‘Whole Foods Cakes -5856’
courtesy of ‘Joe Tresh’
Contests come and go in this city, but this is one I can really get behind. Eatonville and Church Lady Cake Diaries are teaming up to host a coconut cake challenge. Fire up the KitchenAid mixer, call your grandma and pry the family recipe out of her, use the entire 72-hours of your holiday weekend to craft the perfect cake–it’s time for a bake-off. Continue reading
By Tricia Barba
“These days at a restaurant you have plates, tables, food and Twitter.”
-Barcode owner Antonis Karagounis
“People regularly ask for restaurant suggestions from other Tweeps on Twitter. When we are able to find those requests and immediately welcome them to our restaurant, they are floored by the quick response and personalized welcome. We’ve been lucky enough to gain many new diners this way.”
–Bourbon Steak Publicist Sangeetha Sarma
A recent Restaurant Week experience reminded me that you can’t always expect restaurants to be on 100% all the time, but if someone or something fails, speak up.
Like many patrons, I had an issue, vented about it on Twitter, and received a very satisfying response. SO I decided that every Friday I will write a small piece about The Week’s Winning Food Tweet. This could be a restaurant itself, a food truck, a chef, a manager, etc. The winner will be someone (something?) who puts a smile on my face for a different or interesting perspective.
The free, 140 character service has revolutionized the restaurant industry. It’s necessary for restaurants to actually engage their followers in order to create loyalty and really make patrons & potential patrons feel like friends.
I wanted to take a look at the Top 5 ways that restaurants use Twitter effectively. That means they aren’t just tweeting the daily specials, but following my rules to inform, satisfy, calm and entertain!
By Ashley
‘Kushi 9225’
courtesy of ‘yospyn’
After last month’s time as a vegan, I felt this month I owed it to my grease-loving, carb-loading, over-eating side to indulge. And indulge I did. I ate more burgers and subs this month than I do in a normal calendar year, and I seriously think I’m better for it (though my cholesterol probably has something different to say about that). Two trips to Taylor Gourmet, where I learned that though I love an Italian hoagie, I am officially a cutlet hoagie girl, and a road trip full of gravy-loaded dinners made for a happy and not so healthy customer. Maybe next month will be better? Because December is such a great month for eating healthy, working out, and getting lots of sleep…or something…
By courtney
‘glass of bokeh, anyone?’
courtesy of ‘Robert S. Donovan’
Last night I had the pleasure of attending this month’s installment of Eatonville’s Food & Folklore series, entitled “Women of the Vine.” The event featured Deborah Brenner, who is not only the author of Women of the Vine, a book chronicling the stories of various women in the wine industry, but also the founder of Women of the Vine Cellars. The event was an entire four-course dinner complete with great food, great conversation, and of course great wine. In fact, for each course, there was a different wine to taste…what more could a girl ask for?!
What I loved is that the dinner was so appropriately scheduled during Women’s History Month, and that it took place in Eatonville, a restaurant dedicated to Zora Neale Hurston, a woman who is known for her own contributions to the literary world and attended DC’s own Howard University. While we ate, Brenner gave us a mini-lesson about recognition of women in the wine industry, or lack thereof, which actually inspired her book and winery. From the asparagus soup with parmesan custard (which was to die for), to the creme brulee, the food definitely got a thumbs up on my end. But of course, we can’t forget the wine. Although I’m usually partial to white wine, the merlot served with the entree did make me briefly consider the red team..so all around it was great.
By Jenn Larsen
"Bubbles Glow" by Jenn Larsen, on Flickr
Why so tired, people? A little worn out from partying with us last night(hmm… maybe it’s just me)? Well, it’s time to celebrate again! I hope most of you have a three-day weekend to look forward to, with fireworks and grilling and sun-soaking. My advice? Add some bubbles.
A lot of people think champagne is just for snobs. Those people are wrong. WRONG. But I understand. The whole “blow it all on table service and a bottle of Cristal” movement killed simple enjoyment of champagne for many people. Just forget about those excess junkies. Champagne isn’t so very different from beer. I mean, they both have bubbles, right? Ok, perhaps I’m pushing it here but I firmly believe that champagne should be enjoyed all the time, and especially in the summer. There’s something about a chill glass of the fizz that reminds me to slow down, relax and smile.
You can enjoy the bubbly all over town. But I have a few spots that pop to mind when I want to pop the cork. And I’m happy to share a little tour of where I would go right now to inbibe. Tops on the list currently? Belga Cafe and its divine basil champagne cocktail.
Wait, basil? Continue reading
By Katie
‘Eatonville’
courtesy of ‘Jenn Larsen’
So I’ll let you in on a little secret, new restaurants. Sometimes two of the blonde single lady authors of We Love DC hit the town together, and judge you. You can spot us, cause we ask a bunch of questions, giggle to ourselves, and take tons of pictures of our food and drinks. One of us is southern, the other northern. One twentysomething, one thirtysomething. We try and represent all demographics. We also try not to make a scene. Maybe one day we’ll get fabulous enough to don disguises Ruth Reichl-style, but for now, we aren’t particularly incognito. I’m pretty sure our server last week at Eatonville knew something was up, but he was a good sport, as we grilled him all about the menu, the best picks, and even the decor. He wound up asking us a bunch of questions back to our questions about the restaurant. Bending over our table, conspiritorially, he asked us “do you twitter?” (Yup.) “Will you tweet about this?” (Sure will.) “Even if you don’t like it?” (Uh huh.) Luckily for him, we liked it just fine.
Eatonville had come up with mixed reviews from my foodie crowd, but ever the southerner, I was excited. Jenn was ready to judge with me, and she’s always good to have around to bounce thoughts off of. We dived into the menu headfirst, ordering the two most popular appetizers, the Hushpuppy (singular, that’s right, find out why after the break) and the Fried Green Tomatoes. (I don’t think it’s in my genetics to say no to a fried green tomato!) Continue reading
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