Social Deck + Dining
Seemingly overnight, Chae (the former Korean restaurant on the corner of 23rd and Virginia) disappeared, and Social Deck + Dining appeared in its place. I never got the chance to go to Chae, but I jumped on the opportunity to go to Social on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. My friend and I took advantage of the good weather and walked to the restaurant, which took all of three minutes from my apartment in Cokesbury. Very convenient for people who don’t have a car on campus and need to walk places.
The restaurant was pretty crowded, so we chose to sit on the porch. The view wasn’t great: we were right up against 23rd, and traffic was pretty noisy. However, the porch was comfortable and spacious, with tasteful decor and placement out of the sun. Our waitress was super cool and really easy to chat with, and she made the entire meal enjoyable. I ordered a biscuit sandwich with fruit and coffee, and my friend ordered the roasted brussel sprouts. My meal was classic and filling; nothing about it was super spectacular, but everything was high quality and fresh. The fruit was the best part; I’m still wondering where they found blueberries that good in February!
Unbeknownst to both my friend and I, her brussel sprouts came with mushrooms and bacon mixed into the dish. My friend is a vegetarian, and had no idea that meat was one of the components of this dish. This did make me wary of any allergy or ingredient warnings on the menu, and how vaguely items were labeled and described. However, they gave her a new plate of brussel sprouts with no charge and zero fuss. Their level of service, shown by how quickly they owned up to their mistake and were willing to fix it, overwhelmingly impressed me, especially considering how busy the restaurant was that day.
Personally, I love outdoor seating. Not only did I get to enjoy my meal in the sunshine and warm weather, I got to see a dog, two cute babies AND a Maserati while sitting there! The fact that this restaurant had such a big, clean and organized outdoor seating area makes this a guaranteed future brunch spot for me when the weather “actually” warms up. This, topped with fantastic service, a convenient location near campus, and decent prices, prompts me to give this restaurant a 9/10.
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