Mockingbird Taproom (Dallas, TX) - CLOSED

My wife and I were in need of a post-movie meal. There are a few new restaurants around Mockingbird Station that we haven't been to yet, so we thought we'd give Mockingbird Taproom a try.

I liked the atmosphere here a lot more than the Italian restaurant (Vapiano's, I think) that preceded it. It's a little darker inside, which I think helps the ambiance tremendously. The Taproom is an interesting mix of bar and restaurant. There are also a lot of flat screen TVs, so we were able to catch a little of the Pro Bowl while we ate.

Apparently we came during happy hour, so they were out of my first two drink selections, but I was happy with the one I finally ended up with. My wife's drink came complete with lipstick on the glass. We flagged down the waitress, and this error was quickly remedied. Overall, their beer and wine selection seemed a little overpriced. Who wants to pay $6.00 a glass for Polka Dot riesling when you can get a full bottle at Kroger for the same price?

In addition to drink specials, happy hour also meant that their starters were half price. They had a couple of barbecue-ish options on the menu, so I thought I'd give them a try. I settled on the Pulled Pork Sliders and an order of Suicide Fries.

The Suicide Fries come with queso, giardiniera, chopped brisket, green onions, and a fried egg piled on top. I found the combined flavor of all these ingredients to be really amazing, but this dish is kind of a big hot mess. The texture and taste of the chopped brisket was off, more stewed or steamed rather than smoked. It seemed more like roast beef or stew meat. This may have been brisket, but it definitely wasn't barbecue. I let my wife try the Suicide Fries to see what she thought: "Well, I liked the cheese..."

Next I moved to the Pulled Pork Sliders. Besides the obvious, the sliders come topped with a green apple slaw and bourbon-molasses sauce, complete with a side of fried shoestring onions. These had a really nice sweetness to them, both from the sauce and the pretzel bread bun. The green apple slaw added a great crunch without unnecessarily adding more sugar. Sadly, the pulled pork was a little dry when eaten by itself, but the complete package was top notch.

Apparently Mockingbird Taproom has half price burgers on Mondays. I would go back to try out their burgers, especially if those come with pretzel bread buns like my sliders did. Our dinner wasn't a complete bust, but it certainly could have been better. As my wife said, "Oh well, it was half price."

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Mockingbird Taproom
5319 E. Mockingbird Ln.
Suite 100
Dallas, TX 75206
(469) 334-0751
http://www.mockingbirdtaproom.com