Social complements craft beer with tasty menu

November 15, 2016 11:00 pm • Last Updated: November 17, 2016 2:03 pm

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

Coffee rubbed flank steak at The Social Bar + Kitchen.

If you're in the upper French Quarter and you're hungry — as opposed to being resolutely dipsomaniacal or desperately hoping to ogle professional nude people — you can be calorically rewarded in many ways, very quickly. Why, in the time it'd take you to sip a go-cup of over-priced Miller beer, you'd pass — just for example — Galatoire's, Arnaud's, Antoine's, the Red Fish Grill, the Palace Café, the Desire Oyster Bar, an Ignatius Reilly-style Lucky Dog cart, Bayona, Bennachin, Brennan's, GW Fins and K-Paul's.

We're not suggesting a similarly bountiful array thrives in downtown New London, but, over the past few months, some new dining spots — Octane, Fatboy's and The Social Bar + Kitchen — have joined a group of established faves on a small stretch of Bank Street — Daddy Jack's, Hot Rod, The Bistro on Bank, Dev's on Bank and Mambo, for example — to comprise some pretty damned competitive options within back-flip distance of one another.

The Social is the largest of the recent additions, occupying the former Solomon's Business Supply space. Working the faux "hipster-in-a-warehouse" look — where poetry could break out at any moment! — The Social boasts exposed brick, blond wood floors, chest-high partitions with clean sight lines, giant front windows overlooking Bank Street, a sky-high ceiling, a spacious dining room, and a comfy bar area with raised seating. It's a loud place, with a DJ spinning many nights, but it's loud in the fashion that people are having a Large Time.

The Social has 50 evolving and mostly craft beer taps and a carefully calculated and creative designer cocktail menu, and it's arguable that the booze context is the main priority. Whilst an enthusiast of cheap, water-flavored beers I can afford with the coins I find spilled into the cushions of my couch, I do hang around enough imperial beer snobs that I know and appreciate the Good Stuff — and there's a whole lot of it at Social.

Drink deeply and with curiosity from IPAs of all kinds; wheat, Belgian or Scotch ales; seasonals; sour/lambic recipes; amber/red/brown ales; stouts and porters; lagers and pilsners and much more — several varieties of each from across the globe. If it somehow bothers you — as it seems to some customers — that you're asked to order your beer by number, then prepare to be sad. Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. "I'll try a number 18" just isn't that much of a pain unless a wait-person brings you a Peyton Manning jersey instead of your peach lambic.

Anyhoo, as it sometimes happens when all of this drinking is going on, food becomes part of the fun-night-out algorithm, and it'd be a mistake to suggest the Social doesn't put victuals in high priority. To that end, the menu, while small, is imaginative and, for the most part, handled beautifully. There are appetizers, salads, entrees, burgers and sandwiches, and a collection of sides.

On a recent weekend night, my wife Eileen and I met our friends Audrey, David and Bruce at the Social and enjoyed it a lot — the food, the beer, and the service.

Starters include staples such as Chips and Salsa and Chicken Bites along with less-common offerings like Fried Pickles, The Devil's Eggs and Thai Chili Shrimp. We shared an order of Crabcakes ($10) and one of Corn Fritters ($6). The latter arrived big and pillowy, with a crusty exterior protecting a healthy amount of crisped corn nuggets in a chewy bread morass full of airy nooks and crannies. Delicious — and the Red Curry Aioli dipping sauce was a lovely accompaniment.

The Crab Cakes were actually more like Crab Spheres — quick-fried balls of goodness packed with a welcome ratio of fresh crab to breadcrumbs, green pepper and onion. While tasty on their own, the same red curry sauce worked just as well here.

The entrées section was intriguing. Our party explored widely, and each came with light, fresh salads and piquante garlic. Eileen asked for Gnocchi ($10) and received a clever take on the standard potato dumpling classic. In addition to the creamy core construct, the dish's texture was emboldened by ribbons of onion, green pepper and basil as well as diced tomato. Very nice.

Shephard's Pie ($10), requested by Audrey, was another twist on a time-honored recipe. Served in a small souffle dish, the interior was a delightful melange of shredded flank steak, peas, a hearty gravy and herbed mashed potatoes. The light crust was punctuated with asparagus.

Bruce ordered Coffee Rubbed Flank Steak ($17), a beautiful presentation of sliced lean beef — precisely delivered medium rare — and the titular bark offered a superb textural and flavorful contrast. Delicately rendered asparagus and risotto were ideal complements.

There are 11 creations available from the burgers/sandwiches list including two different veggie patties, a Milwaukee Burger (with chorizo sausage), and a Crab Cake BLT. David picked the Spin Doctor ($13) and enjoyed a hand-crafted beef patty nuanced with Swiss cheese, bacon, mayo and garlic-basted spinach (and not because he enjoys listening to "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong").

I asked for the Pad Thai ($10) and ran into the evening's only disappointment. In theory, it seemed ingenious: grilled chicken breast with Swiss, Asian peanut sauce, sauteed spinach, and red pepper aioli. Alas, the chicken was way undersized for the bun, the peanut sauce indistinct, and the spinach more liquid than sauteed. The shoestring-style fries, though, are pretty great.

All in all, it was a very cool experience — and the collaborative efforts of our waitress and the bartenders on a busy night made it all even more enjoyable.

Shephard's pie at The Social Bar + Kitchen.