the common table - dinner for two

I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to come to The Common Table while visiting Dallas. However, it just never seemed to have worked out...until now. Moving to Dallas has presented an opportunity to finally visit the many great beer spots Dallas now has.

I felt like I was on Rainey St. walking up to The Common Table. Tucked in an eclectic neighborhood, it looked like a house that was converted into a restaurant/bar. Walking in you could see it was a very young atmosphere with a lot of energy.

This place is known for their obsession with beer, and the selection was spot-on with many different styles to choose from so nobody's palate would be left behind. I believe they had about five or six local options on draft.

I started off with a Revolver Blood & Honey, a favorite go-to Dallas beer for me. It's a full bodied wheat beer with a hint of sweetness from the honey and a fruity kick from the blood orange peel.

We started off our eating adventure with the avocados on the half shell with lobster. Flavors were clean and mellow with the dressing bringing everything together but the lobster was a bit overcooked. 

The mussels we had were superb. Unfortunately, my pictures didn't turn out well (probably because I was knee deep in butter sauce and couldn't get out). I wish I had my own private room when eating mussels. Not only do I make a fool of myself when I haphazardly splash the butter sauce all over myself, but I tend to eat the entire bowl without sharing. However, there is no judgement when Meggie is eating with me so we tend to just drink the delicious butter sauces like soup, and Common Table's was exceptionally buttery with a nice kick of spice and hints of ginger and lemongrass. Damn good.

The gargantuan pork filled with Spanish chorizo over creamy cheese grits was next. The pork was flavorful but a bit dry, but damn that chorizo brought some flavor to the table. And the grits. Ohhhh those grits. Creamy, cheesy and delicious are the only words to describe the grits. Oh, orgasmic may be another adjective. My only complaint would be the onions and peppers were not cooked and caramelized enough, but that's a personal preference.

Overall, a great first experience with exceptional service.

Two gripes:

$2 charge for spliting/sharing. I didn't even know places did this anymore. Luckily our server was kind enough not to charge us.

Expensive beer prices. Go on Monday for the 'Pour Man's Dinner' which is 4 courses and 4 beers for $29. Or, go Tuesday for $2 off 20 oz pours. This takes it from $7/$9 to $5/$7, a more appropriate price in my opinion.