Critic's Review
Every time I walk into American Social it's the same thing; I look around, shake my head and say to my self "I'm not ordering food in this place. No different today.
American Social March 2015
Review 12/7/14
I went to American Social to watch the 2nd half of the Giants game, and was surprised (and somewhat angered) that the game wasn't on any of the TVs. The TVs all had tags as to which game was going to be on, and there wasn't 1 TV allocated to the Giants vs Titans. Interesting, since at one point they tried to pass themselves off as a NY Giants bar. Good thing I never fell for that.It was 2:40, and the "buffet" brunch was already completely gone. For some ridiculous reason, they only serve it until 2:30. They probably don't want people going for seconds while they watch the game. A class act.
I left and went to the Royal Pig to watch the game.
Conclusion
To summarize, don't come here to watch an out-of-market game, because it they don't have enough TVs to show all the games and your game might not be on. Also, don't come to brunch late, because they fold it up earlier than anyone else.This continues to be a place for Kids; the recent college grad crowd that think that sliders and flatbreads are food.
Review 8/15/13
American Social is a little bit of Boca Raton in Fort Lauderdale. When you get out of college and you can't find a job, you'll be happy to know that you can keep the college thing going ad-infinitum.The first thing that you need to know is that American Social is a bar and not a restaurant. I practically break into all-out laughter when I see people eating dinner at this place. For a burger or some pretzel sticks, it's fine. Every time I see a dish here I get scared; the mussels marinara literally scared me. Beyond that you're just a fool to pay the same prices charged at real restaurants. All you need to do is look at the photos section on their facebook page. Go ahead, do it. I insist. This is not a serious restaurant, so you shouldn't pay serious prices for food here. If you want to pay $13 for a hot dog here please do it on your own accord and don't reference this review.
Another issue with eating is seating. The outside is too cramped and I don't want to sit that close to smokers, and inside there is a lack of tables. I don't want to eat a big salad on a couch or at a bar. They don't really have entrees here anyway. The Salmon has "mango salsa", so it's really not an option.
What irks me most about American Social is that it's still the same as it was when they opened. I understand that when a place opens there might be some budget issues; maybe you can't afford professional decorations. So you frame some magazine covers and call it a theme. So you start out with a stupid concept, like having taps on a wall that nobody would know how to use if they found them interesting. Fine, people make mistakes. But once you're raking in the dough, put some money back into the business. This place is still like a freshman college dorm room.
From American Social's Facebook Page
From their web site you can tell that this is purely an amateur operation. Their promotions are just copied from other local places; Sunday Brunch with unlimited mimosas (buffet for $35 with the drinks), $5 Burger Mondays, the ubiquitous Taco Tuesdays; Wednesday is ladies night. The strategy seems to be to just have a crowd every night of the week.
No need to change my original assessment of the place; I got it perfectly on my first visit and nothing has changed:
Be aware that the place is tight. It's a small place and although they have some outside tables, it's not part of the mingle scene. There's not a lot of room on either side of the bar. You'll find yourself being pushed and prodded constantly, no matter where you stand.The crowd is the FAU class of 2010; the America's Backyard / Automatic Slims crowd dressed up. A lot of girls in cheap dresses and fake men's watches and guys with 3 days growth; probably 2 weeks for them: "Look at me, I can grow a beard". The scattered gray hairs that were here when they first opened are gone; this is not a place for adults.I met a guy at the Royal Pig who tried to convince me that it's no longer a hangout for 20-something Jewish kids; and that it was now a serious restaurant. Of course the guy turned out to be the new "chef", so I guess he was just biased, or perhaps just delusional.
I went in on a Thursday and barely hung around long enough to give the place a chance. But it was impossible. On this night, there were 3 really cool dudes standing on the couches (of course), one in a tank top with the words "Show me your Tits". Classy stuff.
American Social Dicks Standing on Couch
There are a lot of pretty girls at American Social, but I equate it to going to the Mall, where the girls are focused on buying shoes or bumping into guys from their classes. The people here are still just excited to be dressed up and in a bar. You remember those days.
To be fair, I've met the owner, Paul and he's a good guy; he goes out of his way to try to make sure people have what they want; he'll put a game on for you if you ask him without getting the BS you get from a lot of places. He's making money and I can't blame him for that. Maybe one day they'll stop trying to be everything to everyone and they'll focus on one concept or another without just trying to be packed every night. For now, American Social is what it is; love it or go somewhere else.
They advertised themselves as "the place to watch NY Giants games" at the time.
Obviously one of the pea brains you'll find here.
When reviews from miami blogs and sites start rolling in for a place that is clearly local, that's a big red flag. They need to stop being so desperate to be viewed as a restaurant. It's a bar. They do very well. Stop it already.
They've also hired a new "chef"'; a culinary institute grad who worked at Houstons and Grand Luxe. He's redoing the menu, apparently. I'm not sure if it matters, although it probably can't be worse than before.
BTW, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the crowd at Tap sometime.