Socca

Has anyone been to Socca (the old Buddies' spot on the corner of Clark/School)? It opened about two weeks ago and my wife and I are thinking about checking it out this weekend.

The menu is French-Italian bistro - something that is lacking in the neighborhood.

had the pleasure of finally going to Socca... it was great.

We started out with a pommes frites appetizer. The frites were thin and crispy (double fried?) and tossed in parsley... a truffle fondue sauce was served with them.. fantastic! i think i could go back and just eat these...

for my entree i had the pork chop alla toscana...the pork chop was frenched (is that the right term for a pork chop, or is there another term?), perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked. it was served with a ragu of white beans, sun dried tomatoes, chopped proscuitto, and some other veggies...

my SO had a proscuitto wrapped cod filet, which was served on a bed of mushroom risotta.. the risotta was delicious..

for dessert we had a ricotta cheesecake, and a bread pudding. the cheesecake was unique and equally delicious. bread pudding isn't my favorite, but was good.

the wine menu was divided between American, French, and Italian wines... Lots of reasonably priced choices by the bottle or glass.

Socca was better than we expected, and I'd definetly go back. Entrees are in the $13-20 range. Atmosphere is a good mix of casual and dressed up. During the summer they have an outdoor seating area, and during the cold months their large windows are perfect for people gazing if that's your thing (and let me tell you, you do see some interesting people!)... According to their web site they have a $75 pre-fixe wine dinner as well, though we seemed to have not noticed this option when we were there? They apparently also have brunch, and have a late night menu after 10pm.

Socca
3301 N Clark Street
Chicago, IL
773-248-1155

http://www.soccachicago.com/

I went a few times last summer and thought that the sidewalk cafe was perfectly pleasant place for the charcuterie plate (nothing great, everything pretty god) and a cold glass of rose. The namesake ceci crepe was ok. The Italian stuff, pastas, risotto, were not great on my visits. It is a good option in the neighborhood, particularly since Mia Francesca remains mobbed after all these years. Platiyo, a few doors down, is not often mentioned here but is solidly in the mix of "not Frontera."

I've been to Socca two times now, and would have to agree that while not spectacular, its a good solid addition to an upscale neighborhood that's begging for some nicer food options. Both times, I've dined in a large group and its been very reasonable - which is amazing, because we tend to run up a pretty large bill due to wine/cocktail consumption. There also seemed to be a lot of large groups eating of friends eating there, which was fun. I liked the eclectic mix of people there - gay, straight, men, women, older, younger, etc. Most of my dining companions had pasta dinners, which they all seemed to like. I opted for a salad and one of their pizza-type things (the name escapes me). The frites are to die for and both times we ordered several platters for the table.

My biggest positive would be the convivial atmosphere (which can also be a downside...see below) and the reasonable prices. Additionally, we were recommended a very decent bottle of wine at a lower price point (our group has varying degrees of wine experience and willingness to pay for good wine) and we weren't treated as if we had ordered Boone's Farm, which sometimes happens.

The only negative is that it can get really noisy in there. Since this was a large group of girls catching up, it was fine, but if you were looking for a quiet romantic dinner, I'd say go somewhere else.

You guys have got to try the Socca brunch. It starts up again on Easter Sunday and runs through the fall. They have the second best bloody marys in Chicago (can't top Lula, though), and the croissant french toast must have drugs in it. The crab cakes eggs benedict are also delicious. Great coffee, too.

Pork and lamb chops are frenched when the meat around the bone is removed. It looks nice that way but many think the meat at the bone is the most flavorful.

Socca is a great spot to go w/a group and split several appetizers and a few entrees. Nice wine list, too.

I went in December and found the food to be pretty good. However, I had a really unpleasant experience with the waiter.

