Last night, my parents and I wanted to get some dinner after seeing the new Transformers movie.  We tossed around some ideas for places to go but none of them stuck until I recommended Rock Bottom Brewery in Short Pump.  Sure, it’s a chain, but they make their own beer on the premises and the menu sounded really good.  I knew there was one in Arlington, but never went there when I lived in Northern Virginia.

It was a gorgeous night out, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the nice big patio.  We were quickly attended by our waitress Nicole, who proved to be exemplary.  My stepfather and I enjoyed our limited-time-only nitro coffee cream stouts as we waited for our dinner.  I had ordered the Bourbonzola burger, which combines my love of burgers, gorgonzola, onion straws, and bourbon; my mom got fish and chips; and my stepfather ordered the bell peppers stuffed with chicken and chorizo.

After a little bit, not too long we thought, Nicole came back to apologize for the food taking so long, offering to get us something like the chicken tortilla soup to eat on the house while we waited.  We discussed appetizers, which she said would likely arrive after our entrees.  Mom and I decided that the chicken tortilla soup would do fine (we’re big fans of that in this family), and we asked for a loaf of their bread as well.  Nicole had hardly left before the manager Tim came by to also apologize for the “long wait,” saying that someone from the kitchen had left early, causing our food to be delayed.  He offered to pick up the check as recompense.  We were floored by his generosity!  Then we started talking about beer, and before long, our food arrived, including the chicken tortilla soup and the sourdough bread loaf.  Mom and I sampled the soup and both agreed that it was really good.  We dug into our respective meals and agreed that those were tasty as well.  I wondered how the black beans I had ordered as a side would taste, and they were good, not spicy or anything.

Full as we were, we wanted dessert.  My parents ordered the carrot cake, apparently made from a recipe by the founder’s mother that had never been changed–and why would it need to be?  It was moist and delicious and had pineapple in it.  The cream cheese wasn’t slathered on too thick, which was nice.  I ordered the brownie sundae, which was also very good–dark and rich.  We were told that the desserts were all made in-house, which impressed us.

We enjoyed our dinner enough that my parents signed up for a Rock Rewards loyalty membership, and Nicole told us we would get $10 toward our next dinner.  Can’t pass up that deal!  Plus my parents had gotten wind of an upcoming beer that would incorporate Nutella, so I know I have to go back for that…and I could probably be persuaded to have a meal there too!

Thanks to Nicole and Tim for making our dinner even more awesome!  We’ll be back!

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