Mockingbird Taproom

Last weekend I went to go check out the happy hour at the new Mockingbird Tap Room (the old Vapiano space in Mockingbird Station). It's the same owners as Townhouse in Galleria and Park Tavern in The Shops at Park Lane. 

Mockingbird Taproom 
5319 E. Mockingbird Lane 
Dallas, TX 75206 
(469) 334-0751 
http://www.mockingbirdtaproom.com
Price: $-$$ 

They have happy hour on Mon-Fri 3-7PM and reverse happy hour on Mon-Thu 10PM-close, and all day Sunday. I don't really care about the drink specials but all starters are half price!! We just got a bunch of stuff to share... 

Suicide Fries (queso, giardiniera, chopped brisket, green onions, fried egg) $9~ 

This looked pretty epic. We all liked it, but it had wayy too much queso, the fries were drowning in it. But there's a ton of brisket on top and everything's better with a fried egg. haha. It needed a punch of flavor though which I fixed with Tabasco. haha. 

Fried Chicken Sliders (buttermilk biscuits, chorizo gravy, maple spread, fried onions) $9~ Three pretty good sized sliders. The chicken kind of got lost in the sauces but it was ok. Nothing spectacular. 

Pulled Pork Sliders (bourbon-molasses sauce, green apple slaw, fried onions) $8~ I like the pretzel rolls but it lacked flavor overall, wasn't too impressed with this. But for $4 hh... pretty good deal still. 

Green Machine (chopped iceberg and spinach, tomato, red onion, cucumber, bacon, hard-boiled egg, blue cheese) $7~

My sister and I wanted some veggies so we got a salad. This wasn't included in hh. It was ok. Pretty fresh, but I've realized I really don't like chopped lettuce like that. It was a good sized salad though for the price. 

Piggy Back Mac (pulled pork, bacon, jalapeno, pork rind topping) $13~ 

This wasn't part of hh specials but sounded so good. I really liked it but others thought it was just ok. The pasta was a bit chewy which I like and I liked the crispy pork rind topping. My sister didn't. I wish there were more jalapenos in there, but again, Tabasco solved that problem. haha. I'd say this was my favorite out of the bunch... 

So the food was decent and we ordered wayyyy too much! Definitely a great deal with the happy hour special. Our waiter was a bit slow but the place was pretty full and he was super nice so it wasn't a big deal. I like the space and decor, reminds me of Park Tavern. The only complaint is that it was really dark, and at some point during our meal, they dimmed the lights even more.. :( I'd like to see my food at least a little bit! haha. I'd go back for hh again, for sure! 

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Brackets Sports Bar

Some friends and I went to go check out Brackets over the weekend. It's a new sports bar that just opened right next to Hotel Palomar on Mockingbird and 75. Our criteria was somewhere chill with decent food prices so we thought this would be a good place to go!

Brackets

5330 E Mockingbird Ln

Dallas, TX 75206

(214) 823-0123

http://bracketsdallas.com/

Price: $$

It's a pretty big place. There's a front room with pool tables and the main dining area in the back. A large bar area and also ping pong tables, darts, etc for the customers to enjoy. It was pretty packed the entire time we were there. The ceilings were high and had that warehouse-y look... I think it echoed all the noise so it was quite loud in there. We all had to scream a little to talk to each other. :(

Our waiter, gave us a nice welcome and brought us some water. Once everyone was there, we ordered.

One of my friends and I decided to share a couple dishes. House Salad (mixed greens, cherry tomato, cucumber, parmesan crisp, champagne vinaigrette) $6~ This was pretty generic. The greens were pretty fresh and the vinaigrette was nice...although I didn't use much of it. I liked the parmesan crisp.

