Common Theory Public House 5th Anniversary

This weekend marks the 5 year anniversary of Common Theory Public House in Convoy. Since we are fans of this friendly local pub, we wanted to show our support again. Our last article was for their 3 year anniversary.

CT5 Brown Ale

For this special event they have released their CT5 beer which is a brown ale aged in a bourbon barrel through a collaboration with Abnormal Beer Co. and Malahat Spirits. You can order it straight from the tap or take it home in a fancy bottle! We decided to do both so that we could drink it right away and also bring home a souvenir for our collection. Lynn loves a good brown ale and this beverage was aromatic, tasty and light considering it was a 9% ABV.

Of course, we're here mainly to try out the new menu items. Common Theory has recently acquired the talents of Chef Jonathan Bautista, a well respected chef in the San Diego culinary scene. For this weekend they have three specials on the menu which include a Pork and Shrimp Katsu Burger, a Szechuan Hot-fried Chicken Sandwich, and a X.O. Spaghetti with Pork and Shrimp Meatballs. Since we weren't super hungry, we opted for just the later two items.

Szechuan Hot-fried Chicken Sandwich

Lynn and I love a good crispy chicken sandwich and this one fit the bill. Szechuan items are synonymous with spicy but this was a toned down, easy going version that worked perfect for Lynn. To be more accurate this item is like a Chinese spiced chicken sandwich than a spicy chicken sandwich which made it very unique. It was paired with fermented pear slaw, house pickle, kaffir lime ranch, and a soft brioche bun. The chicken portion was pretty large too. Always a plus.

XO Spaghetti Pork and Shrimp Meatballs

To be honest I wasn't originally interested in this item when I had read it off the menu. I don't often eat spaghetti but the times that I do, they're just simple comfort food. I was more interested in getting the Katsu Burger but Cris, one of the owners, highly recommended it and convinced us to give it a try. Plus, the Katsu Burger was already on the regular menu so we could try that out on another day. The spaghetti was just for this weekend.

I took a couple of bites and was delightfully surprised at how good it was! I wanted to immediately tell Lynn to have some but each time I opened my mouth I ended up stuffing it with a forkful of more noodles. It wasn't until about halfway into the bowl that I had to sit back and breath.

The sauce was light and slightly thick like with beef stroganoff. The flavor faintly reminded me of seafood. It was different from what I'd normally call spaghetti but I loved it. The meatballs were also pretty good and had a nice firm crust layer yet soft inside. 

Seeing how good tonight's dinner was, we look forward to common back in a few weeks when Chef Bautista unveils the updated menu. Hopefully they will decide to keep the anniversary menu items. *Hint Hint*