Table Talk With Jeremy Wayne: Putting the ‘Social’ in a village eatery

Encouragingly busy at a recent Monday lunch service, and full to bursting on a subsequent visit for dinner, Mount Kisco’s well-established Village Social is a reminder that good food, good service and good vibes are all we really look for in a restaurant. 

Like a cozy old barn, only with ironwork instead of wooden beams, the walls faced in old timber and some equine paintings paying tribute to the equestrian surroundings, (Bedford is the next stop up I-684), Village Social has a slightly worn look – the gentle patina of age – which is reassuring. And if the furniture is a smidge knocked-about, who cares? The restrooms, for the record, are clean as a whistle. 

Why fix something if it ain’t broke? The Social’s perennial favorites include risotto fritters and rice with puréed corn and Parmesan – fried to a crisp moreishness, a spin on better-known arancini. Others are the wild fish tacos and the “by hand” hamburgers. With their prime quality beef, good toppings and soft, brioche bun, these are a better class of burger altogether, I’d say. 

Back to starters, though, and the Social gives great salad. Panzanella, that deceptively simple, peasanty Tuscan salad, boasted vibrant red tomatoes, with two delicious hunks of olive oil-soaked filone, rustic Italian bread. While we are all careful to watch our salt intake these days, for me at least a liberal sprinkling of sea-salt brought those wonderful heirloom tomatoes to life. 

An assembly of watermelon and feta, has become something of a restaurant summer staple in recent years. At Village Social – Emily Post-type diktats about the season be damned – this best-selling salad was still on the menu mid-September with Bibb lettuce and crumbled sheep’s cheese given a more autumnal and sharper savory kick perhaps with the addition of pickled onions, the entire salad bound with a punchy paprika vinaigrette. A bowl of locally-caught mussels, about 20 of the beauties, came in a silky white wine-based sauce, with shallots and garlic butter, a riff on a standard French marinière. It was served with more filone.  

In a dish I hadn’t tried before, soy-glazed chicken with spinach, crispy shallots and sesame seeds, hit some good umami notes, although the chicken was a touch too well done for my taste. I know, of course, no one wants to “take a chance” with chicken, least of all a chef in a commercial restaurant kitchen, but I’m with the Chinese here:  At the moment the last trace of pink has gone, that is when the chicken is done – and certainly at its juiciest. 

If you’re up for a more substantial main, branzino à la plancha, with its basil eggplant tomato purée and intriguing “forbidden” (think black) rice, won plaudits from one of my dinner companions, as did a generous plate of grilled prawns with creamy polenta and PX sherry from another. 

A word about pizzas, because they, too, are tops here. For me, the benchmark is always a classic Margherita and with its luscious mozz and a perfect crust so thin it shatters almost as you look it, Village Social’s doesn’t disappoint. And although something of a pizza purist, as I have mentioned doubtless ad nauseam, I have to hand it to the sunny-side egg pizza, a new one for me. Made with premium San Marzano tomatoes, top-flight prosciutto and with a generous topping of late summer truffles, this pizza pressed many buttons – all of them good ones. 

Far from taking a back seat, drinks at the Social play a key role. If the wine list – a decent Pinot Grig, Sauvignon Blanc or Montepulciano at a decent price for sure – is somewhat truncated, this is more than compensated for by a panoply of beers and craft cocktails. My poison? A “Social 75,” gin, lemon, pea flower syrup and Prosecco. Happy Hour, by the way – 4 to 6 p.m. Mondays – is the time to check out who’s who in the village and simultaneously tipple, socialize and network.  

Other small but significant elements that appealed to me at the Social were heavy linen, napkins, excellent (Lavazza) espresso and music – including some jaunty 1970s disco hits – at a volume that still allowed for conversation.  

All of which can be summed up as follows:  In the world of eating out, you can’t reinvent the wheel. In the case of Village Social – 13 years old and still going strong – you wouldn’t want to.  

For more, visit villagesocialkb.com.