Social Eatz - Another Top Chef Adventure

Our appreciation for the show, Top Chef, is no secret.  And since we're lucky enough to live in a city where many of the chefs decide to open new restaurants, we feel it is only fair that we show them some love and try out their cuisine.

Social Eatz was opened by Angelo - known on the show as (how shall we say this politely?) a strong personality.  His dishes on the show seemed kind of hit-or-miss, and we wondered how his restaurant would fare since he'd be able to pick only his favorite recipes to share.  Turns out... the dishes were still kind of hit-or-miss.

We went with Rachel and Mark, who were also pumped to try the American-Asian menu.  We started out with a variety of cocktails, which were all AMAZING.  (Apparently, they recently had a celebrity mixologist come and do a total overhaul of their drinks.  Excellent work.)

Mark tried the tomato soup and grilled cheese with a side of tograshi fries.  Verdict: he found the soup too thick and sweet, but the fries had a nice kick.

Rachel went for the bimbimbap omelet.  Verdict:  possibly the best omelet she's ever had.

Mel opted for the "Hangover" noodles (a.k.a. ramen).  Verdict:  a bit like chicken noodle soup with chorizo.  Still ranks the ramen at Kumo as her favorite.

And DJ braved the Bulgogi burger and kimchee fries.  Verdict:  tasty, but ordinary.  Thought the kimchee would provide a bit more kick in general.

Then we thought it'd be fun to try the strawberry shortcake in a jar because it sounded interesting.  Apparently it's lemon cake with black pepper marinated in sake.  The presentation in the jar was cool, but they were a bit too heavy-handed with the pepper.  We all agreed that the idea was cool in theory, but the black pepper flavor was too "in-your-face."  Would have enjoyed a more subtle hint of it.

Overall, it was fun to experience Angelo's cuisine and see some of his signature flavors that they would talk about on the show.  The service was very friendly, and the decor quite welcoming.  We're certainly open to giving it another try, but let's just say we're not racing to bring all our friends and family there immediately.