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The small mountain city of Tehachapi, CA has a brew pub that serves a wide variety of micro brews, along with "pub grub" type cuisine. It's know as P-Dubs Brew Pub, and it has quickly become a favorite watering hold and "food destination" of the Tehachapi locals. As with all of reviews that I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's a little past the 11:00 in the morning opening time of P-Dubs Brew Pub, located in Tehachapi, CA. It's Tuesday morning, May 11, 2021, and I'm in the mood to enjoy a beer, a burger and fries.
Photo: Kamryn, the server in the dining room, answers a phone call, as I waited to be seated. The restaurant seemed to be doing a brisk takeout business on this late Tuesday morning, as she seemed to keep herself busy answering the many phone calls. To her credit, she seamed to be the only server on duty.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, the main dining room is to the left, and offers lots of memorabilia and souvenirs for sale. The entrance to the kitchen can be seen behind the colorful red doors, with the "beer on tap" menu posted on the wall. Had I known before I was seated, the bar and the full dining room was to the right of the entrance, where if I'd been seated at the bar, I might have received friendlier service.
Photo: The "Beer on Tap" menu is posted on the wall next to the entrance to the kitchen. I looked it over, and I decided to go for a pint of "Flyjack," as the name sounded interesting, and I'd never experienced an IPA with a name like that before. I would come to regret my choice - why didn't I choose a "Streets of Bakersfield?" IPA - as my "Flyjack" was bitter, watery, and tasted like sour lemonade. Not my style of beer or IPA...
Photo: P-Dubs Brew Pub menu is four pages long, and features all of your favorite "pub grub" selections. This is the second page of the menu, which showcases the "Burgers" which is usually my favorite section of the menu. Since it was late morning, I just "had" to go with the "Breakfast Burger." To see the complete menu, all four pages of it, click on THIS LINK. No worries, as you'll be directed back to this page.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, if you turn to your right - I went left - you'll enter the main room, which has the full-service bar, a couple of pool tables, television monitors, and lots of high, bar-type chairs and stools. Had I known - today was my first time visiting P-Dubs - I would have dined at the bar, as I am sure my acommodations would have been much warmer, and my company much more welcomed than what I received during my dining experience in the room next door.
Photo: Condiments at my table included salt, pepper, mustard, hot sauce, along with a bottle of ketchup. Napkins, of course! My mug of "Flyjack" IPA is centered, and it looked like a mug of sour lemonade, and tasted nearly the same. Quite a disappointment when you pay $7.00 for a 22-oz mug of this...
Photo: I pose, along with my "Breakfast Burger" and my pint of "Flyjack IPA," as my server, Kamryn, takes my photo. Thanks! To regress just a bit, when I was seated, I gave Kamryn my business card, and told her that I'd be taking photos for this web site and for a Yelp review. I told her that I'd especially want the "money shot," e.g. of her delivering my meal to me. She hesitated and said that she really wasn't comfortable with photos. OK, so I said that I'd just pay for my beer, pack up and leave, without any worries. She said a photo would be OK, so I ordered my food. When my meal arrived, she said "no way" to taking photos. C'mon girl... what's up? I kindly asked her twice and she declined, and a couple seated across the dining room took notice. So I simply asked her for a "to go" box and my check. My meal, along with the beer came to a price of $22.45, and I left $23.00 on the table. No photo equals no tip, and docks a "star" rating on Yelp. Sorry, but that's the way it works with me.
Photo: I was in the mood for a burger, and since I hadn't eaten breakfast, with the exception of a couple of oranges, I couldn't decide whether to go with breakfast or lunch. From the "Benchwarmer" section of the "Burgers" menu, the "Breakfast Burger" seemed like a great choice, so on this late Tuesday morning, the "Breakfast Burger" was my meal of choice. The menu describes the "Breakfast Burger" as, "Topped with a fried egg, hash browns, bacon, mayo and choice of cheese." The menu goes on to list that all burgers and sandwiches come with your choice of sides, including "natural cut" or shoestring fries, garlic mashed potatoes, tater tots, coleslaw or mixed fruit. As stated on the menu, the burger patty was 1/3 pound of Angus beef, cooked to medium, but I'm sure if you desired your burger cooked different, all you'd have to do is to ask your server. The burger was juicy, cooked perfectly cooked to medium, which seems to be the "default" for nearly everybody - medium is my "method" of choice - and placed on top of a brioche I "think" bun, but I'm not sure exactly the origin of the bun. The bun was dressed in mayonnaise, as listed on the menu, and a couple of pieces of bacon were haphazardly placed on top of the meat, along with a slab of hash brown potatoes, and a rather hard-fried egg. The bun was sort of shapeless, soggy and not at all attractive to the eye. OK, this is a "breakfast burger," and if you would be nursing a hangover, it would be perfect, and who would care about the presentation... but at a little after 11:00 on a Tuesday morning, and the fact that I hadn't enjoyed a beer for over 12 hours... this presentation wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Sorry... The fries were cooked perfectly to a slightly crispy golden brown on the outside, and chewy white inside, which definitely complemented the "Breakfast Burger" and perhaps saved the meal. The meal included a small cup of ranch dressing for dipping, which was perfect. The burger was juicy, and everything, including the hash brown slab and the bacon worked together to make for a great taste, but in the end, my "Breakfast Burger" turned out to be very forgettable, and the sloppy presentation sort of made the whole "breakfast burger" experience less than what it could have been. The fries were outstanding, and were the highlight of my meal. I'm sorry, but when I pay $22 plus change for a meal, I expect a great presentation, great food, and above all, friendly service. P-Dubs Brew Pub, and especially my server Kamryn didn't make this happen, so I will definitely scratch this restaurant off my "will be back" list during future visits to Tehachapi.
Photo: I cut my "Breakfast Burger" in half, to see all of the goodness the burger offered. It was a good, solid burger, and included everything the menu advertised, and more. The small cup of ranch dressing was an added bonus, and the fries were simply amazing. The beer is cold, and there is lots of beer on tap, and the "brew pub" cuisine is good. P-Dubs Brew Pub has outstanding potential, especially since they're the "game in town," in the small city of Tehachapi. But, management needs to work on the presentation of their burgers, and they especially need to train their staff in the art of "customer service." If you don't mind a somewhat "unwelcoming" atmosphere and less-than-stellar presentation of your meal, P-Dub's Brew Pub, located in Tehachapi, CA would definitely be a great fit for your dining pleasure. P-Dub's Brew Pub Copyright(c) 2021 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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