Costa Mesa: Drinks at Social

 

Social is one of the newest and hottest spots in Orange County right now. Its menu is a collection of every best-selling menu item I’ve seen all over the States. Stuff I love like shishito peppers, chicken liver toast, Brussels sprouts, Little gem salad, Spanish octopus, pork belly, chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, burger and ciopinno all tempted me. My friend and I decided though to get a couple of items that seemed to have a little bit of flair.

But first drinks! Dushan Zaric (Employees Only, 86 Co) consulted on the list and trained the bar staff. And the bar is managed by Mike West (formerly of Pie Society).

I was in a tequila/ mezcal mood so the Border Patrol sounded just perfect. It was overall very tropical despite the chartreuse. Let’s think of it as a monk vacationing in paradise.

Border Patrol – tequila, mezcal, chartreuse, pineapple-lime cordial, chocolate bitters

 

 

The first dish we ordered was the tartare. I would have preferred a finer chop on the beef. It looked very pretty on the plate but we found the bread became soggy quickly. We’ll be forewarned next time we see “toast.”

 

I realized when we ordered the bay scallops pie the scallops would be small but after finding just a few and more sausage than anything, I was disappointed with this dish. I was also confused why it was so soupy.

 

Here’s a peek inside the pie. Couldn’t Social have thickened up the sauce, gravy or whatever you wanted to call it and make it seem like a real pot pie? The carrots were barely cooked!

 

My friend got the Social Sour which she requested on the rocks (it may have been served that way anyway but our server didn’t seem to know). She found it too sweet for her taste.

Social Sour – scotch, lemon, hazelnut, atomized bitters

We would come back to the bar to try more drinks and perhaps have a couple of snacks but as mentioned it’s very popular and reservations are recommended. We ended up sitting on the patio which fortunately was heated but not enough to comfortably take off your jacket.

Social Costa Mesa

512 W 19th St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627  —  (949) 642-2425

 

© The Minty 2015