Common Theory recently celebrated their three year anniversary and debuted several new menu items including ramen burgers, deep fried brioche ice cream and much more.
I posted about Common Theory when they first opened and have been back several times as I enjoy the beer selection and food. We were invited by the restaurant to come in for a revisit and I accepted the invitation so we could taste a few of the new menu items.
Flock of Duck Fries
I’ve always enjoyed their duck fat fries topped with shredded duck confit, but my one criticism in the past was that the appetizer was too dry and needed a sauce to bring it all together. So I was really excited to find that they now offer a version with duck confit, duck gravy, crispy duck skin, fried duck egg and scallions.
Duck fat fries became popular a few years ago and it remains my favorite method for cooking fries. Fries cooked in duck fat achieve an incredible crispy texture and have an added savoriness to them.
The duck skin tasted a little salty and was not quite as crispy as I would have liked. But the duck gravy was rich and savory, really bringing the dish together. And I just adore topping fries with a fried egg. The use of duck eggs is even better. In addition to being bigger than chicken eggs, duck egg yolks are richer and creamier as well.
Normally Mr. K and I have leftovers when we order the fries, but this time we cleaned the plate and were fighting over who had eaten more than their share.
Convoy Burger
Common Theory has also added several new burgers to their menu. I was immediately drawn to the Convoy burger. It’s ingredients are inspired by the Asian restaurants that populate Convoy street: ground chuck patty, scallion cream cheese, crispy pork belly, kimchi, duck gravy, fried duck egg, all sandwiched between two ramen noodle buns.
The ramen burger trend didn’t last very long in San Diego, though it seems to be still doing very well in NYC. We tried the Original Ramen Burger™ by Keizo Shimamoto when it first debuted and I really enjoyed it. I still get excited when I see ramen burgers offered on menus but I’ve found most renditions to be very disappointing.
I was definitely not disappointed by the ramen burger I had at Common Theory. This is an elevated ramen burger experience with the addition of kimchi, pork belly, duck gravy and fried duck egg.
Most importantly, the ramen noodle buns were excellent. They were crispy on the outside and held together well . I feel like I could snack on just a stack of the ramen buns.
Chef’s Burger
This was another burger I spotted on the menu that I was excited to try. In addition to the thick ground chuck patty, the burger is also topped with a crab cake, arugula, hollandaise, cheddar cheese, fried egg, all served on a brioche bun.
This was solid burger and I enjoyed the addition of the crab cake. It didn’t quite get me as excited as the Convoy burger though.
All burgers come with a choice of fries or kimchi slaw. We chose kimchi slaw for both burgers since we already had the duck fat fries.
Brioche Fried Ice Cream
Stout beer battered brioche bread is stuffed with ice cream and deep fried. It’s then topped with a generous amounts of whipped cream, powdered sugar, honey maple syrup and shaved chocolate, for the ultimate ice cream dessert.
I really loved this dessert, especially the light crunch of the batter and the softness of the brioche bread.
Overall, we had an enjoyable meal here. I love seeing the refreshed menu and it’s nice to see this place celebrate their 3 year anniversary. I hope they continue to do well.
Menu:
Common Theory Public House
4805 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111
Looking for more San Diego restaurant reviews? Be sure to check out our visit at Belgian Beer & Waffle.
As stated above, we were invited in by the restaurant and our meal was complimentary. All opinions expressed are my own.
