Opened Sept. 24, 2011.
Top Chef all-star Tiffany Derry cooks with assurance, flair, sophistication and soul at this sleek, stylish Uptown restaurant and bar. Seafood is a strong suit, but earthbound dishes sing, too. Shared plates are available in the bar (Social), along with snazzy cocktails created by top-notch bartender Rocco Milano. Diners beware, though: The acoustics in the dining room (Private) are dreadful. Closed Sunday. Full bar.
-Guide (11/18/2011)
I took my Wife by surprise to visit Private Social the first week of November. She was a huge fan of Chef Tiffany and I arrainged what I thought was an opportunity to meet the Chef the night we were there. That never happened. That was the least of my dissapointments. I had contacted the restaurant in advance to advise that we would be celebrating our anniversary and it was noted. When we arrived we were promptly seated at the smallest table at the very front of the restaurant closest the the door and bar area. Trust me, there was not a table that couldn't have been any closer to the huge noisy scene that was the bar. This alone killed whatever "romantic/conversations" we had planned for the evening. Essentially we were relegated to just staring at one another while eating because any form of a conversation could not be had. I did keep clinging on to the thought that we would meet the Chef at the conclusion of our evening seeing as how I spoke with her via email and all would be saved in my Wife's eyes. Oh well, food was good. First impressions go along way and it didn't go very far. Shame too because we were hoping we had found our new "regular special" place.
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The dining room may be sleek and the cocktails suave, but by far the best thing about the glammy Uptown spot that opened in late September is Tiffany Derry’s cooking. By turns sophisticated (plump sea scallops on parsnip purée with chanterelles, snow peas and pomegranate seeds) and soulful (duck-fat fried chicken; braised oxtails with gnudi), the Top Chef star’s plates are some of the most exciting around. The service is spot-on. The acoustics, on the other hand, are a problem: The dining room gets so noisy conversation can be a real challenge.
3232 McKinney Ave., Dallas. 214-754-4744. privatesocial.com. (Full review)
Tiffany Derry, Private Social
It’s been exciting to watch this young chef’s talents develop. Her cooking started to really take off with the menu she introduced at the erstwhile Go Fish Ocean Club once she returned from her first run on Top Chef last year. And now that she is executive chef at Private Social, her plates — sophisticated, soulful and original — really stand out. One of her strengths is using the vibrant flavor of an unexpected ingredient as a fillip to send the dish to another level: pomegranate seeds in a rich scallop dish, for instance, or radishes braised with a touch of vinegar as a counterpoint to sweetbreads in a rich ham broth. Both are among the most memorable dishes I’ve had this year. (Full review)
You might start in the lounge over a cocktail — an Italian Old-Fashioned, maybe, poured over a giant spherical ice cube and jazzed up with Campari dust. Or a Thin Air, with rye, Chartreuse and three kinds of bitters. Then, into the dining room, where dinner might begin with a bowl of tender sweetbreads and braised radishes in a rich, smoky ham broth. Or roasted bone marrow smeared onto toasted baguette slices and set off smartly by a bright little parsley salad.
This is Private Social, the new Uptown restaurant where Top Chef all-star Tiffany Derry heads the kitchen.
The 28-year-old chef, who charmed viewers in Season 7 (even if she didn’t ultimately succeed with the judges), cooks with assurance, flair, sophistication and soul.
(Full review)