This past week, and the week before, we went to Claim Jumper, in Carmel Mt. Ranch, for my 'rita blog. Two weeks in a row? Yes, because their happy hour is such a great time, we had to do it twice! That, and on there HH menu, they had two different 'ritas to choose from.
Claim Jumper's HH is from 3 to 7, and only in the "saloon." During HH there is a nice selection of food, ranging from $2 to $6. I am sure you can get full service, but the HH prices for what you get is outstanding! A plate of sliders with fries was only $5. Add to that my 'rita, top shelf, for only $6. Its a deal and a half. AND, free popcorn! YA BABY! :D We arrived at 4:30 and very glad we did. By time we were getting ready to head out, 5:15, the place was packed. People were hovering over us, waiting for our table to clear out.
5/52
So lets talk about 'rita #1. The Claim Jumper Gold 'rita. Man, oh man, oh MAN! This would be their top shelf selection, with a shot of Grand Marnier on top. Oh and was this a fantastic 'rita! Ya, we are talking 5 stars! Now I have to say, I think I am leaning towards "on the rocks" when it comes to my 'ritas now. I will keep the salt, but I have grown out of the "blended" phase. Truth be told, its a bit of a joke, blended. Kind of like watering down the drink, making the drink mostly ice. I have learned it is impossible to really know what a 'rita truly taste like if its blended. For example, if its poorly blended, it separates and the top, icy part, taste nothing like the liquid part on the bottom. The top is too weak and the bottom too strong. I find myself not enjoying my drink at all! If its perfectly blended, which is rare, its all good. Most of the time, if its perfectly blended, it came out of a dispenser and not from a bartender. However, when I get my 'rita on the rocks, its the same through out the entire drink! I am grateful it did not take me too long into my project to figure this one out. Any way, back to my CJ 'rita. There was defiantly a delightful citrus flavor, fresh all the way! On another note, this one is so delightful, I really don't think the salt was needed on this one, but I still like my salt, so I will keep ordering it that way. One thing that I really loved about this 'rita, was that it did not take long for me to get that "ah" feeling, the slight buzz. At the end of the evening, I felt quite comfortable indeed. I was able to drive home safely after a break walking around Costco, so the buzz could have been a bit better, but I think it was just right. A second one, and I would not have been able to drive home myself. (I'm really not out to get "drunk" ya know) I'm gonna have to say, this one is better then my own, and I really like my own!
6/52
The second 'rita, from the second week. The second 'rita that I had gotten at CJ, was the "House Margarita." I have a confession to make, on this second visit, I actually had 2 'ritas and the first one was the CJ Gold 'rita. The second one, on this night only, was the House 'rita. (I was not driving) For this one, on the HH menu it was only $5. A great price for a 'rita and a great 'rita for a second drink! It was still good, but it was no gold! I can honestly say, spend the extra buck to get the CJ Gold 'rita! But you know, when your first drink works well, it really does not matter what your second drink taste like. During HH here, it would be just fine to get the CJ Gold 'rita first, then the House 'rita second and your set for the evening! I was so set, no more drinks needed to make my night. I really cannot tell you exactly why the two 'ritas were so different, to tell you the truth, I failed to take notes the second visit, but trust me when I say, go gold!
Lets talk about the food! Oh the food was YUMMY! Then again, this is Claim Jumper, I don't think I have EVER complained about their food! I had just a burger, with the shoe string fries. Delightful, truly great burgers here. The second visit we had, we had made up our mind to stick to "bar food" on the HH menu. For the three of us, our 6 year old was with us, we had two of the mini pizzas and an order of sliders. The pizzas were very small, easy for one to finish solo. I am not a huge pizza fan, but they sure were good. My favorite dish of all of them were the sliders. We asked for a side of BBQ sauce, and that just really hit the spot. I think next time, I will get the sliders for myself and let the rest eat pizza! :D The food at CJ is simply put, outstanding!
I thank you for taking the time to read my review. I encourage you to follow my blog as well as follow me on Twitter, @SD_Rita, where I plan on keeping you all updated in real time of all the delightful 'ritas I find around San Diego!
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