Rock Bottom Brewery

Prior to going to hear Kate Clinton, a very funny comedienne, four of us decided we would eat in Long Beach where she was performing. First we thought we would find a place at Shoreline Village which isn’t far from the convention center but, as so often happens in LA, especially on the 405, the traffic delayed us quite a bit. We found the Rock Bottom Brewery directly across the street from the convention center and decided that would be a good place to go - and it was.

I didn’t realize until today that this was a chain and that they have a restaurant in Milwaukee but this is the only one in the LA area. Although they brew their own beer, none of us imbibed but instead drank sodas and ice tea which were fine. BJ and I each ordered the Brew Burger with cheese and we had the fries. We could have had their homemade chips but they were made with vinegar, not pleasant for us. We also could have had fruit or brewery slaw but, being the health nuts that we are, we chose the fries. The hamburgers were very large on a very nice bun (remember I like soft buns and this one was perfect). It came with lettuce, tomato, pickles and onions on the side. The burgers were very juicy and delicious. The one complaint was that they were not done as we ordered. BJ ordered hers medium well and it was cooked medium and I ordered mine medium and it was definitely medium rare which actually is OK for me. If you go there and get a burger, order it more well-done than you would like and it will be perfect. The fries were seasoned and tasted very salty but they weren’t greasy at all. BJ had a side of BBQ sauce and she liked it and said it was a tangy sauce rather than a sweet one.

M ordered a Rueben sandwich. She said that she realized if you want an authentic Rueben, you need to go to a deli. She liked the bread and the sandwich was OK but not like you would get at Jerry’s. She didn’t care for the seasoning on the fries. BK had Classic Mac and Chicken. That came with a side Caesar that had real Parmesan cheese sliced on the top but seemed to be too light on the dressing. Although she liked her dish, she felt it could have been called pasta and chicken with a little cheese. She had expected true mac and cheese with chicken added but she liked the meal.

We were all very full and mostly satisfied. We opted out for dessert. Our server was pretty good as was the food. I would go there again and again get a hamburger although they have many other interesting items on the menu. The prices are in the upper medium range – our burgers cost about $9, the Rueben was about $10 and the mac and chicken was about $13. The Rock Bottom Brewery is at One Pine Avenue directly across from the Long Beach Convention Center.