By the Gastronomes
“Coffee by day, cocktails by night. Welcome to SOCIAL, Leonardtown Maryland’s neighborhood coffeehouse and cocktail bar! Over the years, we’ve created a welcoming space for our community to hangout, study, party, and be social. But we’re more than just a place to gather. SOCIAL is built on the “Buy Local” philosophy, and artfully combines local ingredients into mouth-watering espresso, cocktails, and cuisine.”
After being “Home for the Holidays” all December long, we decided it would be fun to take a drive to one of our favorite Southern Maryland spots – the “not-so- small-anymore” town of Leonardtown to be more specific. Located on Route 5 about an hour and fifteen minutes (depending on Beltway traffic) from Alexandria, Leonardtown is a lively, vibrant waterfront town of about 4500 people. It has really come into its own in the last 10-15 years. Definitely a much different place than it was when we first traveled through there on a regular basis in the mid 90’s on our way to the marina where the boat was docked.
One of the shining stars on the restaurant scene in L-Town is the SOCIAL Coffee House and Cocktail Bar. What started out in a much smaller location down the street from where it is now as a coffee shop with a “secret” speakeasy behind a bookcase that opened like a door, is now a full-time coffee roaster serving breakfast, brunch, lunch/dinner and cocktails.
The brain child of Sean Coogan, who said in a previous interview that he didn’t even like coffee when he started the business but loved the community, working with people and building and growing things, SOCIAL has morphed into a major community hub where locals from all over the county stop in on a regular basis for a good cup of Joe and a bite to eat. It is also popular with people like us who are just out on a day trip or spending a night or two.
To say that this isn’t just any ordinary coffee shop the likes of Starbucks, is an understatement. SOCIAL has a very unique vibe both in the day and at night. They are kind of like the old David Bowie mullet haircut…business up front and party in the back. Not sure they are going to like the comparison but you know what we mean.:-) The Main Entrance on the corner of Washington and Fenwick Streets takes you into the coffee shop and there is access to the cocktail bar from there until it closes. There is also a separate entrance directly into the cocktail bar on the Fenwick side. The décor is very inviting in both spaces. Not sure what to call it other than classy rustic. The coffee shop has all sorts of comfortable seating and ample daylight while the cocktail bar is nice and dark with soft lighting throughout. SOCIAL also has some nice outdoor seating that is packed when the weather permits. There are “fire features” at all of the tables that make it even more inviting during those cooler temps. It’s a great place to people watch as it sits right next to the Town Square where lots of activities take place during the year.
We have had breakfast out front and cocktails in the back more than once and finally decided that we would treat ourselves to some eats off of the printed menu in the cocktail bar as opposed to the chalkboard kind in the coffee shop section. The lunch/dinner menu is available 11 am to 9 pm and is casual and quite diverse with an assortment of eight handhelds like the Socialite Burger – flame broiled beef patty with bacon, Swiss cheese, Dijon mustard, tomato and greens served on a toasted brioche bun – and the classic Club – ham, turkey, bacon, greens and tomato and mayo served on a toasted sourdough bread. All handhelds are served with a choice of kettle or banana chips with the option to have fries for a couple dollars more. There are four salads, five types of mac & cheese including their special PotoMac & Cheese, classic mac with lump blue crab meat topped with Old Bay, four flatbreads, eight small plates with some old favorites wings, nachos, truffle fries, etc. and a Cocktail Bar “Exclusives” menu that includes Wild Willy’s Seafood oysters fried with care by the chef and served with house made cocktail sauce and a steak and fry board consisting of 10 ounces of Fenwick coffee-rubbed steak and a generous portion of fries served with house made Old Bay and kalamata olive aioli’s.
As you can tell from the food photo, we opted for the Socialite Burger and the Club Sandwich. Both met all of our expectations and the potato chips here are killer good. We decided that we would treat ourselves to after dinner beverages of Tobacco Barn Bourbon from Sean’s family-owned local distillery on the rock(s) with a splash of water and their version of the popular Espresso Martini made with Stoli vanilla vodka, Tobacco Barn bourbon cream, coconut rum, espresso and a touch of simple syrup. That martini is to die for…just sayin’!
Let’s talk about the cocktails for a minute. While all of the “normal” adult beverage offerings are available, SOCIAL prides themselves on their “craft” cocktails. Quite honestly, we thought that this was just a phase in the bar business that would have come and gone by now but alas, it looks like they are here to stay at the moment. We felt the same way about the “craft” beer craze.
On the menu are Duke’s Old Fashioned with their secret ingredient of Kola syrup; the Con Madre Margarita with cilantro, cucumber and habanero and the two most creative the Colleen Bawn – Elijah Craig Rye whiskey, benedictine, Chartreuse, egg and simple syrup – and the L-Town Sour, a concoction of Catoctin Creek rye, Pinot Noir, Kola Syrup, St. George spiced pear, egg white, agave and lemon juice. Being kind of adult beverage “purists”, we really aren’t too sure about either of them but I believe they are big sellers. They also feature seasonal cocktails that, obviously, change with the seasons. We were there during the Christmas holidays and they had some very tasty sounding selections. In fact, I think I’m going to test out their version of Hot Spiced Cider – Tobacco Barn Bourbon, TBD Moll Dyer Cinnamon Whiskey and hot mulled apple cider – when we are doing the Southern Maryland distribution. Doesn’t this sound way tasty and warming?
The beer and wine selections at SOCIAL are diverse with something sure to please anyone’s palate.
There is also a brunch menu that is served daily from opening until 3 pm. An assortment of bagel sandwiches and toasts including a very tasty avocado version, two breakfast casseroles and three Acai bowls. On Wednesdays you can create your own bagel, crossiant, sandwich or wrap for a mere $6.
The prices here are very reasonable compared to what we are used to paying here in the DMV so that’s another good reason to take a ride down to L-Town and treat yourself to a SOCIAL experience!
COFFEE HOUSE HOURS
Monday – Friday 6:30 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
COCKTAIL BAR HOURS
Open Late Daily
Use Entrance on Fenwick Street!
Monday – Thursday 4:00 pm – Last Call
Friday & Saturday 3:00 pm – Last Call
Sunday 11:00 am – Last Call
KITCHEN HOURS
Open Until 9:00 pm Sunday – Thursday
Open Until 10:00 pm Friday & Saturday
SOCIAL Coffee House & Cocktail Bar
41655 Fenwick Street
Leonardtown, MD
301-475-2400
Socialonfenwick.com
