Our restaurant critic, Faiyaz Kara, recently attended a media preview dinner at Greg Richie’s latest venture, Soco, and tried a host of “Southern Contemporary” dishes destined for the menu: dishes like duck confit with boiled peanuts, shrimp-and-grits ravioli, Korean-style fried chicken and chocolate potato-chip cake.

Kara says, “Soco is housed in the former Hue space in Thornton Park, and embodies a sort of rustic elegance, much like the food we sampled.” The light was low, but he snapped each plate before he dug in – admirable restraint, no?

Cassoulet of Duck Confit and Boiled Peanuts (Andouille Sausage, Bacon, Biscuit Gremolata)
Hand-Made Canaveral “Shrimp and Grits” Ravioli (Andouille Sausage, Tomatoes, Veloute)
Soco-Style “Chicken and Dumplings” (Carved Chicken Breast, Lobster Dumplings, Local Mushrooms, Edamame, Soy Butter)
Hot-Smoked Florida Cobia (Buttermilk Potato Cake, Black-Eyed Pea Tomato Salsa)
Grilled Meatloaf on Lobster Mashed Potatoes (Three-Meat Blend, Crispy Onion Rings, Smoked Vidalia and Andouille Sausage Gravy) [our apologies: this photo was originally captioned incorrectly; updated Oct. 13]
Molasses-Glazed Hanger Steak (Smoked Brisket Hash Browns, Mustard Sauce, Grilled Green Tomato Chow-Chow)
Lake Meadow Naturals Korean-Style Fried Chicken (Pickled Radishes, Sweet and Spicy Sauce)
Warm Berry Crisp (Vanilla Bean Ice Cream)
Potato Chip Crusted Chocolate Cake (Peanut Brittle, Salted Caramel)
Warm Apple and Oatmeal Spice Cake (Coconut, Pink Peppercorn Whiskey Syrup)
House-Made “Moon Pie” (RC Cola Vanilla Ice Cream Float)
Soco Thornton Park (photo via Soco)