Being Social
Social Deck and Dining finds its footing despite shifting sands
When Jame and Jordan Winteroth opened their first restaurant, Social Deck and Dining, in December of 2018, they had enough industry experience to know December is far from ideal for a restaurant opening.
They knew they it was tempting fate, but they didn't realize just how creative fate can be.
The Winteroths, with help from Robert and Lori Black's SpringBoard consulting company, took a deep breath and forged ahead, turning the once white-hot restaurant space Chae Modern Korean once called home into the restaurant of their dreams. “I can't remember a restaurant opening meet so many obstacles,” Black said. “Jordan and Jamie have done an amazing job in overcoming a lot of unforeseen problems.”
But Black couldn't have been terribly surprised. The trio previously worked together for A Good Egg Dining. The Winteroths have weathered the challenges of an over-saturated market, which include over-fished talent pools, equipment failure, and unexpected expenses to the property on top of the reality that dining traffic has slowly been routing away from their corridor of NW 23 Street, near Pennsylvania Avenue.
Around the corner at the original Rococo location, chef Bruce Rinehart saw enough drop-off to embark on a move off of Penn and onto Western Avenue's entertainment corridor that's due in March. Nevertheless, the Winteroths made improvements to their dining room, jazzed up the patios and now have a great little neighborhood restaurant worthy of destination dining.
Social made an important fan out of fellow restaurateur Dallas Cody Barnett. “I was a fan of the restaurant,” said Barnett, who owns Sonic Drive-In franchises in Texas but lives here. “First and foremost, I loved the food at Social, I love Jamie and Jordan and what they were doing over there.”
Enough to partner with the Winteroths to form Shared Plate Hospitality and purchase Aurora Breakfast Bar in The 16th Street Plaza District from Aimee and Jeff Struble.
While Social, 1933 NW 23 St., and Aurora, 1704 NW 16 St., share a common breakfast thread, things diverge at lunch and beyond. Jamie calls the food at Social “International cuisine done in Oklahoma-style.”
“We want our guest to be as comfortable eating brunch as lamb kefta or tikka masala,” Jamie said.
Once upon a time, dishes like that would've sounded exotic, but today it resonates as comfort food from another mother. Is that an authentic tikka masala, you ask?
When I think of authentic flavor, the one that
immediately comes to mind is the curry chicken my mother made for our family for decades, despite hailing from the plains of West Texas. While she never made it anywhere near any of the world's great curry-producing countries, my mom made that dish her own and served it with as much love and pride as a human can muster. It was her way of educating herself, and that's as authentic as I need to enjoy a meal.
I'm a huge fan of the aforementioned tikka masala, and lamb kefta, but brunch is the restaurant's bailiwick. It's served all day, much of it in skillets like the phenomenal baked eggs.
There's plenty of traditional brunch fare like buttermilk waffles, eggs, bacon, Benedicts, corned beef hash, and biscuits and gravy. You'll also find traditional chilaquiles and a light and dandy shrimp Louie salad. And don't forget about the wild blueberry cake doughnut.
Big dinner appetites will head for the Cheshire pork rack, short rib risotto or steak frites, while the ORA king salmon and panseared scallops are ideal for lighter fare.
The spirit of the Winteroth's “simple food done well” approach is alive in the cocktail service. The Club Spec at Social is outstanding, a balance of premium spirits and nostalgia. Because Social does brunch around the clock, bubbles are easy to find at the bar as are high-octane coffee options.
The restaurant opens at 10 a.m. daily and closes at 4 p.m. Sunday, 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10 p.m. Friday.