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
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 ~~
However, after she put the order in, she came back and informed us that they did not have the bread for the sandwich. Instead, they could just do a more straight forward Chicken Fried Steak with gravy and the veggies on the side. We were totally ok with that...and it's probably good that we didn't have the additional bread and cheese ON TOP of the fried steaks. haha. So we got 2+ lbs. of chicken fried steak with a mini cast iron pot of gravy, a side of lettuce and tomato slices, and a large basket of fries. The presentation was cool. The steaks were served on a wood pizza paddle and the gravy container was really cute. It looked really good!! The chicken fried steaks had a nice crispy crust on the outside and the steaks were pretty tender. I think it could've been seasoned a little bit more, but with the gravy, it was just right. The gravy was the bomb! I'm really glad we got the gravy instead of the bun and cheese! Everyone loved the gravy. The lettuce, tomato and onions on the side paired well with the steaks. The fresh veggies help cut the heaviness of the steaks. But surprisingly the steaks weren't really greasy! The fries were also pretty good! We killed it! Ate every last bit of everything! We also got a lot of glances and comments from other tables around us...people were impressed! hehe. It was pretty awesome. This is definitely something cool to do with a group of friends, plus it was cooked well and tasty!
We thought it would be good to have some more veggies to balance out the meal. The salad was really fresh and the portion was large. There were lots of crumbled bacon on top and the eggs were a good addition. We finished it all as well! :p
It was in a giant martini shaped glass. The waitress said they served things "Texas" sized! hehe. For $5 that's an awesome deal! My friend says it was really good.
This came in the same giant glass as the margarita. For $6 that's pretty cheap! And it was so pretty! The caramelized bananas were awesome with the crunchy burnt sugar. The texture of the pudding was almost as fluffy as the whipped cream. I don't think I've had banana pudding with that texture before. It was pretty awesome...I would say maybe one of the best banana puddings I've had... The pudding was thick, but it wasn't too sweet or heavy. YUMMY!
Now the ice cream was not worth $4...but I think it definitely made the bread pudding even better! The cold ice cream and the warm bread pudding was a great combination. The bread pudding flavor and texture were both good. The sauce on the side was freaking amazing! We poured every last drop on the bread pudding. Mmmmm Mmmm good!
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