A couple of weeks ago, MrsTDJ and I had a chance to check out one of the many new restaurants popping up in my neighborhood, The Society Lounge. Nestled in the ever-growing urban suburb of downtown Silver Spring, MD, Society is owned by former professional basketball player Jason Miskiri. Inspired by Jason’s Caribbean roots, Society boasts classic American fare with a Caribbean flair. The restaurant’s motto “Good food. Good people. Good will.” describes the vibe that is instantly felt when entering the modern, sleek yet unpretentious establishment.

Greeted by a couple of friendly hosts, we were quickly ushered to our table. Our waitress (s/o to the fabulous Shayla!) soon arrived to take our drink orders. While I don’t remember what we had, I do remember that MrsTDJ had a bit of a love affair with her rather large drink…ha! Our drinks were also accompanied by a plate of festival bread, a Caribbean staple of fried dough goodness. Society’s version included raspberry filling and was served with homemade guava butter. Ev.ery.thing.

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festival bread with guava butter

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shrimp and grits

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house wings with guava barbecue sauce

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crabcake sandwich with jicama slaw

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jerk chicken

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To start we ordered the shrimp and grits (is this becoming a pattern?) and the house wings. The shrimp and grits were deliciously creamy with perfectly grilled jumbo shrimp. The wings were well seasoned, nicely fried and covered in the house specialty guava barbecue sauce – scrumptious! MrsTDJ, the resident foodie, noted that the wings were a tad too sweet (the guava, no doubt) and would be well served by the addition of a bit of spice to give the wings the perfect balance of sweet/spicy.  I agreed.

By the time our entrees arrived, we doubted we had bellyroom left to spare however that didn’t stop us from tasting what would soon become our next day lunches. I had the crabcake sandwich and jicama slaw which was very tasty. MrsTDJ had the rotisserie jerk chicken. Having the forethought to stay away from jerk that isn’t explicitly described as mild (yes, I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy food), I was shocked when MrsTDJ (connoisseur of spicy food) exclaimed that the jerk chicken was really spicy. She also commented that the dishes pineapple glaze was a nice touch.

Before our visit was done, Jason was kind enough to stop by our table and shoot the breeze. We of course shared our thoughts with him and guess what? I returned to the restaurant just last week. Jason recognized me and came over. He said that he really appreciated our feedback and as a result had the chef alter the guava barbecue sauce recipe. 10 points for MrsTDJ!

Society is a great spot for happy hour, dinner or a late night lounge atmosphere. I’m proud to have such a place to recommend in my own neighborhood

Have you been to Society? When are you going to Society? What are you waiting for? Leave your sunshine below.