Dining At Street Social

Fabulous fried soft shell crab with XO sauce at Street Social.
Fabulous fried soft shell crab with XO sauce at Street Social.

Petaluma’s Street Social is one idiosyncratic restaurant.

Unlike almost any other restaurant you can name, it’s not regularly open for dinner on Saturday nights. Instead, it operates from Tuesday through Friday, and is occasionally open on a rare Saturday evening. Go figure.

The dining room is teeny-tiny, probably smaller than some folks’ walk-in-closets, with space for all of six tables inside.

The restaurant has no street presence, but is tucked inside — way inside — the historic, century-old Lan Mart Building. In fact, its “outdoor” dining area comprises a couple compact tables in the brick walkway inside the building, near a warren of small boutiques.

In short, Street Social is a place you could easily pass right by without knowing it even existed.

But know about it you should.

The diminutive dining room.
The diminutive dining room.
The restaurant has only six tables inside, and one is up on the mezzanine.
The restaurant has only six tables inside, and one is up on the mezzanine.

That’s because it comes armed with has serious cred. Husband-and-wife, Chef Jevon Martin and mixologist Marjorie Pier met while working at Chef Jeremy Fox’s Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica. That was followed by stints in Los Angeles at Ford’s Filling Station by Chef Ben Ford (Harrison’s son), and Lucques by Chef Suzanne Goin, before the couple relocated to Sonoma County, where Martin was executive sous chef at Ari Weisswasser’s Glen Ellen Star.

Street Social is an outgrowth of the roving supper club the couple hosted when they lived in Los Angeles. Friends of mine had raved about the restaurant for a while, so when a trek north took me to Petaluma recently, my husband and I finally had an opportunity to book a table. With string lights strewn overhead, Martin cooking just a few steps away from the tables, and Pier fluttering around the dining room handling numerous tasks, you do feel very much as if you’ve walked inside their home for a dinner party.

Grilled bread with cultured butter.
Grilled bread with cultured butter.
Escargot -- with just the right amount of garlic.
Escargot — with just the right amount of garlic.

The menu changes weekly, and it is compact, befitting this shoe box-sized restaurant. A simple “special” that night was grilled Bedstone Baking bread ($8), hearty, crusty, chewy, and tangy with house-made cultured butter to spread on thickly.

The perfect accompaniment was the escargots ($11), which came with a slice of that bread at the bottom of all that addictive garlic butter sauce enlivened with lemon and a little chile. After finishing the plump snails, use the rest of the bread to sop up every bit of sauce.

Plentiful in size, the Little Gem salad with shaved radishes ($15) was bright, light, and zingy in a delicate lemon miso vinaigrette with a dusting of toasted sesame seeds.

The Little Gem salad will easily feed two.
The Little Gem salad will easily feed two.

If the golden fried soft shell crab ($22) is still on the menu, jump on it. The crab is dredged, then fried to a deep crunch like the best fried chicken. I think I detected maybe a little five spice in the seasoning. The chef was kind enough to put the XO sauce, which the crab is usually tossed in, on the side instead, owing to my scallop allergy. That way, my husband could still enjoy it. On the side was a chilled cucumber and shrimp salad seasoned with fish sauce.

Smoky and moist hamachi collar.
Smoky and moist hamachi collar.

The “BBQ Hamachi Collar” ($23) is another winner. It comes to the table charred and smoky tasting. Pick the flesh from the cartilage and wrap it in a lettuce leaf with mint, then dip the whole package into a spicy habanero, passion fruit and tamarind sauce for a fresh bite filled with big flavors.

Pork secreto picatta.
Pork secreto picatta.
Grilled terres major beef.
Grilled terres major beef.

Of the three mains on offer, we went with two. First, the pork secreto picatta ($34), a cut with a long grain from behind the shoulder and under the back fat of the pig. It was crispy all over with a chewy yet tender texture, and a deep porky sweetness offset by capers, anchovy, and lemon. Grilled spring asparagus completed the dish.

Second, “Grilled Teres Major” ($38), a cut of beef from the chuck section below the front leg that’s far more tender than a chuck roast, and served with spring onions, fingerling potatoes, and peppery arugula.

Rose-accented chocolate pot de creme.
Rose-accented chocolate pot de creme.

For dessert, there was a thick rich chocolate pot de creme ($13) topped with rose-flavored Chantilly cream, and a touch of sea salt.

The next time you find yourself in downtown Petaluma, make a beeline to Street Social. Just be sure to keep both eyes opened — lest you blink and miss it.

More Petaluma Establishment To Check Out: Table Culture Provisions

And: Stellina Pronto

And: Della Fattoria

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