Audio By Carbonatix
You may remember this bowl of greens. I blogged about SWIG’s namesake salad just after they opened in the old Park space on Henderson. I had just finished reviewing Tillman’s Roadhouse and was filled to the gills with chicken-fried steak. I was also in the midst of research for Dallas’ Five Best Burgers. I needed vegetables in a big way.
And normally you wouldn’t think of a cobb salad as nourishing health food, but I’d watched one ushered past my table while sitting on the patio on an early fall evening. The bowl called to me. The salad wasn’t swamped in gluey blue cheese, but dressed with restraint. I was craving its vitamin-y and mineral-y goodness, and the dish didn’t disappoint.
Over my next two visits, SWIG’s food was hit or miss. And while I can vouch for the burger, some of the snacks and a few of the flatbreads, it’s the two patio spaces that really made me fall for the space. In this week’s review I pen SWIG not as a dining destination but a place to get a drink, and a great one at that. The beer list is good, the mixology is better and the staff is down-right kick-ass. I talked to co-owner Cheryl Kenny while fact-checking the story and she told me most of their employees were culled from existing relationships within the other restaurants they own (the Dubliner and the Capitol Pub).
Add the relaxing feel of an outdoor zen garden and you’ve got a reason to hang on to fall as long as you can. If the weather is willing I’d say we have at least a few more weekends. Then I’m breaking out my beer mitten.
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