Other Cities
Social Eatz
The Scoop: When Eater went searching for the nation's best burger, the noble quest led them right to Angelo Sosa's front door. It only takes one encounter with the Top Chef All-Star's Bibimbap Burger to understand why it snagged first place: the ground beef beauty, topped with tangy, crunchy slaw and a slow-cooked egg, is a wonderland of texture and flavor. This signature dish perfectly encapsulates the Social Eatz approach to American classics; everything on the menu has a similarly awe-inspiring Asian twist. Here you'll find fries with sake-infused cheese sauce and clusters of yuzu cream puffs, kung pao chicken sandwiches and Korean beef tacos. It's all at once familiar and adventurous, and will capture your heart and imagination in a way that no food has in a long, long time.
Scout Notes: Sitting at Social Eatz on 53rd St., I'm amazed its the only one in existence. You could easily picture the sleek, friendly space in cities across America, with people lined up for a shot at Angelo Sosa's Korean-inspired awesomeness. Surely that will happen at some point, but for now, we've got the first one, so let's not squander our luck. I, for one, intend to get a hit of the Bibimbap Burger as often as possible. There's something about the way the six-minute egg works with the bright, slender veggies and humanely-raised beef that creates the kind of flavor that causes you to re-evaluate the way you've judged burgers in the past. This is a new bar for the way your favorite foods should taste. Check it out with an order of the slender-cut fries and their attendant sake-laced cheddar dip, and see if you don't become a convert.
Once you've sampled the burger and have come back a second or third time (which you totally will), you can move on to the menu's other Asian-inflected pleasures. Both vegetarians and their carnivorous friends will dig the edamame fritters, especially with an extra douse of Sriracha. As we move into winter, I can also foresee Sosa's ridiculously good curry tomato soup being something worthy of trekking through the snow. The surprising ingredients extend into the cocktail menu, as well—if you're a gin drinker, I urge you to see what fresh yuzu juice does to a Tom Collins. The answer, of course, is "inspire you to order another one."
Menu Highlights:
Crispy Fries, $4.50
Yuzu Cream Puffs, $6
Sloppy Ho Chi-Minh, $8
Kung Pao Wow Sandwich, $10
Bibimbap Burger, $12
Hours:
Monday—Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday—Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Scout Notes: Sitting at Social Eatz on 53rd St., I'm amazed its the only one in existence. You could easily picture the sleek, friendly space in cities across America, with people lined up for a shot at Angelo Sosa's Korean-inspired awesomeness. Surely that will happen at some point, but for now, we've got the first one, so let's not squander our luck. I, for one, intend to get a hit of the Bibimbap Burger as often as possible. There's something about the way the six-minute egg works with the bright, slender veggies and humanely-raised beef that creates the kind of flavor that causes you to re-evaluate the way you've judged burgers in the past. This is a new bar for the way your favorite foods should taste. Check it out with an order of the slender-cut fries and their attendant sake-laced cheddar dip, and see if you don't become a convert.
Once you've sampled the burger and have come back a second or third time (which you totally will), you can move on to the menu's other Asian-inflected pleasures. Both vegetarians and their carnivorous friends will dig the edamame fritters, especially with an extra douse of Sriracha. As we move into winter, I can also foresee Sosa's ridiculously good curry tomato soup being something worthy of trekking through the snow. The surprising ingredients extend into the cocktail menu, as well—if you're a gin drinker, I urge you to see what fresh yuzu juice does to a Tom Collins. The answer, of course, is "inspire you to order another one."
Menu Highlights:
Crispy Fries, $4.50
Yuzu Cream Puffs, $6
Sloppy Ho Chi-Minh, $8
Kung Pao Wow Sandwich, $10
Bibimbap Burger, $12
Hours:
Monday—Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday—Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m.
