A new restaurant in my home town of New Canaan will feature the cuisine of Village Social’s Chef Mogan Anthony so one night I drove to Mt. Kisco to sample his cuisine. And I am very glad I did. The chef combines textures and flavors incredibly well and I look forward to his arrival in my little town.

The restaurant is large, separated into a vibrant bar area to the right and a dining room the left. The décor creates a great vibe and as I sat at one of the high tables in the bar I watched a steady stream of young, old, singles, couples, and groups…an eclectic clientele, all looking forward to an enjoyable evening. And during my 90 minutes of wonderful cuisine, I saw smiles on every guest. And the cuisine was one of the prime reasons. The food that Chef Mogan served was outstanding.

I started with the Salty Pretzel Crusted Tuna; a sliced, slightly seared wedge of tuna that sat atop a spicy kimchi aioli with a few sliced scallion. The tuna was cool in the center with the salty crust offering both a textural and salty contrast. Adding the kimchi aioli to the tuna added a level of spiciness and creaminess to the dish and the scallions increased the flavor profile. This was one delicious dish combining salty, spicy, crunchy, soft…all great together.

Another light, small plate that I enjoyed was the salt baked beets with whipped ricotta, mache, orange slices and pistachio vinaigrette. The earthiness of the beets were beautifully offset with the sweetness of the orange segments and the whipped ricotta added a soft creamy texture. The pistachio pieces complemented with a touch of earthiness and crunch. This dish was fantastic.

Another outstanding dish was a small plate of the slow cooked skirt steak with onions over mashed potatoes. Although the menu states Chimmichuri, the restaurant is currently serving this dish with caramelized onions and I really liked the change. The perfectly prepared medium-rare steak was rubbed with a slightly spicy Japanese seasoning, nestled in creamy mashed potatoes with a rich beef jus. The steak was tender and flavorful and the caramelized onions were soft and sweet and worked perfectly with the steak and potatoes. The beef jus added an added level of flavor.

Another dish I sampled was the Burrata poached in olive oil and served in a jar, served with a basket of bread. This was not to my liking. The server informed me that I pour the Burrata over the bread and then the table normally shares the Buratta covered bread slices. As much as I like the idea of sharing great cheeses with friends, I found the olive oil diluted the wonderfulness of the Buratta, and I would prefer enjoying the Burrata and the bread without the olive oil.

Since the New Canaan location will feature Neapolitan pizzas, I asked which was the most popular at Village Social, and the server told me the “Sunny Side Egg.”  When it arrived I was anxious to try Chef Mogan’s red-sauced creation that included mozzarella cheese, Prosciutto di San Daniele, with a sunny side up egg perched in the center and slices of truffle finishing the combination. This was an excellent pizza with a fabulous sauce, great mozzarella, the egg and truffles added additional decadence and the crust was perfectly charred from the wood burning oven. I would have preferred slightly less saltiness from the prosciutto.

Save room for dessert. The Salty Caramel pie was a tribute to sweetness and textures. The filling was a smooth caramel-custard and the crunchy crust was a perfect complement to the sweetness of the filling. It was served with a scoop of mild-flavored vanilla ice cream that offset the sweetness of the pie and created a great balance.

Overall the atmosphere and food at Village Social were outstanding. Serving up to 700 guest on a busy weekend night, this restaurant is a go-to place in Mt. Kisco and Chef Mogan Anthony is creating delicious food.