The Happiest Hour: The Social

Which is the happiest hour of them all? This week we tried The Social, the casual bar counterpart to The Public House in Warehouse Row. Happy hour offerings are $4 well drinks, $1 off draft beer, $5 glasses of wine, and three varieties of $6 martinis. Happy hour goes from 2-7 p.m. We went on a Tuesday, when they offer a special menu with sparkling wine and other bubbly drinks.

The topic du jour: rejection. Just a warning, it gets a little dark. The mix of alcohol, bar food, and a heavy topic like this one can take you down some dark corners.

Anna: And that's fitting, because The Social is kind of a dimly-lit place. I still can't get over the fact that we're in Warehouse Row. Warehouse Row used to be dumpy and uncool. But The Social had made a hip little home here. I order a vodka martini with pimento cheese-stuffed olives. I like that the happy hour menu is straightforward and simple. And my martini is bitter and strong, both good things (I think).

Maura: My drink is from the Tuesday bubbly drink menu, The Socialite - Hendrick's gin, celery bitters, cava and cucumber. It's like a bubbly thing for people who don't like bubbly things, which I appreciate. Not sure I can taste the celery, or if I'm confusing it with the fresh cucumber that's a garnish. But it's still a bright, refreshing drink without the sweetness that similar drinks might have.

photo The pimento olive martini, left, and The Socialite, right, from The Social.

WANT MORE?Check out our review of happy hour at The Flying Squirrel, served with our take on Tinder, or our review of The Meeting Place, where we discussed Lulu.

M: I have a hypothesis that rejection can be regional. I've lived in the South most of my life and was talking to a friend who's lived in New York his entire life and we discovered we'd both recently been on first dates that didn't deserve encores. I had already made a few excuses as to why I couldn't hang out with this particular guy again, which my friend thought was leading him on. After his date, he just never returned the girl's text, which I thought was rude. We both had patterns that we thought were polite-ish, but horrified each other.

A: My immediate reaction is that it's a gender thing. Girls are taught to be nice and play well with others. Lots of women have a hard time being mean, even to creepy dudes. And especially to nice dudes. That's doubled in the south, where we have this institutional "nice girl" thing beaten into us from a young age.

M: I can see that. Being straightforward can be scary, especially since it's gone sour for me before. Once I had gone on a couple of dates with a guy over the span of a month and a half, procrastinating most of his advances. At the same time, a magazine I worked for was doing a local gift guide and this guy made really cool flasks, so I suggested his stuff. Since it would've been a giant-sized leap to say he and I were "dating," the editor said yes and set up a writer and photographer. A few days later, on February 13th, he asked if I wanted to go to dinner the next night. No way, man. So I texted back (which maybe was rude) that I thought he was great but really needed space to focus on work and friends. Then I get a call from my editor asking why this guy has canceled everything and cited me being a horrible person as the reason. I had to call flask man to smooth over what was essentially free advertising for him. Finally he relented.

A: How'd you make that happen?

M: Something along the lines of "Dude, I'm 20, listen to Taylor Swift unironically and drool in my sleep. You're not missing out on much here."

A: Sounds like you were the mature one in this situation. A little self-deprecation can be helpful.

M: And I was trying to be honest. Although a little late. I always feel the worst when someone keeps putting out slivers of hope because you'll keep grasping, thinking eventually you'll grab onto something. Do as I say, not as I eventually do, right?

A: The worst rejections are when you're blind-sided because the person hasn't been honest all along. There was the guy led me on for years until I saw him holding hands with this other girl at a party. There was the dude who moved to New York without a word, and I found out from a mutual friend. And then there was the one who disappeared for months until he texted me: "Sorry I've been M.I.A. My mom had Swine Flu."

photo A word of advice: rejection by emoji is not the best of idea.

M: I hope you didn't let that slide because I've had swine flu and I didn't require much care aside from grilled cheese deliveries. Moms are really important, but he probably could've found a couple spare seconds to text you. Even just a pig emoji.

A: Oh, young Maura...I still had a flip phone back then.

M: I have mentally blocked those days.

At the Social, we order the deviled eggs - because how often do you get to have deviled eggs? And the meatloaf sliders, which are the standout item on the menu. The pickled vegetable plate might have been a good compliment for either, but we have FOMO.

M: For my second drink, I asked for another bubbly drink that wasn't too sweet and the server brought me a French 75, which has gin, lemon and Brut. It's a straight-forward champagne cocktail but the lemon adds some tangy acidity.

photo The Social's happy hour specials include bubbly cocktails on Tuesdays and a dollar of draft beer.

A: And I get a Shock Top, which I hate to even admit. I hate that little guy on the Shock Top label. He looks like a jerk. He probably breaks up via emoji.

M: I'm confused about the presentation of these deviled eggs. There's arugula in the center.

A: In the middle is a fancy little nodule called bacon brittle, which is delicious.

M: Other than that, it's just a straightforward deviled egg. Maybe a little bit more mustard than usual. I was expecting some sparkle. Or at least more paprika.

A: I ate my first egg in three bites and loved it. And three is my max on deviled eggs, so the six-piece serving gets it right.

M: I bet a bunch of old southern grannies are rolling over in their graves, but I'm putting arugula on top of my deviled egg. It's good.

photo Deviled eggs from The Social.

M: Speaking of rejection, I see someone at the bar that my friend was seeing briefly on a date with another girl. He's sitting so close to her but he's still talking really loudly about how his grandfather is racist.

A: I've seen him on Lulu.

The meatloaf sliders arrive, two in a serving. The meatloaf is topped with crispy fried onions, fresh jalapenos between dense white bread.

M: I've gotten these before, but I forget that everyone is switching to fresh jalapenos now. You have to seed those suckers, people! I'm already dying.

photo The meatloaf sliders from The Social are topped with friend onions and fresh jalapenos.

A: The jalapeno gets me too! I like this idea, but the meatloaf is smothered by the bun, and I can't really taste it. It's kind of like a glorified Krystal burger. But just so we're clear: Krystals are delicious.

M: I like the crunch of the fried onions, and I imagine if I could stand them I would like the crunch of the fresh jalapenos. The meatloaf patty is perfectly herbed and savory. Don't let the word "meatloaf" strike a Pavlovian fear into your heart. And the melted cheese adds a rich, creamy element.

A: Meatloaf slider, we need to talk. It's not you, it's your improperly sized bun.

M: Ahhh, "we need to talk," the most anxiety-inducing text possible. Do my overactive imagination a favor and never utter or write or smoke signal these words unless a breakup is imminent.

A: I resolve to man up and reject people properly from now on. I've found that if you are straight up with people, honest and kind - even if it's via text or Facebook message - they end up being surprised that you took the extra step to explain. And a lot of times they probably don't care as much as you imagine.

M: Once I kept running into this guy I'd gone on a couple of dates with and had tried to avoid since and I felt so bad because every time he was really awkward - nervous smile, shifting eye contact. And usually he was with a girl who acted even weirder and I was like, "Oh man, he's probably told his friend all about me and how I totally blew him off and they both hate me." It took me a month to realize that girl was actually his new girlfriend. So he cared exponentially less than I thought.

A: You do unironically like Taylor Swift.

M: Anna, do we need to talk?

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