We were a group of six, all European except for my husband and me. We ordered lavishly, cocktails, wine, apps, entrees, some dessert, and post-prandial drinks. I think the bill was around 1K. My husband's boss, who is Dutch, picked it up. After he paid, the waiter came back and said "Sir, you know I can included the tip in your receipt, right?" My husband's boss was like, "OK, thank you." So the waiter came back a few minutes later and said, "So sir, tell me-- was there some sort of problem?" The bewildered man said no, and the waiter rolled his eyes and stomped away... the poor guy asked us what we thought might be wrong and I said the waiter seemed to be unhappy with his tip. Turns out he tipped about 14%, which is well over the 10% that he had been told was normal to tip in the US. Now, I believe in tipping well, and usually tip 20% or over, but this was a big bill, and 14% isn't exactly a slap in the face. Evenif the guys had tipped nothing, it wouldn't have been appropriate-- if he had to do something, he should have spoken to his manager and the manager could have come over. The whole experience really put me off.

Wow. That's really shocking behavior on the waiter's part. I'd be tempted to ask for the bill back and reduce the tip down to 0%!

So...if I am reading this correctly, a gratuity was NOT automatically added the bill? A 14% tip, while on the low side, would certainly not be cause to confront the diner, in my opinion.
That is unfortunate. My wife and I dined there a few months ago with a larger party. The entire staff, including the chef (whose name escapes me), were friendly and accomodating. Since this was a dinner between many culinary professionals, they really went out of their way to dazzle us. Needless to say, a generous tip was included.

I'm going to resurrect this as I'm not sure how this place flies under the radar. Socca has been one of my favorite, if not my favorite restaurant in Chicago for a number of years now. The food is always consistently good and interesting, at least compared to the competition in Lakeview. Let's face it, Lakeview is in dire need of good restaurants as most are just mediocre dumpy pub joints with no flare or flavour in my opinion (HB being an exception). We had brunch at Socca on christmas eve and had the pork belly potato hash. Unbelievable! I forget what else we had but was surprised I didn't know they had brunch until we drove by and decided to stop in since nowhere else was open that day. Dinner has always been great, one of my personal favorite memories there was dinner on my birthday a few years back that consisted of pan fried soft shell crab on top of risotto with fresh corn, leeks and blue crab something or another, twas AMAZINGLY good. Service is always impeccable as well, I'm not related to the place in any way. Just a long time fan of the place and the chef.

It is funny because I always wondered why this restaurant got so little love on this forum despite being one of my go to places for dinner with my wife. I had started to question my tastes a bit... I agree with some of the older posts that the food is not going to be life changing, but have found it to be incredibly consistent and reliable. Have found that the restaurant hits the mark for a wide range of occassions, casual Tuesday night dinners to birthday celebrations with a group on a Saturday night, we have done them all there. I am a big fan of the frites, the lamb sausage pizzette and the rabbit risotto. Have also enjoyed some steaks that they normally have on special. I like knowing it is there as an option, because the food in the immediate vincinty is pretty hit or miss.

I ate there once a couple of years ago. I liked the food, but the noise in the place was deafening. I don't mind noise, but in this case I couldn't wait to get outside. I have been meaning to go back, though.

Darren72 wrote:I ate there once a couple of years ago. I liked the food, but the noise in the place was deafening. I don't mind noise, but in this case I couldn't wait to get outside. I have been meaning to go back, though.

Alas, I think you'd be hard-pressed to describe it as deafening these days...I dine there a few times a year (and have for years) and seldom have I seen the dining room more than 25% full at dinnertime. Maybe brunch is a different matter? I think they also have outdoor seating on School in the warmer months.

I genuinely enjoy Socca, but the best way to describe it is "safe" (which probably sounds like a criticism on LTH). What I mean is that picky eaters will find something that pleases them and people who enjoy great food will also be happy.

I live in the same neighborhood as Socca and since first coming here this past winter I have become a regular and have come to believe that this is Lakeview's best restaurant. There is lots to love about Socca. The staff here is so friendly, from the bartenders (Paige and Gina), to the general manager (Mike), to the servers (especially Sam and Mark) and the chef/owner (Roger) who is extremely visible and often mingles with patrons; he is one of the most down to earth and humble chefs I have met. The menu here is awesome; there is definitely something for everybody. My wife and I love checking out Chicago's fine dining and cutting edge venues, but absolutely love Socca's menu. They have a farm to table focus and the menu is constantly in flux to keep with the freshest ingredients Chef Roger is able to find. I have dined there approximately 15 times this year and have enjoyed a different entree each time. Even picky eaters find plenty to choose from at Socca; we took my Mother-in-Law here a couple of weeks ago (who we had always had difficulty finding a venue she liked) and she loved Socca so much that she is still raving about her meal. Socca also does a wonderful job finding good quality fish and preparing it right; this is not the case at too many Chicago restaurants.

