Sons of Essex: Last Minute Merrymaking!

When I go to a Unilocal event I always expect to eat well but never in large quantities. This was not a normal Unilocal event.
Unilocal CM Jane K, Sons of Essex owner Matt Levine and his staff hooked us up! The food was delicious and it just kept coming; I never thought that I would turn down pork belly or waffles but after about 45 straight minutes of stuffing my face I had to tap out. There was seriously more food than any of us knew what to do with… did I mention that it was delicious?
One of the highlights of the night was the hot apple cider they brought us to try:
Best. Apple. Cider. Ever.
It was rich, full bodied, not too sweet, heaven in a cup. I will definitely be popping in for one of those whenever I’m in the area and there’s a chill in the air!
Thanks again, to Jane, Matt and his super cool, attentive staff for providing us with the opportunity to sample Sons of Essex.

This has been the best impromptu dinner I have ever been to in my entire life.
You cannot believe the amount of food we were served at Sons of Essex… I left this event feeling stuffed, sick from being so stuffed, and scared from being so sick! All in a good way, haha. Let me see if I can recall all of the delicious food that we were given last night:
–Pork belly buns with cilantro (delicious and fatty!)
–Naked ravioli with truffle cream sauce (omg… truffle oil is a girl’s best friend!)
–Hen (chicken) on top of waffle slices (mmm fried chicken on top of fresh fluffy waffle = southern paradise)
–Scallops on top of bread (ok so it was this big fat ocean scallop on top of something crispy on top of something that I think was bread… wtf cares though it was good!)
–Macaroni and cheese balls (oh yeah, I had a lot of those little balls. I dipped them in white sauce too)
–Arugula and mushroom pizza with goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, and truffle oil (holy crap GIMME MORE! Definitely one of if not my favorite of the night! Tender mushrooms, fresh arugula, Parmesan cheese shavings, rich goat cheese, and truffle oil all on top of flatbread… AHHH!!! *faints*)
–A giant pork tenderloin covered in caramelized apples (Holy moly! I still have yet to have someone tell me if this is a German thing… delicious pork meat topped with caramelized apples. Mmmm)
–Bone marrow (so they brought out a GIANT cow bone piping hot filled with delicious marrow which we devoured with the sides of bread chips and I think more caramelized apple. Sooooooo juicy!)
–A giant short rib cooked with kosher wine, onions and leeks (another favorite of mine… the meat was so tender and the red wine sauce is making my mouth water just thinking about it!!)
–Chocolate slabs covered with bacon bits, nuts, and dried cranberries (Bacon and meat?! omgzzzzz)
–Banana with pudding (AHHH PUDDING!)
–Banana bread pudding with a rum sauce (yummy)
–Hot apple cider (which tasted like liquefied apple pie… I want more!)
–Two alcoholic drinks (I got something called a Moscow yada yada. It was really good, and strong. I’m not a big cinnamon person so I didn’t get the other one… which I heard was ridiculously strong!!)
I… can’t remember anything else now. I think that was all but who knows. I know I slipped into a food coma compared to that of a Great White Shark. Did you know that when sharks overindulge themselves their eyes go all black and they act as if they’re drugged? Ok maybe the black eyes I got from Jaws… but the rest, yeah, that was me. I was afraid to weigh myself this morning… probably for the best.
Thank you so much Jane for throwing this warm and delicious gathering! I had a great time and it put such a smile on my face. Also major props to our attentive servers and to the owner of Sons of Essex. I can’t wait to return.

Jane is awesome, and so is Sons of Essex.
I’m tempted to leave it at that because really what more needs to be said. But I’ll fill in a bit of details. On Monday afternoon one of my Unilocaler friends messaged me and told me about this event Jane is throwing together. I clicked on the link and what the what? It was scheduled for the next day. Ok sure, I thought, why not.
Fast forward to literally 4:30pm, just a half hour from the scheduled time of the event, and I had not received email confirmation about whether or not I’m in. Luckily I checked the event page itself and Jane had posted that everybody’s in. I work at a walking distance from Sons of Essex so I left work earlier than usual at 5:15pm and got there at about 5:30pm.
From the outside it looks like just a little shop and I didn’t see any Unilocalers there, so I wasn’t sure I was at the right place. I walked in and asked if this was Sons of Essex and whether or not there was a Unilocal event going on there. The people at the front assured me that I was at the right place and opened a door through which I walked and into a fully realised restaurant. By the way, this was not the first time I’ve asked the people managing an establishment whether or not there was a Unilocal event going on at the place, and I always feel dorky every time I say it. But I digress.
And holy crap. They brought out so many different items for this tasting event. I can’t remember everything I ate, but I my favourites were the pork belly buns, the chicken on a waffle, the pork with apple crumbs, and the butterscotch pudding. Everything was so very delicious though.
I continue to be amazed at Jane’s ability to throw together an event and feed her Unilocalers with great food and drinks. And the food at Sons of Essex was absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be going back for dinner sometime.

