Midtown Lunch

Angelo Sosa’s Midtown Asian gastropub Social Eatz will close next year to make room for his new Asian gastropub, Poppy Den NYC. Social Eatz posted the an announcement on Facebook after Grub Street broke the news. The difference between this new Asian gastropub and Poppy Den is unclear, but Grubstreet said the Poppy Den concept was something Sosa developed with a former president of Planet Hollywood, and this outpost will be the second of its kind, after the Vegas location opens in a few weeks. Read the announcement after the jump.
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In celebration of the one-year anniversary of Social Eatz, Angelo Sosa has unveiled a new menu that includes some new soups, salads, small plates, and sweets. Among the new items are Homemade Ramen, a Kimchee Wedge Salad, Pork Chops, and more. Not many of the new items are in the $10 and under ML range, but a glance at the new menu shows that they’ve at least cooled it on the ‘Z’ theme of yore (Side’z is replaced with Sides, App’z is now Small Plates, etc), so that’s gotta be worth some points. Early adopters, let us know if it’s worth the splurge!

Ladies and gentlemen, the bulgogi burger is officially having a moment on Midtown Lunch. The concept recently resurfaced in the forums when Bon Chon’s version allegedly got a facelift, so of course I had to try it. However, whenever this Bon Chon burger comes up, there are those who inevitably mention Angelo Sosa’s rendition at Social Eatz. We’ve tried the famous Bibimbap Burger, and we’ve tried the Hanoi Burger. Does the Bulgogi Burger have what it takes? Can it take the title of Best Bulgogi Burger in the East (50’s)?

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Angelo Sosa’s Social Eatz (on 53rd btw. 2nd and 3rd) has already gotten a fair amount of coverage on this site (and others), with most of it focused around their famous Bibimbap Burger. I recently took my first trip to the restaurant, fully intending to try it, but the Hanoi Burger caught my eye instead.

The Hanoi Burger consists of ground beef with mint, lemongrass, cilantro and red onion topped with lettuce and served with a chili mayo and a sweet onion jam. No, it doesn’t have a slow-cooked egg oozing all over it like the Bibimbap Burger, but how can this flavor combo go wrong?

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To celebrate the sale of their 10,000th bibimbap burger, Social Eatz (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd) is giving away a free bibimbap burger to the first 30 customers, starting at 2:30pm sharp. So for all you free loaders who can take a late lunch (or will just save a bit of extra room) prepare to engage!

Related:
Social Eatz’s Burger is a Splurge Worthy Lunch

If you were following Eater’s Burger Week last week, you may recall that Midtown Lunch favorite, Social Eatz, pulled off a fairly shocking if not controversial win as the “Nation’s Best Burger”. As a gesture of gratitude to their customers and fans that helped them achieve the land-slide victory, Social Eatz will pour you a complementary cocktail for every Bibimbap Burger that you order.

The promotion starts today (just in time for Cinco de Mayo!), and will last for the entire month of May, and is only good for the promotional cocktail (no beer/wine) and for dine-in customers only. So for anyone that’s looking for a spot for a liquid lunch (or dinner for that matter), now’s your chance to try the Nation’s Best Burger with a side of free booze.

One thing we failed to mention during our look at Social Eatz the other week is that there are several menu items that are definitely worth a splurge, because let’s face it – we can’t all be cheapskates all the time (I’m looking at you Zach.) Like luncher Huck, I’m a huge fan of their tomato curry soup ($5) and I agree with our friends over at Immaculate Infatuation that the $12 Bibimbap Burger is a truly good and exciting riff of the classic Korean dish that it gets its roots from. For the lunchers that have the financial means, both of these items are worth a look.
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Best Week Ever has a pretty hilarious look at Social Eatz, Top Chef Angelo Sosa’s new restaurant in Midtown East.  They not only took note of the massive number of Z’s on the menu, but also the porno shop next door, and the “food dick” on the bathroom door.  Looking for a (slightly) more serious assessment?  Immaculate Infatuation also posted their thoughts yesterday, noting that the restaurant is just as strange as Angelo Sosa himself. [via Eater]

I’ll admit I was skeptical when I first walked into Social Eatz. I’m not sure if that hesitation stemmed from the idiosyncratic theme of regularly replacing “S”s with “Z”s, the bubbly cartoon logo, or the fact that the owners of Circle – a nightclub near and dear to this contributor’s heart, but certainly not known for their food – are the majority investors of the restaurant. On the other hand, backing from the Chace restaurant group (OBao, Spot Dessert Bar, Ember Room) and Top Chef All Star, Angelo Sosa, in the kitchen certainly gives Social Eatz a note of credibility, not to mention star power.

Like Sosa’s previous project, Xie Xie, the menu is heavily driven by Asian inspired sandwiches and is rounded out with soups, salads, and appetizers. And while approximately half of the menu is under the ML accepted price threshold, Social Eatz presents a unique opportunity to eat a Midtown lunch at a “Celebrity Chef” restaurant – and indeed it is possible to eat very well for under $10.

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For those of you keeping track, today’s free noon time giveaway at Social Eatz (on 53rd btw. 2+3rd) is a kung pow wow sandwich. But make sure you get there early. Only the first 100 people score one. Also on the ML Twitter Tracker… Feed Your Hole is on 29th and Park, Mexicue is on 45th and 6th, Papa Perrone is on 55th btw. Park+Mad, Comme Ci Comme Ca is on 38th and B’way, Big D’s Grub Truck is on 40th and Lex, Eddie’s Pizza is on 52nd and 6th, Schnitzel & Things is on 46th btw. 5+6th, and Frites N Meats and Rickshaw are on 52nd and Lex,