Mouthwatering Southern contemporary cuisine from Soco Thornton Park

By Orlando Weekly Staff on Fri, Oct 10, 2014 at 4:04 pm

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?

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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]