Citrus at Social

Social Hollywood
6525 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
323-337-9797

Happy Birthday to BP! We were keeping our expectations low because restaurants attached to clubs. . . well, you know. Social's restaurant make-over with new chef consultant, Michel Richard, and chef de cuisine Remi Lauvand, was written up as an improvement on the former Moroccan-themed place.

It definitely is a lovely space of green satin and velvet booths and armchairs, a large picture of citrus fruits over the fireplace, yellow curtains hanging ceiling to floor, the essence of oranges and limes in the air, the original arched and frescoed ceilings. The large spacious room feels fresh and inviting in the daylight and warm and modern when the sun goes down. Unfortunately, the Money Mart signs shines through the west facing windows day and night.

The Valentino cocktail is sweet and goes down easy, but is tempered by the aroma of the whole basil leaf reclining in the yellow green liquid. The cu cu cocktail is refreshing with cointreau, cucumber and cilantro.

Looking at the individual prices of the appetizers and entrees, the table decides to order the prix fixe menu. We start with the amuse bouche--a flavorful mushroom cigar of finely chopped mushrooms wrapped in crisp filo dough like taquitos in a yogurt sauce.

Our first appetizer is a choice of two. The cold potato leek soup is poured into a dish where an upside-down glass has just been removed to allow an avalanche of potato flakes. MH says the soup is like cereal and INK agrees it is, but in a good way. The milk-white soup is creamy; the flakes have a hint of crispness then melt on your tongue. The beet and tuna salad, red cubes of the ubiquitous starter menu ingredients, also please.

The second appetizer is sablefish with artichokes or monkfish with duck au jus. Both are large portions. The sablefish is delicate; the monkfish meaty.

Two of us order the pork chop as a main course. It is small and lonely on the plate, but is juicy and complemented with chanterelles. Luckily MH and GG ordered the lobster burger to share. The meat is moist, but the sauce is a bit too sweet. The fries, which the table shares, are great--thick, hot, crisp and with a fresh potato flavor. The other entree option is the rib eye accompanied by a creamy polenta and a reduction sauce. All taste fine, but the thinly sliced meat is a bit overwhelmed by the sauce and polenta.

Desserts make us ooh and ah. The Kit Kat looks like a large piece of the candy bar with a chocolate and white chocolate bulls eye set upright in the center. The chocolate, noisette (hazelnut) and crisp layers are irresistible. The orange souffle with vanilla bean ice cream sounds simple. The elements come on a four section platter: the unmolded souffle resting on a thin cookie wafer, the ice cream in a ramekin next to a pitcher of caramel, sour orange segments, whipped cream with almond slices. The waiter pours the caramel on the perfectly formed, delicate souffle and we have fun mixing and matching.