Commonwealth "The People's Gastropub"

Overview: Whenever I travel, I try to seek out the city's gastropubs - my new food fetish that serves great beer and familiar pub food with a gourmet twist. So for my first night in DC, I went to Commonwealth gastropub, which serves a cuisine that Commonwealth describes as British modern classics (that doesn't even make sense). When I saw the decor, I prepared myself to be disappointed. Instead of the traditional minimalist style, Commonwealth has a forced corporate style that reeks of chain restaurants.

Medium Dead: Commonwealth serves two burgers - the 10oz grass fed beef burger and the unCommon Burger which changes nightly. I ordered the unCommon burger which on this night was a veal burger with spicy remoulade served on an English Muffin. Its a bold statement to put a burger on an English Muffin. The focus is squarely on the meat and the thin bread leaves little to hide behind. The veal burger is up to the challenge and screams of flavor. Its juicy and peppery with red onions and spicy sauce that balances the flavor. The steak fries were crispy but not my favorite.

The beer list at Commonwealth focuses on English and Colonial style beers with a few rotating specials, such as the cask conditioned ale. Our waiter wasn't very knowledgeable on the beer, which is a miss at a pub. We started with 5 selections from the charcuterie platter. The deviled sweetbreads and pork rillettes were outstanding but the pork belly strips were too much like bacon and the cured ham was simply average.

The Verdict: Good food, but not a good gastropub. This is a great place to hang out and pound good beer. The burger makes my good list but I would not rate it any higher than decent. They try hard and mean well, but fall short of being a good gastropub.