Northside Social
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 09:02AM *Post by Mark.
I'm a person who appreciates a cozy coffee shop. As someone who spends the better part of his week on his laptop, I often find it necessary to get out of the house and hole up somewhere with my headphones and a warm latte. It's become the only way I know how to get work done anymore.
While I love the set-ups of Tryst or Busboys and Poets, I can never shake the burning obligation to continue ordering food and drinks or to overtip my server as consideration for me taking up his or her table for half a day. It's certainly no fault of the server, nor is it any fault of my own, but these coffee-shop experiences end up reeking of awkwardness... at least for me and my cumbersome liberal guilt, thanks to which, three or four dollar ventures quickly give way to twenty-five dollar mini-meals and caffeine marathons.
When I first heard of Northside Social, a hybrid coffee-house, pastry shop, deli and wine bar in Clarendon, I was skeptical, thinking that I'd stumbled upon another awkward place for me to work where I'd end up spending entirely too much money for the sole service of a chair, an outlet and unreliable wifi.
Northside Social manages to play to all my quirks. Housed in what feels like a modern farmhouse, downstairs plays like a casual coffee-house, while upstairs is a slightly more formal wine bar. All of the sandwiches, pastries, coffees and wines can be purchased at the counter downstairs. There are no trolling servers and there's an abundance of casual seating to do, eat and drink as you please. It's brought to us by the same folks responsible for Liberty Tavern and the also-new Lyon Hall. It would seem that these restauranteurs are bent on taking over Clarendon, and I'm all for it if that means more food like we get from the kitchen of the Washingtonian-ranked Liberty Tavern.
In addition to an assortment of baked goods, muffins, cookies and cupcakes, Northside Social also serves breakfast until 11 AM and sandwiches all day. I had to try the Crisped Pork Belly sandwich (above) which comes with broccoli rabe on an italian feather loaf. I was impressed with the quality of the ingredients and the accompanying potato salad for only $7. For only $5, my friend Stephanie got the grilled cheese with a fruit salad. The portions were moderate, but she was really surprised by the quality of ingredients (mozzarella, cheddar and gruyere) that went into a five-dollar sandwich.
While the pastries were all pretty to look at, I wasn't overly impressed with my unsubstantial cupcake (above). The cake and icing were both so airy, I finished it off in about two crumbly bites. But, I left Northside Social completely satisfied with the diverse experience they managed to provide. It can be poisonous for an establishment to attempt to wear so many hats, but Northside Social seems to have found an identity that'll keep them bustling from early morning to late at night. Their trick is to let you pick your own poison... be it a chardonnay or a chai latte.
You can check our Northside Social's complete menu here.
Reader Comments (8)
Oh Mark, me too, the first part of this post! I always order more food than I consume for same reasons too, although all I want is a salad. Love you and Angela, great choice for Virginians, I will drag a friend of mine who lives in Arlington when I meet her next for coffee or lunch.
That grilled cheese totally hit the spot after one too many glasses of wine at my work event earlier that evening! I'm a sucker for gruyere on pretty much anything though.
I've heard so much buzz about this place and so far, they have been very good reviews. That pork belly sandwich looks delish! I'll get Marshall to come check it out with me sometime.
Shulie-
Sometimes I think you Virginians might be onto something....
Stephanie-
I'm so sad I missed out completely, although I did have a fantastic time with the Twitter ladies. I'm also a gruyere fan, and even though it's a little expensive, I will sub it into recipes 90% of the time for any other type of cheese.
Sylvie-
You guys should totally go. Good, cheap food for you, tons of wines for Marshall to check out. You know what? I should totally go, too.
its better to over-tip than to under-tip. ;)
Miguel-
Yes, let's please make that a mantra - always err on the side of over-tipping!
I went last night and had to revisit your thoughts on it. A few years ago I would have loved Northside Social as a person who liked to study/work with a laptop outside the house and in a place where you're allowed to eat and drink (read: not library). But it's not a great place for people to get together for a reasonable yummy meal. The food was certainly reasonably priced, but I thought it was only OK. I've paid more for lower quality food, but I still didn't love it. Even on a Sunday evening, it's got as many of the One Guy With A Laptop Taking Up An Entire Table as Murky did, which makes me not really want to go back. Potato salad was very good.
Yeah...I can definitely see that. I think the food is good compared to most of the food you get at coffee shops. Also, yes, it does have too many of THOSE guys there - Mark and I had to sit separately when we went on Saturday.