by forkitude
Menu
restaurant
by BS
One of the great unanswered questions of the food world is: why does every restaurant website have to be such a goddamn shitshow? I’ve already complained about the ubiquity of inane, unnecessary music on restaurant websites, not to mention horrible flash intros and just all-around poor usability. Why is it that every single restaurant owner thinks a high-concept, interactive, 17-page site is better than the simple layout of menu/address/phone number/reservation system?
Finally someone has made it their mission to take down restaurant websites. The exceedingly clever Never said about restaurant websites tumblelog is a database of complimentary things that people would never, ever, say about the inexplicably horrible world that is restaurant websites. A few gems:
“Who needs the phone number of a restaurant when you could be enjoying stock photos of food?”
-Zero people in the history of time
“My favorite thing about this restaurant is actually its nearly abandoned Twitter feed with links to irrelevant news articles. I really appreciate that level of effort.”
-Zero people
“I enjoy clicking on separate menu links to view the Appetizers, Salads, Meat Entrees, Fish Entrees, Pastas, and Desserts.”
-Nobody
“It was like the restaurant was reading my goddamned mind when the website cleared up whether or not it was open for brunch on labor day last year.”
-Not a soul
“Why would anyone want to skip this intro? I think I’ll watch it again.”
-Zero people
Agh! The funny thing is that these kinds of websites are not the exception but the rule. Seriously, WHAT IS THE DEAL, PEOPLE?!
Read more and add your own at Never said about restaurant websites.
by Maids
Social’s savory spin on the traditional Louisiana pastry, the Beignet.
Brace yourselves people… I’m about to gush. Last Saturday I went to Social – a new D.C. restaurant located at the north end of Columbia Heights. Social is the first lounge-y, Dupontish-style joint to venture north of Columbia Road, but it thankfully forgoes the snooty downtown attitude in favor of warmly welcoming waitstaff and hosts, and a design that encourages you to stay and hang out all night (and get Social – get it?).
The service was superlative, the lounge-y setup is comfortable (think low lights, candles, comfy black couches and chairs, softly stuccoed walls, and plenty of cherry wood tables to rest your drinks and food upon), the drinks were fun and dangerously delicious, and the food … the food was incredible. Period.
The food is Creole/Cajun and Asian fusion inspired. This is a serious claim to make in my estimation – as much of my mother’s family hails from Louisiana. I get pissed when restaurants purport to be Creole or Creole-inspired and then fail to come through with the requisite creativity and spicy zestiness that typifies Creole cooking. But Social delivers creative menu items ranging from meatball pomodoro sliders (a large portion of which our group scarfed down in less than five minutes) to “Mud Bug” Beignets (the crawfish fritters, pictured above. Sometime ES blogger Edubs described these fritters as shredded and deliciously spiced crawfish goodness, surrounded by a lightly fried batter). Edubs also fully enjoyed snagging bites of her husband‘s Sonoran Mahi Mahi Tacos — corn tortillas filled with an unexpectedly intricate blend of southwestern, Mexican, and south pacific flavors – the crisp citrus tones of the grilled and marinated white fish were accented by jalapeño cabbage and mango salsa and were topped with tomato and garlic sauce.
The menu is organized in a really interesting fashion. It’s built to handle parties of varying sizes. You can order 3 different portion sizes, which was perfect for our birthday group, as we waxed and waned in size throughout the night.
More stories about gorging on cheftastic kitchen creations and dodging skeezey dudes after the jump…
Read More›