A Casual, Cheerful Creative Oasis at 808 Social in Scarsdale

On a commercial street right off Route 22 in Scarsdale, is a delightful new relaxing oasis, with a, menu of Italian classics and many innovative variations, which are creating quite a buzz. Chef and co-owner Salvatore Cucullo, proved his expertise at the popular 808 Bistro and his new venture at 808 Social is certain to please, as well. Potted palm trees, and lounge type chairs as well as tables frame the entrance and give 808 Social a resort like feel. Large glass doors open into a dining area with barn siding walls, an industrial ceiling, distressed wood tables on iron pedestals, a welcoming bar, an open kitchen highlighting an authentic pizza oven and kitchen towel napkins adding to the casual atmosphere and have transformed this vacant office building into a lovely and friendly spot, where guests are made happy with exciting food. 808 Social is the brainchild of Chef Salvatore Cucullo and his partners Michael Mondrone and Frank Valenti. While Cucullo creates his specialties, his partners attend to the dining room.

Small plates, large plates, salads, pizzas, and paninis await you at this newly opened 808 Social, where Italian comfort food is creatively prepared. Add music, wine and spirits and the mood is set for a very satisfying lunch or dinner, with Sunday brunch to follow soon.

Chef Cucullo literally grew up in the restaurant business. By age eleven, he was preparing pizza at his grandfather's restaurant in the Bronx. He honed his skills at his family's restaurant in New Rochelle. He followed his passion at The Culinary Institute of America. He did a great deal of travelling and he introduced Japan to pizza. The pizza spot he helped to start is still in business. Cucullo indicated," I love food and at 808 Social, we put an original spin on our dishes. Our aim is to achieve a fun environment for friends and families as they enjoy our little bites and drinks. As the evening progresses, the restaurant gets loud on purpose. Our goal is to build our clientele and become a staple in the area. Our menu is unique. We go back to our roots by offering Italian specialties with our own special variations. Our preparations are truly original and we use organic and locally sourced ingredients when possible."

A recent meal started with a sampling of the small plates and salads. We contemplated the eggplant napoleon, panko crusted with buffalo mozzarella and vine ripened tomatoes with a balsamic reduction, the mac and cheese Bolognese, the bocce ball, a large beef and veal meatball or the grilled calamari taco. It was a difficult decision. We finally chose the Italian eggroll. Here an eggroll wrapper was filled with sausage and peppers or broccoli rabe and cheese and fried to a golden crisp. Served with Napa slaw, sriracha and soy garlic aioli it was a fine variation of the Asian appetizer with an Italian slant. Also, quite delicious was the tuna poke bowl. Sashimi quality tuna cubes were well marinated and dressed with a soy and citrus mixture. Crunchy quinoa, cucumbers and scallions completed this bowl of freshness from the sea. A wonderful grilled beet salad arrived with quartered garden fresh beets tossed with baby arugula, and topped with hazelnut whipped ricotta. Toasted quinoa added crunch to this salad, as well. We all have enjoyed potato chips and sweet potato chips, but here at 808 Social we were treated to outstanding beet chips which may have led to the expression, you can't eat just one. Served with a carrot pureed dip they were truly addictive. A fellow guest at my table who turns her nose up at the mention of beets just loved them, as I did. Other options are chilled melon soup, kale Caesar salad and arugula salad with gorgonzola, dried cherries, candied walnuts and horseradish dressing. A board of meats and cheeses is nice for sharing.

The impressive pizza oven enticed us to sample some of the 12-inch pizzas. A classic Margherita pie was savored by one of my dinner partners. I just loved the more inventive pies. Each was well done with a thin very crisp crust, strong enough to hold the interesting and bountiful toppings. A variation on the Italian theme, we loved the melanzane pie with roasted eggplant, caramelized onion, tomato, ricotta and fresh basil. The meatball pie with crumbled meatball, with ricotta, mozzarella, and chili flakes was a winner, as well. A calamari and shrimp pie with marinara was a good choice, for the seafood lover. Other unique combinations are a red, white and green pie with kale pesto, sun dried tomatoes and buratta or the lox pie with house cured lox, ricotta, capers mozzarella and dill.

If pasta is your desire squid ink linguine with seafood and traditional manicotti are among the offerings. There are several inventive Panini choices baked in the pizza oven. Very special was the short rib with shaved parmesan and onion chutney. Hearty and divine. A dinner guest enjoyed the panko crusted eggplant Panini with kale pesto. Among the large plates are a half wood roasted chicken, dry aged rib eye steak, a fish of the day, freshly caught in Montauk and the best burger I have tasted in a long time. Once again the creative juices of Chef Cucullo's imagination are flowing with his excellent Social burger. Top quality beef forms a burger topped with cranberry onion jam, sopressatta and mozzarella. It is wrapped in their house made pizza dough and sealed and baked for a perfect result. It arrives crispy and upon cutting into it, the juices and aroma envelop you. Just writing about it makes my mouth water.

The dessert menu includes brownies prepared by Chef Cucullo's Mom - very enjoyable - with ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Cannoli shells are baked in the pizza oven and are filled with a lovely mixture of honey, ricotta and hazelnuts. A cookie platter of house made Italian cookies, a Belgian waffle, and zeppole are several other sweet choices.

A visit to the new 808 Social, will put a smile on your face as you savor the very talented Chef Cucullo's interesting creations. His inventive enthusiasm in the kitchen sets 808 Social on its own pedestal. Enjoy a friendly fun-filled meal there soon.

808 Social
185 Summerfield Street
Scarsdale, NY
(914) 723 2600

Recipe: Stuffed Long Hot Peppers {serves 1 or 2} – Chef Cucullo's favorite dish!

Ingredients
2 long hot peppers
1 small diced hot sopprassata
1 small diced sweet soppressata
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 Tbsps. grated parmesan
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
2 Tbsps. panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
A few Tbsps. of your favorite marinara sauce

Instructions:
Split the long hot peppers lengthwise. Remove seeds and soak the peppers in cold water. In a bowl, combine the hot and sweet soppressata, parsley and chees. Mix with a spoon and add the salt and pepper. Stuff the pepper halves with this mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the panko and the oil. Gently mix them together. Sprinkle the panko mix on top of the stuffed peppers. Bake at 450 degrees for about 6 to 8 minutes. The peppers should be cooked, but crunchy. All the ingredients should be hot. Place marinara at the bottom of a serving dish and put peppers on top.

Judie Dweck has been writing about restaurants and food for many publications. She teaches creative cooking to children at Scarsdale elementary schools. Through the years, her articles have appeared in Jack and Jill Magazine, Spotlight, The Pleasure of Cooking and The Scarsdale Inquirer. She balances her restaurant tastings with daily ballet classes.