Another great aspect about Socca is all the special events they hold. Each Wednesday they run a $30 prix fixe Market Dinner that utilizes fresh ingredients Chef finds at the Green City Market that day (they offer optional wine pairings for each course for an extra $15). Once a month they hold a customer appreciation night where they run a $10 special such as a Maine lobster or a prime Allen Brother's steak. This Fall they will be holding a wine dinner in conjunction with a local farm. They recently completed a really fun tomato week where every night they had a different tomato special in honor of heirloom tomatoes being at the peak of freshness. My favorite of the week was over the weekend at brunch they had $5 bloody Mary's where they made homemade bloody Mary mix out of heirloom tomatoes and had gourmet skewers with your choice of various meats, artisan cheeses or vegetables. This was by far the best bloody I have ever tasted - the mix was just bursting with flavor and was so aromatic. In the near future they may start holding Saturday afternoon cooking classes at the restaurant where you will be able to sip on some nice wine as you boost your culinary skills.

The dining room at Socca is upscale, yet comfortable. You can use Socca to have a romantic date night, but it also doubles as the perfect venue for dinner with friends. The ingredients are all high end here (the pastas are housemade, the steaks from Allen Brothers, the fruits and vegetables sourced from local farms) and the food is always well prepared. Portion sizes tend to be on the large size, yet prices very reasonable for the quality. If you really want a laid back meal, the bar area is quite nice and you can order off the full menu there. On weeknights from 5:00pm to 7:00pm they haze amazing tasting gourmet pizettes at the bar for just $5. My favorite current one features spigarello, bacon and truffled Parmesan cheese. There is also a great antipasto board featuring a variety of cheeses, crackers, pickled vegetables and cured meats. The contents are constantly changing, so it is always a pleasant surprise what you receive each time we order this. Socca has a nice (and reasonably priced) wine list and lots of cocktails to choose from; Obereon and Half Acre beers are on tap. On Sundays there is a great brunch; for just a couple bucks more than you'd pay at a run-of-the-mill diner you can enjoy an extremely tasty upscale brunch with a nice varied menu; the pizettes are available, they have an excellent burger, sweet fare such as bananas foster French toast, hashes such as a hanger steak hash or duroc pork belly hash, breakfast burritos made with chorizo, chilaquiles etc.).

If you are looking for a place to dine in the Lakeview area, I would highly recommend putting Socca on the top of your list. I feel that they are among the most underrated venues in the city and they are well worth a trip. Chef Roger had a nice spot this morning on ABC news and hopefully they will soon start receiving the accolades they deserve. I am really pulling for them to receive Bib Gourmand recognition from Michelin this Fall and have found them to be superior to most of the Bib venues I have had the pleasure of dining. My wife and I have become so hooked on Socca we have been coming here twice a week the past several weeks between dinners, brunches, and having a cocktail and bite to eat at the bar.

Here is a link to the spot Chef Roger had on ABC earlier today: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=8790801

