The Stanton Social
The Stanton Social
99 Stanton Street - Map
Between Orchard Street and Ludlow Street
New York
(212) 995-0099
Tapas/Small Plates, Eclectic Cuisine
Gastronomes! Gourmands! Welcome to your wet dream come true! As a self-proclaimed foodie, I always run into the problem of so many delicious things on the menu that I would love to try, but really only being able to order one thing, and resigning myself to tasting any accompanying guests' dishes. Now, if I didn't worry about my figure and bank account, this really wouldn't be a problem at all, as I would make sure to make as many return visits to any particular establishment until I was satisfied. However, if any of you share in my plight, then this is the answer.
Through the brilliant collaboration of long-time friends Chris Santos (the chef and owner), Richard Wolf (owner of chic chic lounge and restaurant Tao), and Peter Kane (of the infamous Happy Ending) comes a sexy, elegant, and dark allure restaurant-lounge called The Stanton Social. The idea is brilliant - the entire menu is portioned as appetizer-size designed to be shared. This essentially translates to - the more people with whom you dine, the more variety you get to choose from!
This being my second visit (the first time I went was just with one friend), I learned from previous experience that there's strength in numbers - and this time I doubled it. The Stanton Social truly embodies the new Lower East Side look: mysterious, dark, sexy, and a little dangerous. Crossing the threshold brings you to a dimly lit, and sensuous environment. I particularly loved the wall at the far back which was transformed into a white backlit wine rack with angled shelves, and the white-painted brick on the ground level extends the feel of an airy space. I felt very comfortable in the darker hues of the décor: browns, ambers and luscious raspberry reds.
The upper level has a beautiful bar, which splits the left side from the right side. The left side is outfitted with bench-style seating along the walls, with tables and chairs opposite them. The walls are decorated with creamy yellow rows of dangling threads resembling a 20's-style flapper dress, and along one wall are small hand mirrors of various shapes and sizes hung at about eye level. The right side is more casual with small booth-type sections created by low-seated leather couches, and small coffee tables as a center-piece for more casual dining and drinking. This side of the walls were decorated in a subtle and sensual flowery wallpaper.
As usual, the wait staff were more than just polite. They treat their clientéle with the utmost respect, and definitely give you the impression that they're there to please YOU. I was the last to arrive from my party, and I was immediately escorted to them at the bar, where they were schmoozing it up and having a drink of wine. When I joined them, we were then quickly seated and presented with their menus: food, cocktails, and wine. I particularly loved the hard wood menus which gave the place a more substantial, opulent feel.
Since we were a party of 4, we ended up ordering 10 different dishes and 4 different desserts. Since there was SO much delicious food, I will only discuss the hilights that truly tickled either my or my friends' fancy. Due to such a wonderful selection, I would like to point out that anyone's taste can be satisfied here.
One of the first courses that was brought to our table was the beef carpaccio. Deep purple, thin slices of beef arranged slightly overlapping each other, topped in the center with a small mound of micro arugala - almost resembling spring watercress, with a contrasting sprinkling of reggiano cheese. Since the carpaccio is more about texture than flavor, the pairing of the sharp and salty cheese and the peppery arugala went beautifully with the smoothness of the carpaccio.
Another dish that was worthy of note was the Potato and Goat Cheese Pierogies. They were served with caramelized onions and truffle crème fraîche. These were little heaven bundles. Silky creamy potato centers, with the musky goat cheese flavor. Then the addition of the rounded sweetness of the caramelized onions - and anyone who knows me knows that truffle in anything makes it taste so much better, and I think the earthiness pairs really well with the goat cheese and the crème fraîche has a very light sourness to it to tie it all together into a perfect bite. This was a beautifully concerted dish. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Now, here's a dish that I thought was just ok, but everyone else seemed to LOVE. It was their Wild Plum and Brie Quesadilla with red chile honey. I concede that this was just a matter of personal taste. I like brie. I like quesadillas. I even like plums sometimes. I'm personally not partial to having cooked fruits in savory food, although I did find that the plum added just a light hint of sweetness, and really added more in texture than it did in flavor. The red chile honey was really more responsible for that flowery sweetness, and a cute subtle zing of spicyness from the chile - but I definitely would not use the term spicy to describe it. The brie was deliciously smooth. In the end, I was outvoted by the oohs and aahhs of everyone else while I was just ok with the dish.
Now we come to the dessert. There were 2 that struck me in particular. The Stanton Social Chocolate Tasting and the Il Laboratorio del Gelato Ice Creams and Sorbets. The chocolate tasting came with a small sample of molten chocolate cake, panna cotta, mousse, peppermint patties, and sorbet. The ice creams and sorbet were a sampling each of espresso, crème fraîche, and ginger.
Of the chocolate tastings, they were all richly decadent, and I savored every bite, but one of the samples in particular really riled me up. It was the molten chocolate cake! It had this chile spicy kick you got only at the end at the back of your throat after you let it swirl over the entire surface of your tongue to maximize the full experience - savoring every flavor from it. The spicy kick was not unpleasant at all, in fact, it was addicting, I kept taking more and more tastes from it just to experience the ride again!
From the ice creams, the one that I really took a fond liking to was the ginger ice cream. Ginger is a very funny root. It has an intense sweet and sharply tangy flavor and aroma. Its dual personality makes it unique but allows it to be paired nicely with the right creative angle. In this case, the ginger ice cream sat atop a small nest of crystallized ginger that only enhanced and counterbalanced the smooth gelato. It was the kind of experience where you savored the smooth texture of the ice cream in your mouth, and experienced the flavor deep in your nose. The most fun was when I took a spoonful of the molten chocolate cake, and dipped in to the ginger ice cream and ate them together. The deep richness of the chocolate was cut by the sweetness of the ginger, and the tang of the ginger infused the spicy kick and created something completely new. It was fun! Alchemy at the table!
In conclusion, this was by far one of the most fun and interesting restaurants I have been to. The chef is not afraid to try new and exotic things, which I find to be very attractive. It's the allure of the new and exciting experience, an adventure in your mouth. The décor is elegant and sexy, with the wait staff to match in both looks and demeanor. This was an excellent experience, I recommend it more for large groups looking for a great time, or for couples looking to have a great and intimate shared experience. The Stanton Social - kudos!
