When I first tried District 5 for a weekend bite and imbibing, I had been come with expectations of something more casual and old school. Dartmouth has long been known for its dive bars, lounges, and bar and grills, which offer accessible, affordable food and drink that often aren't going to blow your mind, but it's a meal that you won't have to cook or clean up after.
I was pleasantly surprised that District 5 goes beyond what their "bar and grill" moniker would suggest, and borders close to the "gastropub" end of the Pub Fanciness Scale. The menu items are all generally familiar - assorted shareable apps, burgers, steak, pasta, etc - but they get a more deliberate composition of ingredients and execution. Think hand-cut fries, tomato and goat cheese flatbread, and smashburgers.
How well a place does a relatively simple, but common and easily-compared dish like a burger is a good bellweather, so I went with the D5 Burger. My wife was feeling some of their apps, so she opted for the cauliflower bites and the roasted mushroom and artichoke fondue.
The apps came out first, and we immediately saw that my other half's eyes were bigger than her stomach (even with my support). But hey, that's what takeout containers are for!
The cauliflower bites had ten-ish sizeable florets, with a very dippable sauce that wasn't the curry mayo on the menu, but did bear a striking resemblance to the sauce that would be on my burger. I also appreciated that it came with an unadvertised salad of arugula, pickled red onion and cherry tomatoes in a creamy dressing. A little green is good!
I figured the fondue wouldn't be an actual fondue, and my suspicions proved correct, as it was presented as the more common ramekin of cheesy goodness rather than the Swiss dipping implements. That's not to say it wasn't good, because it was very, very good. The roasted mushrooms gave a deeper, more savoury flavour than artichoke dip's more common sidekick ingredient, spinach. Seasoned corn chips and strips of flatbread made for great dipping and an assortment of textures.
My burger was a sight for hungry eyes when it arrived, with a deep fried pickle skewered into it, and burger sauce, cheese and onions spilling out, next to a heap of golden-brown, hand-cut fries.
When a burger is as much of a hot mess as this one, it's not easy to parse out individual flavours but it's easy to say that it worked, and well. The patties had a good char from the grill but maintained juicy and tender interiors, and even the swath of melty cheese got some browning from the flat top. Deeply caramelized onions added their signature mix of sweet and savory, while the burger sauce doubled (tripled, quadrupled? I can't keep track) down on the richness.
Service was friendly, but increasingly harried as the place filled up, as the front of the house was short-staffed from multiple people calling in sick.
District 5 surprised with some tasty, unpretentious grub, and I'm looking forward to coming back and sampling more. read more