with their spicy barbecue sauce and
served on a toasted bun. Sandwiches come with a choice of waffle fries, fruit
salad or coleslaw. Keelan ordered the CBC Club, which is made with your choice
of ham or turkey, bacon, lettuce or tomato, with Swiss cheese and served on
white or wheat bread. I ordered the ½ Roasted Chicken and ½ Rack of Ribs Combo,
one of the “Fire Grilled Platters.” It was served with cream of corn, coleslaw,
sautéed veggies and garlic bread. I decided not to have the cup of soup or
salad (house or Caesar), optional at $2.50.
We all dug in after
our entrees were served, and Keelan, who seems to be developing a flair for the
dramatic these days, said “About the food here? I’m speechless.” Of course I
pointed out that a good review required words, and couldn’t be done if we were
all speechless. In any event, he really enjoyed his sandwich, ordered with
turkey, and the waffle fries that came with it. Katie enjoyed the BBQ Pork
Sandwich, and having tasted some of my meal, pointed out that the sauces were
definitely different, unlike many places that have one barbecue sauce they try
to use for everything, when different foods really can best be enhanced with the
use of different styles of sauces. The sauce on my chicken and ribs was more
hickory smoked, where the sauce on the pork was sweeter and spicier.
I was quite happy
with my Combo dinner. The portions were good, the taste was delicious, and the
side orders were tasty as well. There’s a long history of problems with me and
cream corn, but I tried theirs anyway, and it was pretty good, and if you knew
my history with creamed corn, that’s saying a lot. The coleslaw was served with
a ring of pineapple on top, and I suppose I should have tried them together to
tell you how it worked out, but I like my pineapple straight, unless it’s got a
mai tai under it. The coleslaw was good, the pineapple was good, so I guess
they’d be good together. Stop by and try them together and let me know, ok?
The sautéed vegetables included green and yellow squash and carrots. Keelan ate
the squash (not a squash fan, myself) and loved it, I enjoyed the carrots.
For dessert, we split
the chocolate brownie sundae, and it was a fine ending to an enjoyable evening.
CBC offers live musical entertainment late nights on the weekend, but since we
were there on a Tuesday, I can’t tell you about that. However, there was a good
crowd in the bar enjoying the Dodger game and the NBA finals on several TVs,
including a new big screen that’s just been added.
CBC is one of several
restaurants on the block and in the neighborhood that are drawing crowds in the
revitalized Alhambra downtown district. I was really surprised to see how the
area has changed since I lived and worked not far from there in the early
eighties. A lot of money has been invested, and the city now has a thriving
nightlife. And CBC plays its role, by offering live entertainment, good food,
good brews, and a full bar. You can view the new menu at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/californiabrewingcompany.
If you happen to stop by
downtown Alhambra and/or CBC this Saturday evening, (or any Saturday during the
summer) you might want to also consider a post-dinner walk down the block to
Rick’s Drive-In and Out, which I reviewed a few weeks back, where live music
will also be performed on their outdoor patio. This week’s band, performing
from 7 to 11pm, is called LA Blues.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a
restaurant website featuring dozens of restaurant’s menus, as well as
downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant
business, and has been eating for much longer than that. |
