Bottom line

The Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery is a 6-second drive from La Jolla Playhouse. For me, that was its only distinguishing feature—until now. The exterior isn’t that bad; it’s just not remarkable, reflecting the eatery’s rubber-stamp franchise nature (indeed, Rock Bottom operates in about 93 states, although global warming has led the company to trim back its plans on expansion to the North Pole).

It’s when you get inside that you realize this place is serious about beer and, more important, the food you wash down with it. The barstools, the walkways, the tables, the welcome: Pretty much everything’s oversize here, and that includes the portions. The place even has its own delicious fare—original dishes like chicken-fried chicken ($8.95), served with something called white cheddar potatoes (which taste more like popcorn), or braised shortrib ($9.95), smothered in mushroom sauce and roasted for about five years. The beer part is worth wading through such an excellent food menu—Rock Bottom even has its own grain shed, from where the microbrewers instigate their magic in creation of several great Belgian-style ales and Pilsners. If beer is as key a pairing element as wine (and it is), Rock Bottom may as well be a winery (but it isn’t). And to boot, whenever did you hear of prices like that in La Jolla?

This particular outlet is located at 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive (there’s one Downtown at 401 G St., as well); the number is 858-450-9277. It opens at 11 a.m. Mondays through Fridays and closes whenever it damn well feels like it. See? You can eat and drink well in La Jolla for a pittance after all, especially after having saved so much on airfare to the North Pole. 

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