![\"Waypoint](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Waypoint-chicken.jpg\")
<\/a>They\u2019ve also added a playpen for kids. But unless you\u2019re seated toward the back of the restaurant, you could potentially miss it. Remarkably, the open, airy blueprint allows parents and non-parents to co-exist rather fluently, although it should be noted that quality adult time is best scored when gathered at the central bar.<\/p>\n
Seating is largely communal, a cozy and convivial cramming of long tables with little or no separations between them. When full, the atmosphere feels like a single, unified party. It\u2019s wonderfully reminiscent of the German beer halls I\u2019ve visited, where you can gawk openly at your neighbor\u2019s blood sausage and nobody cares.<\/p>\n
Visiting on a crowded Saturday evening, the noise level was high, but cheerfully so. It was as though all of North Park had come to revel in the meat-heavy menu paired to rivers of beer that flow in from numerous \u201cwaypoints\u201d around the globe. Currently, there are nearly 100 choices, ranging from American and European sours to stouts, wheats, saisons and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working toward 300,\u201d says co-owner Brian Jensen, who also runs Bottlecraft beer shops in North Park and Little Italy.<\/p>\n
Helming the kitchen is chef-butcher Amanda Baumgarten, also a co-owner and famed Top Chef from Season 7 who previously worked at Herringbone. Her menu at Waypoint dabbles in adventure, per the crispy pig\u2019s ears with apricot and chili stuffing on the starters list, as well as blood sausage served over buttered cabbage.<\/p>\n
We started with nibbly things from the \u201csmalls\u201d category. A brown paper bag of \u201ctomato soup\u201d house chips were seemingly double seasoned with sweet and zesty spices. Fried shishito peppers (appearing on numerous menus lately) were served with cotija cheese and grilled lime, a simple but rousing preparation.<\/p>\n We were ambivalent over a slab of smoked ham hock terrine. The coarsely pressed meat was pleasant but it fell short on the herb<\/p>\n s, salt and smokiness we expected. Fig butter, whole-seed mustard and apricot puree served alongside became useful condiments.<\/p>\n Our salads were winners. The \u201clittle gem\u201d teases with pickled vegetables that paired masterfully to the rich and tangy buttermilk dressing. My companion\u2019s kale salad had us tasting walnuts even before they entered our mouths, thanks to walnut oil drizzled over the dark-green leaves. In addition to the nuts, we uncovered bits of apple and feta cheese, which quelled the bitterness of the kale.<\/p>\n Main courses include cassoulet, mussels with pork belly and a seductive-looking Gruyere and mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich served with smoked tomato minestrone. A patron two elbows down from us had ordered it and we almost became swayed.<\/p>\n We instead zeroed in on a half chicken cooked sous vide for several hours and then crisped on the grill. Poultry parts don\u2019t get any better than this, as the initial cooking method of placing the chicken in an airtight plastic bag and then simmering it in a low-temperature water bath not only seals in the juices, but also maximizes the flavor. It\u2019s served with butternut squash and crispy Brussels sprouts.<\/p>\n<\/a>