The Stanton Social

Last week I FINALLY made it dinner at The Stanton Social for a birthday celebration for DEC and the Lady Spence. I say finally because it has been virtually impossible to get a reservation there since they opened about a year ago unless you really plan ahead. I loved chef Chris Santos' food when he was at Mono and again he didn't disappoint. The concept behind the menu is comfort food served in tapas sized portions which made this a great choice for a birthday dinner. Among the items we selected were the French onion soup dumplings (sort of like gyoza but with carmelized onions and onion soup broth inside and smothered in Gruyere - sinful!), mini red snapper tacos, a nori spiced tuna tartare roll (the group's favorite of the items), lobster/choirizo/artichoke paella cakes, sliders (both the Kobe beef and bbq pulled pork options - the bbq was deliciously tangy), a spicy lobster pasta with charred tomatoes, roasted corn and poblano peppers (had a nice little kick to it) and brussel sprouts with chestnut butter and pommegranite (the only dish that was a bit disappointing - but that could be because nothing compares to Deborah's). Being a birthday party, of course we had to get desert. We opted for the trio of cheesecakes and the chocolate tasting. About 80% of the 2 dishes was top notch. Everyone in the group had a different favorite item - suprisingly (since I'm a bit of a chocoholic) my favorite item turned out to be the butternut squash cheesecake (very Fall!) . I should mention also that the drinks were excellent - I had a perfect martini and they have a great selections of wines by the glass. The service was excellent and our waiter was attentive and a great guide in helping with some of our selections. The atmosphere is very party oriented so I definitely recommend hitting this one with a group.