Elite Event: Yelp’s Southern Feast at Gilbert’s Social

From my review:

First off, thank you Chef Gilbert for once again generously opening your doors to Yelp and thank you too, Matthew, for coordinating all of this. Chef Gilbert really seems to appreciate people's reviews of his restaurants and it was good to hear that. Our table was taken care of by Jay, the general manager, who really kept on his toes and made sure all our needs were met.

I had a marvelous time. The restaurant is adorable, small but cozy and I love the orange and black color scheme. The seating concept (communal) is an interesting idea. We will definitely come back to see it in action.

The food was fantastic. Most were a tad spicy, but in a good way, allowing you to enjoy the heat and the flavors at the same time. That can be difficult to achieve, in my experience, but Chef Gilbert nails it perfectly.

Honestly, the one thing I loved more than anything else was the pimento cheese appetizer. That was so perfectly made, I would buy it by the pound for parties. It made all the others I've tried pale in comparison. My next tip top pick was Chef Gilbert's signature cocktail, The Beast. I've never had anything like it (passion fruit, ginger beer, and jalapenos) and it is incredibly delicious.

The meats were cooked and seasoned perfectly. I love catfish, and would definitely come back just for Chef Gilbert's. The fried and jerk chicken legs were delicious - some of the biggest chicken legs I have ever seen. Definitely not standard supermarket fare. The brisket was cooked perfectly, with just enough fat and fall apart tender. The meat quality was superb, but I'm not that big a fan of sweet barbecue sauce, so I most likely would pass on it in the future. If there was an option of other types of sauce (Chef Gilbert makes a mean white sauce), I would order it.

The kale salad was dressed perfectly and very enjoyable. The watermelon & strawberry salad was intriguing. I would try that again. I had not had field peas before, but they were delicious. I passed on the turnip greens (personal dislike) but they looked like something my husband would love. The cornbread dressing was fantastic - the top was crunchy, the bottom was moist and superbly "herbed." Sadly, our table missed out on the biscuits.

Dinner ended with a taste of their S'mores dessert served in a shot glass (perfect size after all that food). It's something I'm not normally a big fan of, but this was perfectly delicious. The mini-marshmallows on top were toasted just enough to just melt in your mouth and the chocolate creme brulee was superbly decadent.

My husband was incredibly jealous when he saw all the pictures. (My guest was a Yelper friend, who I'm very glad came with me.) I cannot wait to come back and bring my husband. He loves southern food and I know he'll enjoy Chef Gilbert's take on it. I am definitely recommending this place to all my Jacksonville friends.