Their bartenders are, to a person, superlative. Haley, Lexi, and Emily (still in-training, though…read moreshe has more-than-ample experience) were all professional and delightful this Boonerang weekend. If only the establishment would spring for cable during the World Cup, my experience of The Social as a "sports bar" would've been unparalleled compared to the other pretenders who decided the U.S. Open was the only "sport" worth airing. If I'd only come for wings and such, I'd've had no notes.
But guys, your salads are culinarily (and decidedly) confused. My burrata was delivered atop a spiral of beefsteak wedges, nestled among wild greens, with zero seasoning, which is a hate crime when it comes to tomatoes; golden beets would've elevated it considerably, normally without much consideration... however. I'd thankfully chosen to add salmon, which was cooked to perfection, saving the dish. Haley suggested salt and pepper, which was a clutch move.
Given the pleasant part of my previous experience, the salmon salad I ordered two nights later was even more discombobulated. Emily asked what kind of dressing I'd prefer, and I managed to avoid recoiling from the options provided: bleu cheese, ranch, thousand island... and then, finally, a cilantro-lime vinaigrette - the only suitable option.
Instead of a deep plate, this was served essentially as a "bowl" that one might receive from delivery, only in a ceramic vessel. "Crispy" garbanzo beans (?!) were in one section of the plate, worse green olives than came with my martinis in another, four sad cucumber slices and pickled red onions in yet another, and in the saddest section, under-cooked yellow beets - half-run through a mandoline to make matchsticks, only still-connected at one end into slices to make Hell-deemed beet sporks. Again, all atop mixed greens, which are commonly available, even at Wal-Mart.
I didn't deign to more than glance at my neighbors' plates, for fear I'd take even more offense, but the people making food at The Social are either under-staffed or inexperienced, as being unserious would likely wash out if anyone were to pay attention. Regardless, management is to blame for such disappointing experiences, and not their cooks, and certainly not their bartenders.
Do better by Boone, and stop reinforcing the notion that standards are somehow lower in the High Country. Don't make me go to Macado's when I visit again next year.