Socca has started conducting a once a month cooking class and today was class number one. For just $30 Chef/Owner Roger Herring did a demonstration of how to cook his seafood chowder (a recipe he used in a contest recently in Canada where he took second place) and his roasted pumpkin croissant pretzel bread pudding. The general manager Mike Suttton paired the food with wine and also made three different seasonal cocktails; a caramel apple martini (Called Apple Bobbin'), a jazzed up Manhattan (Called The Herban) and a Hot Cider Toddy. The $30 price included the cooking demonstration, a large three course lunch (including an antipasti board at the beginning of the event, a large bowl of the freshly made seafood chowder and the bread pudding as well as wine and cocktails). This was such a fun event and an incredible bargain! In addition to being so talented, the staff at Socca is really friendly and down to Earth and great to interact with. The food and cocktails were excellent with the seafood chowder being the real star - it was out of this world! The next cooking class is set for Saturday November 10th at 11:00am (and will have an emphasis on Thanksgiving foods). There is also a Harvest Dinner featuring a prix fixe menu with food sourced from a local farm and wine pairings on Thursday October 18th at 7:00pm; I will be attending this as well and it looks like it will be a blast. Contact Socca is interested in attending either of these events; as of today some space was still available.

Here are some photos of the fun:

Antipasti Board (Served as an appetizer soon after arrival):


Shellfish used in the seafood stew:


Parrotfish used in seafood stew:


Chef Roger butchering lobster for the stew:


Chef Roger showing off his mussels:


Chef Roger's award winning seafood - this was seriously the BEST seafood stew I have ever had! It featured Maine lobster, Prince Edward Island Muscles, parrotfish (from Hawaii), clams, Yukon Gold potatoes and slices of jalapeno pork belly. The sauce and seasoning was so delicious.


General Manager Mike Sutton making seasonal cocktails:


Caramel Apple Martini (Called an Apple Bobbin') - One of three new seasonal cocktails that were served:


Chef Roger teaching how to make his pumpkin pretzel croissant bread pudding:


The finished product - it was served with vanilla gelato from Black Dog Gelato and drizzled with caramel sauce and was really, really good:

pumpkin prtezel croissant bread pudding? This, I have to try. Was it made with a pumpkin pretzel, plus croissant? Or pumpkin, pretzel and croissant? I've never seen pretzel and croissant combined in a bread pudding and it sounds like a great combination!

Just a guess: pretzel croissants. You can pick up your own locally at Trader Joe's.

The bread used for the bread pudding was half comprised of butter croissants and half were pretzel croissants (i.e. they are shaped like croissants, but the dough is the same type of dough used for pretzels - so it tastes like a pretzel). The sauce that the bread soaked in was pumpkin puree based. Chef Roger mentioned during the class that often pumpkin bread pudding is overwhelmed by spices so that all you taste is nutmeg and cinnamon rather than pumpkin, so it cooks the bread pudding with no nutmeg or cinnamon and then sprinkles a bit on afterwards so that the pumpkin taste still shines through. I believe that this dish will be on their regular dessert menu for the next couple of months - so you can get it any time (and it is well worth ordering)! The seafood chowder is not going to be a regular item (I wish it was as it so incredible), but will be featured periodically as an accompaniment to some of the daily specials.

Socca had a couple more really fun events this week. On Thursday my wife and I were joined by two friends for a Winter Wine Dinner; the meal was five courses (fixed menu) with pairings (four wines and a Tiramisu shot served with dessert). The menu was meat focused and the wines were all red as it was meant as a hearty warm meal for the winter season. At just $55 (including the wine, which had extremely generous pours) this was a great value. The food was outstanding and Chirstina provided us with excellent service as did Fernando, Mike and the rest of Socca's awesome staff.

The first course was their famous pizettes (I was so hungry I forget to snap a picture, but they were excellent); three different varieties were passed about with my favorite being a jalapeno infused bacon pizza. The second course was short ribs with parsnip puree, course number three was a lamb socca (like a crepe), and the final savory was a prime steak atop black truffle risotto. Dessert featured a Black Dog espresso gelato sundae. All the food was well prepared and cooked, utilized high quality, fresh ingredients and tasted delicious.






