PJ’s Lager House

When I walked outside with the dog this morning and we sniffed around in the air we both thought the same thing; my gawd is it March 24th already?

We both knew it.

You could just smell it.

March 24th.

And we all know what March 24th means; the celebration of 18th-century English Separatist, theologian, natural philosopher, chemist, innovative grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist, Joseph
Priestley’s birthday.

He discovered oxygen.

Though he was more known in his lifetime for inventing soda water, the oxygen thing is the bit that is more
widely remembered.

Why that is I’m not sure.

We were all breathin’ just fine before we knew what oxygen was. What we called that schtuff we were breathing in was of no particular or immediate importance.

What we were not doing before Priestley came around though was drinking anything with those sweet little bubbles cruising around inside of it.

At the time, Priestley thought soda water could be used as a cure for scurvy, which of course was not the case. Now we know that it’s true and main purpose is aiding the bellies of the hungover millions.

History teaches us funny lessons.

Anywhodidilly, after the dog and I thought for a while about Priestley and enjoyed some of his sweet sweet oxygen outside, she did her business, then I picked it up, and we both went inside filled with reverence and satisfaction.

Something else was born on this day too.

The VegHedz trip to PJ’s Lager House for some brunch
was born.

Now it’s our turn to discover a lil sumthin’ sumthin’.

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You know what PJ’s Lager House looks like on the outside? A bar.

It does inside too.

But it’s a lot more than that. It’s also a music venue, restaurant, and as of January it’s also home to a vintage/resale/record shop downstairs. But you wouldn’t see all that from outside.

Like I said, from out there it looks like a bar.

PJ’s has a v v v v chill zone about it. It has become one of our favorite places to go for brunch. The ceiling is high and looks like the ornate old tin ceilings you don’t see around too much. I was staring at that ceiling here and there over breakfast and kept thinking to myself, “nice, I like that ceiling. I could look at a ceiling like this for a long time and be happy with doing that.” Then I remembered that staring at the ceiling while you’re out to eat with somebody is v rude and so I stopped, but I made a strong mental note of it as is evidenced here.

The vibe at brunch here is low lit and airy and with nice natural light beamin’ in through the front windows. All of the light fixtures are made from old Jameson bottles, so if you still weren’t sure if you could get a glug in here, that should seal the deal; indeed you can. But the zone isn’t just everybody getting trashed; it just feels like you can do what you’d like. And I like that shit.

One more reason it’s one of our favorite spots for brunch? We’ve never had to wait so far. Dang dude. Just to be able to walk right in someplace on an early Sunday afternoon and sit right down and have an order in within five minutes feels so good.

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WHAT WE ORDERED

For drinks, I took a black coffee and S had 1a bloody Maria. They make their own bloody mix at PJ’s which is not only gob-smacking good, but naturally vegan as well.

For drinks, I took a black coffee and S had 1a bloody Maria. They make their own bloody mix at PJ’s which is not only gob-smacking good, but naturally vegan as well. Perfect cayenne-y spice kick, right amount of toe mah toe, lil celery seed. Makes you want to kiss your fingertips like an old cartoony Italian chef that just served up a life-changing pasta.

For food we split the vegan biscuits and gravy and the vegan version of the breakfast burrito.

The biscuits and gravy are the gawd dang jam. Nice sagey and rich brown gravy over biscuits that are thicccc without the feeling of being dense. If you don’t know what I mean by thiccc but not dense I can’t help you. It’s just something you know. Light n’ fluffy tofu scram on the side and well-browned potatoes.

The breakfast burrito was really good too. Totally no-fuss, and that’s what so nice about it. It was easy to make vegan by replacing eggs w tofu scram, and we subbed the cheese out for avocado (at no upcharge). When i say no-fuss I don’t mean plain or bland. I mean that it’s just got what you want in it. Black beans, sauteed bell peppers and onion, tofu scram, avocado, lightly toasted tortilla. That’s it.  That’s all you need. If you’re one of those people that need a burrito as big as your head, this is not the one for you. Or you just need a smaller head.

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After we ate, we headed downstairs quick to slink around the new vintage/resale/record shop that’s opened up down there. If we weren’t in such a spring clean-all-the-excess-junk-outta-our-house-and-lives kick I’d have had a small armload to head out with including a plate with a realistic photo of a plunger on it and a new age record featuring toy piano.

When we headed back up, the gray had broken from the sky and a sweet little sunlight was drippin’ in through the windows and we left full of that same reverence and satisfaction that the dog and I had been filled with on our walk this morning.

We took in four big lungs full of that lovely Priestley oxygen, and took off.

Happy March 24th.

Xoxo

J