Unlike the last 15 years living in New York, for this week, I have something social to do EVERY night. This is to say, that when presented with a challenge, even now, I can rise to the occasion.
Tonight it was dinner with good friends at The Stanton Social (warning: annoying Flash site) down on the Lower East Side.
(Continue reading about the amazing food after the break...)
My friend Bill asked what I was drinking when he arrived to find us at the bar and when I said a Manhattan Sidecar, he responded with, "What is this, 1963?" A complete old-school bar service. Several dirty martini's and Negroni's later, we sat down to French Onion Soup Dumplings, Red Snapper Taco's, Chicken & Waffle bites, Brie & Apple Quesadillas, and something with marinated short ribs. The gist of the place is a tapas-like atmosphere with small servings of delectable morsels that are meant to be shared. It's a vibe that is charming, infectious, and delicious.
The atmosphere and patronage is supposed to be Lower East Side hipstery swank but 1) I don't know what the fuck that even means and 2) pretty damn sure I am not it so I can't really comment about it. I know the bar upstairs and the main dining room on the ground floor were both heavily flooded with candlelight and the booths were lush and inviting. I also know after I got home and tweeted about the place, NYC_Eastvillage responded about a new restaurant, Beauty & Essex, by the same chef who owns The Stanton Social. The news clip had me at "grilled cheese and tomato soup dumplings". So my social calendar continues to expand.
Yikes! I see a faint trace of Lower East Side in the painted exposed brick wall, but otherwise, it's 98% swank. The food pics look terrific. I'm putting it on my list.
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