Today Socca had a lunch time sparkling wine tasting alongside a seafood cooking demonstration. Chef/Owner Roger Herring demonstrated a salmon terrine, the executive sous chef from David Burke's Primehouse demonstrated a butter poached lobster with caviar and a truffle crema and a new chef (just moved to Chicago from New York) made some delicious blue crab fritters. Dessert was berries in a vanilla anglaise. There were different wine vendors on hand pouring about eight different sparkling wines and champagnes. For $40 you received generous sample pours of wines (and plenty of refills if you wanted them), the cooking demonstration and samples of all the food. Dessert was served with a great tasting cocktail that had a fruit and liquor infused ice cube that slowly melted and changed the taste of the cocktail (was like something you would receive at the Aviary). The event was lots of fun and once again great food, drinks and service; they also raffled off several prizes (my wife was thrilled to win a bottle of a sparkling rose). The best food of the day was the crab fritters:

Chef Roger plans to continue with these monthly cooking demonstrations/tastings and the next one will have a Superbowl theme and take places on Saturday January 12th. Socca is well worth checking out if you live in or near Lakeview; my wife and I continue to come in very frequently and find it to be the best restaurant in the neighborhood.

If anybody is looking for a fun event this Saturday for lunchtime Socca is hosting a Super Bowl Party themed cooking class from 11:00am-1:00pm. Chef Roger Herring will be demonstrating how to cook various Super Bowl Party snacks and foods and there will be wine and beer tasting. The price is just $35 and includes the cooking demonstration as well as food and beverages. The past cooking demonstrations have been a lot of fun and a great value as there is usually a fair amount of food and drinks served.

Call Socca at 773.248.1155 to reserve a spot!

Socca also for the winter is featuring a $25 three course prix fixe dinner every Sunday; follow them on Facebook for the menu (they usually post the menu late morning or early afternoon on Sunday for that evening).

The Super Bowl themed cooking class earlier today was a lot of fun! Somewhere between 30-35 attended. Chef Roger demonstrated a pork cassoulet and homemade rosemary parmesan potato chips and a guest chef demonstrated homemade granola bars and a sweet snack mix. All four of these dishes were served during the class (the cassoulet was outstanding) and several beverages were served as well - two beers, an unfiltered cider, two wines and a cocktail; representatives from one of the beers served (Batch 39) and from Crispin Cider were in house too. For just $35 this was an amazing deal and such a great way to spend a Saturday late morning/early afternoon. This is going to be the last cooking class for a couple of months, but Chef Roger plans to start them back up again in two to three months, likely with a grilling themed class.

Homemade Rosemary Parmesan Potato Chips:


Sweet Snack Mix:


Chef Roger Making the Cassoulet:


The Finishes Product - Was Really Outstanding:


Socca recently added some new menu items for their winter menu and it looks excellent! They are no longer serving brunch, but are open for dinner seven nights per week. Great food, drinks, space, and people at extremely reasonable prices.

Sad news regarding Socca; Chef Herring has parted ways with the restaurant. As he played such a paramount role at Socca (cooking, creating the menus, sourcing the food, developing special events, bringing on board quality staff and running the restaurant) this is a huge loss. Hopefully Socca will remain a great venue, but this is definitely a game changer. It has been so nice having such a friendly and talented chef at a restaurant a short walk from my residence; his presence will be sorely missed but I wish him the best of luck at his next endeavor as well as Socca best of luck in moving forward.

That's a shame, we make it here once or twice a month, we really enjoyed his food. Hopefully they have a smooth transition.

FYI 312 Dining Diva posted an article stating that Socca is closing; this appears to be based on her misunderstanding something that Chef Herring posted on his Facebook page. Chef Herring is leaving Socca, but as of now there has not been a decision to shutter Socca.

312 Dining Diva has corrected her story about Socca. Unfortunately quite a few other sources had already copied her incorrect comment about Socca closing. One of the current chefs co-running the kitchen now is Brian Flach who was one of the Table Donkey & Stick contestants during the pop up dinners there.

I am really going to miss this place, but per their FB page:

Socca

Farewell Party

This Sunday June 30th 4-8 pm

Complimentary passed appetizers, wine and draft beer. And a preview of what is to come from our team and Hutch Chicago!

rsvp to info@hutchchicago.com by June 28th

RSVP'd, will be interested to get a preview of the new concept.

Should be noted that the Pride parade is taking place that day too and the route runs just a block from here. If you're driving, leave ample time for parking, although not sure how long the parade runs.