Kobe Beef Sliders (white cheddar, grilled scallion & spicy BBQ; served 3 to an order on potato bread with matchstick fries & stone-ground mustard aioli) $11~ It kinda sucked that we couldn't mix and match sliders, but oh well. I really liked this. The bread had a nice toasty crunch on the outside. I thought the beef was juicy and tender. The flavors were good as well. Although I didn't taste any scallion or spiciness. The fries were not bad but I imagined 'matchstick' to be even thinner...

Mac & Cheese (parmesan, cotija, jack, white cheddar & marscapone) $4~ This sounded really good but was just ok. I didn't get the feel of all these different kinds of cheeses...maybe only 3 out of the 5. It wasn't rich enought I guess. And they should've used the spiral/corkscrew type pasta instead of the elbow macaroni... I think that would've made it better.

One friend ordered the Wood Fired Pork Chop (garlic mashed potato & plum demi) $16~ The presentation was nice, but I expected it to be a Chop! When it gets sliced like that, I would actually call it pork tenderloin or something. The pork was just a teensy bit overcooked but was still pretty good. The plum demi added a sweetness and fruitiness to the dish. I liked the pairing together, but I think it might be too sweet if I had eaten a couple more bites.

Cheddar Grits $4~ This was kind of a fail. :( They basically made grits and threw some cheddar on it. I wish they would've mixed the cheese in the grits. That would've made it better. It still tasted good but was definitely a disappointment.

Brackets Burger (Texas kobe, crumbled blue cheese, avocado, pancetta, basil mustard, arugula, chili peppers, an onion ring on brioche bun; served with matchstick fries & stone-ground mustard aioli) $11~ This thing was a beast! Stacked super high, everyone went "Ooooo" when it came out. But it was disappointing as well. My friend said it was kind of bland. :/

Another friend of mine got the Classic Burger (sharp cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle, ancho ketchup, stone-ground mustard & chipotle mayo on brioche bun; served with matchstick fries & stone-ground mustard aioli) $8~ She really liked her burger. The meat looked pretty juicy. But her fries were a little too salty.

My sister ordered the Pulled Pork Sliders (Texas cabbage & Sriracha mayo; served 3 to an order on potato bread with matchstick fries & stone-ground mustard aioli) $11~ We swapped some of our Kobe Beef sliders with her. I thought the pulled pork wasn't as good as the beef we got. The pork was fine, nothing special, and I didn't get any cabbage or Sriracha. At least I didn't taste it... But again, the bread was great.

Lastly, another friend ordered The Breakfast Pizza (Brackets sausage, ham, jalapenos, potatoes, peppers & scrambled eggs) $10~ It sounded really interesting. It looked really good when it came out. I really liked it. It wasn't too greasy or salty like pizza can get sometimes. The eggs were fluffy and added a nice texture to the ham and crust. I didn't see or taste any sausage on there though... The jalapenos were a nice touch and they were actually spicy! I hate it when the jalapenos have no heat at all. I also liked the bits of fries they garnished it with.

They actually served us the wrong pizza at first. It looked really good. I went ahead and took a picture. hahaha :P

S'Mores Calzone (chocolate & marshmallow calzone baked in a wood burning oven until golden brown, topped with caramelized sugar) $6~ Everyone was pretty stuffed but I HAD to try this. It just sounded too good to pass up. Plus their dessert prices were pretty decent I thought. For 6 bucks this thing was pretty huge. It was ooey and gooey with all the melted chocolate and marshmallows. YUM! I really liked it. But I recommend sharing this because it is really sweet with all the marshmallows...I could've never finished it on my own. Also, it would be nicer if they had crisped up the crust a little bit more. But overall, it was a good dessert. Everyone liked it. :)

Other than the noise, this is a pretty cool place to hang out with friends. Grab a drink, some snacks and play some games! The food isn't spectacular but its not bad either, and the prices are reasonable. Also our waiter, Chris, did a great job. We were really surprised when he said it was his first day! He was really friendly and checked on us a lot even though the place was really busy. He tried to accommodate whenever possible. Keep up the good work! :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~