Westside Grill - Gilroy, Ca

8080 Santa Teresa Boulevard, Suite 100 in Gilroy. You know where it is... Remember when this place was J.R. Brewskies? Remember? I do. Many o' times I have eaten there. But, I guess that must have been a long, long time ago because Westside Grill has been in it's place since 2006. Wow. Well, I went back and now it is Westside Grill.

The bar is really a magnificent one. Not because of all the glorious alcohol but because it looks old world. Beautiful wood work, a step down and really dark. I have always thought is was very sophisticated place. Not much has changed.

The bread was good stuff. The crust was that of rosemary and gave great texture. I liked. So much so, I had the majority. Yikes! Now on to some comedy... They had Lobster Bisque as a regular on their menu. I am spoiled because I have had Maine's best. I am now addicted to the stuff. So when I see it on the menu, anywhere, I order it in hopes it will be the same as my original experience. So as it was set before me I notice there were "chunks" through out the soup. Could it be actual lobster? Usually bisques here are thin, blended versions. Low and behold these "chunks" floating through my bisque are cooked pieces of flour! HA! I am such a sucker, I should have know for $6 it could not have been the real thing. Onward, the salad was fine. Fine, fine, fine.

The Drunken Clams brought me back to life and gave me back some faith in the Westside Grill. White wine, garlic, lemon butter, tomato and herbs made a terrific bath for the clams. I should have saved room for more bread to soak up the fantastic broth. A+. Next up in this rodeo is the Pasta Pomodoro with Chicken as the protein. Fresh tomato, basil, garlic and olive oil round out the dish. Was it tasty? Yes. A tad spicy? Yes, from what? Who knows. Would it be ordered again? No, order something else. So was it bad? No way. Just would explore the rest of the menu a bit.

Westside Grill, a beautiful place. A smidge hard to find. It looks like it would be a dentist's office from the outside, in fact it is next to a gym. It is awkward, but find it. Go for drinks and an appetizer. Maybe on a romantic date or just to watch the game. They have a couple TV’s in the bar and a friendly bartender - she talked to the lone couple in the bar the entire time of my visit. Yowza! Anyhow. I give it 1.33 thumbs up. It is pretty good, kind of pricey but worth it. Stay away from the Lobster Bisque and you will have a wonderful time.

-MGT