Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Oggi's, Oggi's Oggi's....

I go to Oggi's about once a month, as one is close to my house. I don't go for the beer, but for the kids-eat-free Wednesday night special. The food is edible, but the service is usually bad. Tonight's service was marginal, but it was the best we have had at our location. (We go with friends to the Oggi's in Santee and the service there is much better.) I have not tried all Oggi's beer, but it's a sorry state when my favorite beer is an Amber Ale. I usually avoid Amber Ales because they are a catch-all mish-mash that are bland at best. The Torrey Pines IPA is a drain pour. I ask for the guest beers hoping for something interesting, but even those are boring. For beer drinkers, Oggi's is a frustrating experience.

UPDATE: Just got back from the Oggis' in Santee. It had Russian River IPA, Avery IPA and The Lost Abbey's Red Barn on tap. Nice.

3 comments:

Steve said...

I agree, I started going to one by my house, about 20 minutes away in Corona. Wanted to love their beers because I had heard a lot of them from my friend who resided in SD. I honestly couldn't really stomach their beers, especially as you mention their IPA. The hefe tasted like pure banana, the Pale Ale was metallic, and the stout was plain weird (think too much anise or licorice). The one decent brew I think is their Scottish Ale, but I'm just not huge on that style personally anyway.

Have you tried their Hop Juice Double IPA? Curious what your thoughts on that are. Mine are so-so.

Anonymous said...

Santee had Pliny the Elder on tap for quite a while. But who wants to go to Santee? Dig some of the pizza though, especially the Monte Carlo.

Rational Realist said...

Steve,
I have not tried Hop Juice. I think it's like 9% alcohol, which is too much, generally, for a weeknight dinner when you want two pints. Need to try the Scottish Ale, but I agree, the style is usually too malty for me.

J.Rhode, Pliny the Elder at Oggi's, that's the diamond I look for but have yet to find. Oggis' pizzas and calzones are good, which makes the weak beers annoying.