MOSTLY, IT is rare to leave a restaurant feeling a strong sense of communal satiety, as if you have dined with everybody you were meant to meet while around the meal you were meant to enjoy. At Common John Brewing Co., however, “togetherness” is the norm, and community means absolutely everything. Seated next to a window overlooking the front lawn eyeing a group of kids running around and passing a football to one another, I could hear soft chatter filling each dining room in the building, and locals and newcomers alike laughed with the bartenders taking everybody’s order. I headed up to the wooden counter and told them my choices of the day: a build-your-own pizza with pepperoni, bacon, onions, and hot honey, a Reuben sandwich with a side of the very popular (and bartender’s favorite) sauce, beer cheese, and a craft root beer to wash it all down. I had barely begun admiring all of the vintage knick-knacks they had incorporated into the dining area when the spread of food was placed before me. Today, this flatbread pizza would woo me with its thin crust, thick layer of gooey cheese, and truly delicious ratio of sauce, just enough to coat each bite. The Reuben sandwich, too, would deliver a melt-in-your-mouth feel for every single bite of pastrami and sauerkraut that was taken, a match made in whatever beautiful earthly kitchen decided to put these two together between slices of rye. The star of the show? The infamous beer cheese. It was warm and thick and had a perfect tang that differentiated it from any other beer cheese I had ever had before. I used it to dip everything; the kettle chips, the Reuben, some slices of the pizza if I felt like it, and yes, I even tried it with the pickle. Here, the air is full of open areas to relax in. The slightest bit of stuffiness and the color of your collars do not matter — anybody is welcome, and the “common john” is encouraged to enjoy a drink or food to unwind after a long workday. GN
Policing With Compassion
IT’S A busy police station. Phones ring, radios crackle, and officers rush in and out. A desk sergeant in the middle of filing paperwork grabs a jacket and assures a dispatcher that they’re already...
