Stanton Social........

[JDBull]

What's the pros/cons of stanton social? Never been...coming back to NYC late March and our friend that lives there is insisting we go. Any thoughts?

[princeofpork]

Very loud, very young, very crowded. Decent food, good hood.

[seal]

Soup dumplings and doughnuts with dip are my favorite foods there - cocktails are good as well. Very nearby to Il Laboratorio del Gelato.

Agreed on the loud and "sceney" vibe there - being old and fat and married, I go early.

[trishottawa]

We had a great Saturday brunch which was neither sceney or loud. The food was great.

[iFat]

Stanton Social was so 5 years ago (in my opinion, i know there are people who love it). The fact that the doughnuts are the best thing on the menu says something... I wrote this little stanton social ditty a little while back, might help. It's definitely not a place you need to avoid, but there are surely better options.

Eh. This place is average at best. In a pinch, it can be useful for a group get together (6-8 people), but it’s overpriced, the food is mediocre, and the scene is not as cool as it once was. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a place I’ve frequented a bunch over the last 5 years, but I feel like it gets worse and worse each time and its time to jump ship. It’s an older, tightly wound crowd (hello suits and chicks wearing sweater vests over button downs?) The music is a bit too loud and their hip indie dance playlist of Hot Chip into Death From Above 1979 doesn’t necessarily fit their clientele, or at least it didn’t while I was there last. Yes, it’s a fun place with a good atmosphere. The layout is nice and they have some cool, comfy booths, but my main issues are the price (it was over sixty dollars each per person, we didn’t even eat or that much and had one round of drinks) and most of the food we had just wasn’t amazing. And if we’re going to spend sixty bucks a head in NYC, we want amazing.

www.immaculateinfatuation.com

[EV_Eats]

iFat's take on the SS is pretty accurate. I think that it's far too expensive & past its prime. You're looking in the right area though
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http://www.eveats.com

[TOFoodFan]

Having had a great meal and evening here during a visit to NYC in 2007, I'd hoped rumours of its decline were exaggerated. Went again this past weekend, and unfortunately, iFat's summary is indeed pretty accurate. The drinks were as solid as I remember them (particularly the blood orange-jalapeno margarita), but most of the food fell flat.

I remembered the french onion soup dumplings from last time, and they're still good, but they don't have that wow factor that, as iFat mentioned, you expect at that price point. Also had the red snapper tacos and duck confit and black bean empanadas, both tasty but not amazing. The one thing that was memorable was the charred squid lettuce wraps. The char on the squid was outstanding - I could have eaten a couple orders of these and been happy.

But the biggest disappointment for me was the foie gras. I love foie gras dishes, and had an interesting and tasty one here last time (some sort of PB&J riff, as I recall). So I ordered their latest foie dish, seared, on an apple chip atop a vanilla risotto cake. Way too sweet, to the point that it overwhelmed the flavor of the foie. The texture of the risotto cake was gluey and just didn't work.

If I lived in NYC, I'd probably visit the Stanton Social the odd time for a night out with friends. As an occasional tourist who's had one great experience and one underwhelming one, I won't be back for a third visit.
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www.be-log-blog.blogspot.com

[alessandroacq]

Its a very trendy, loud, "in" restaurant with a great vibe. The food isn't particularly anything to rave about but its not on the expensive side which kind of makes up for it, but most go for the ambiance rather than the food.

[sugartoof]

None of the negative comments about the place's vibe and clientele apply to their brunches. It's a little pricey but very comfortable.