Holy shizzle… I AM glad I was able to make it out to this event…
Usually when the CM’s plan an event, they usually say something like, the food being served won’t fill you up so eat something before so you won’t starve… but at this event, I had to pass up some foods near the end. I couldn’t fit anymore food in my belly…
I wanted to pick out what was my favorite since the other Unilocalers already listed what we were served. But as I’m thinking, all of them were my favorite. Also, I’ve never had bone marrow so it was great to try it at Sons of Essex. It was really delicious.
I heard this place opened a little over a month ago. This is a great way to advertise the business. I want to return to this spot. Quick! someone make an UYE here…
**ALSO a very very BIG THANKS to Jane K and Matt, the owner of Sons of Essex.**

I was just browsing the event page and found that Jane K. had put up a last minute event and I was able to attend and bring a plus one! Woot! Woot! My friend and I were the first to arrive and I snagged a Unilocal hand sanitizer and playing cards. I love these little souvenirs. Being first ones I was able to try all the food they were serving.
We had:
Drinks
1. The Moscow Five Points — Grey goose, lime juice, chinese 5 spices, agave, fresh muddle ginger, red wine float.
2. The All American L.E.S. — Sailor jerry’s rum, apple juice, cinnamon syrup sugar stirrer. I like this a lot!
Food
3. Hen & Waffles — Maple glazed hen served with homemade belgium waffles.
4. Bone Marrow — Roasted split bone barrow, lightly crusted, with panko, parmesan, rosemary & apricot compote with toasted rounds.
5. Naked Ravioli — Fresh sheeps’s milk ricotta, truffle cream.
6. 5 Spice Pork Belly Slider — Open face braised pork belly sliders, chinese hoisin & plum sauce, cilantro, pickled onions. my favorite of the night!
7. Truffle Mushroom Pizza — Ultra thin crust pizza, fresh sheep’s mil ricotta, mascarpone & goat cheese, sautéed mushroom, arugula, white truffle oil.
8. Four Question Braised Short Ribs — Beef short ribs slowly braised in manischewitz wine, roasted leek.
9. Mac N Cheese Balls — Fried chicken cordon bleu balls w/​blue cheese cream sauce.
Dessert
10. Butterscotch Pudding with Brulee Bananas — A golden delight, smooth luscious pudding with hints of caramel topped with sweet ripe banana made slightly crispy with their burnt sugar topping.
11. Chocolate Bacon Bark — Sheets of dark chocolate studded with crispy smoked bacon, sliced almonds, dried cranberries and apricots.
12. Apple Crumb Tart — The all american apple pie presented in as an individual free form tart. sweet, tart, juicy apples are wrapped in a tender crust, and topped with cinnamon scented crumbs with fresh whipped cream on the side.
The food was very good and unique. I enjoyed my meal here. This is my first event where I was served this much food and the service was fabulous. Thanks Jane K.

This event was epic… the first time I’ve been to a Unilocal event where (most) everyone was too stuffed to do anything after. I seem to recall about 10 different dishes offered (in multiple rounds), not to mention fancy libations.
Thanks to Jane, Matt (the owner who sent us his favorite dishes) and the great staff who were never scarce. The venue is great — have walked by a hundred times and never knew it existed. Now it’s on the ‘must try again’ list.
I happily endorse all future last minute events!

After this Unilocal event I felt as if we were repeatedly beaten with food. I mean, it just came non-​stop. There was no letting up. As if a dominatrix was beating us into submission with plate after plate. All the while as Jane K observed with an evil grin on her face.
FOOD COMA!!!
Seriously though, this had to be one of the best last-​minute Unilocal dinner type events I have ever attended. I wanted to raise the white flag and cry mercy, but Sons of Essex would just not take no for an answer. Round after round of delicious food came at us, and then again, and again. Am I complaining — heck no! This was an amazing intimate event that Jane K whipped up at a moment’s notice.
It seems that around 15 – 17 people actually showed up and those that did were treated to a culinary blitzkrieg! We all rolled out of here stuffed and sporting food babies. The owner and staff at Sons of Essex were terrific. Super friendly, attentive, and great sports in having us here and opening up their kitchen to us.
Where do I start? From the cool turn of the century British gastro-​pub type vibe, to the old timey deli outside that hides the hidden door into the place, to all the weathered memorabilia on the walls, to the warm wood décor, this place is very inviting. The speakeasy styled drinks that were offered to us went down quite nicely.
The All American LES — rum, apple juice, cinnamon syrup, sugar stirrer.
The Moscow Five Points — grey goose, lime juice, Chinese 5 spice, agave, muddle ginger, red wine float.
I liked both drinks but preferred the All American. Cool and refreshing. I even sneaked in another before we left.
The food was of the chain here!
Naked ravioli, truffle mushroom pizza, pork belly sliders, maple glazed hen on waffles, mac and cheese balls, diver scallops on toast with risotto, manischewitz braised short ribs, apple crumb pork chops, bone marrow, chocolate bacon bark sheets, egg nog bread pudding, butterscotch pudding with brulee bananas, and an amazing hot apple cider that tasted like you were drinking hot liquid apple pie!
After we had just finished one round of food, they would bring out second, and third helpings. It was a bombardment of delicious food! I must have had some of these things two or three times. Most of us felt like we were going to explode we ate so much! Everything tasted great — we just did not want to say no until we physically could not eat another bite. I really just wanted to go home and curl up in bed after this in the fetal position.
You rock Jane! Thanks for hooking us up with this intimate little soirée! The venue was cool, and the food and drinks were delicious. Just a great way to end out the year.