Social Eatz

Fusion Food Gets a Sexy Asian Twist with Celebrity Chef Angelo Sosa

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Fusion cuisine – like many of my fellow foodies, I love this particular trend. Still, I’ll be the first to admit, that with new fusion restaurants popping up left and right, it’s easy to have a short-term memory or even outright amnesia when your chef fails to wow you.

So what can Top Chef’s Angelo Sosa do in order to leave his mark on us admittedly fickle Manhattanites?

I personally wasn’t sure when I walked into the small and slightly edgy space of Social Eatz but I did know that after a pretty bowl of light green soup was placed in front of me that at the very least, I’d be in for something different.

…but I did know that after a pretty bowl of light green soup was placed in front of me that at the very least, I’d be in for something different.

The green soup turned out to be a Chilled Edamame and Spring Pea Soup. It was cold, obviously, but the texture of the crispy shitake mushrooms and the nice kick of ginger at the end was what really stood out for me in this coolly refreshing dish. And by the look of surprised delight on my mostly carnivorous tablemate’s face, I’d bravely say that he agreed with me.

And by the look of surprised delight on my mostly carnivorous tablemate’s face, I’d bravely say that he agreed with me.

Still, I think he was more excited when we cut into the Cured Tuna “Pastrami” that came alongside our soup. Personally, I was happy to call that one a draw but I certainly can’t blame him either. Using only the best sushi grade tuna, the fish was lightly seasoned and just wonderful on pieces of hearty toast points. We layered the tuna on top along with a few drops of homemade mustard and pickled ginger.

So did we stay for lunch after finishing our soup and tuna pastrami? Of course we did! We happily gobbled down the tasty chicken liver mousse with toast and pear chutney (a huge favorite of mine; just make sure to use the chutney!), some hearty BBQ pork buns and the perennial winner: Korean fried chicken! I think it’s safe to say, we all made it home happy (and full) that night.

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