Last updated on January 24, 2017 by Liza Hawkins
Funny things can happen when you talk about blogging with people.
Often, you find out (after they’ve browsed your site) they share similar interests … interests that you may never have stumbled upon in conversation, otherwise. This happened to me a few years ago during a chat with a co-worker who happens to be—unbeknownst to me—a serious foodie.
Not only do he and his wife love to dine out, they also love to cook (think 4-course Christmas Eve spread, complete with a roast good and all the trimmings), AND they love to read food blogs!
It’s interesting to get some perspective from someone who’s not a part of the blogging world about what makes a foodie read a blog, and … more importantly … what doesn’t. Obviously we each have varying ideas of what’s worthy of our reading time, so I won’t pretend that one friend’s opinion is the end-all be-all, even if I do believe he’s spot on. The beauty of having so many diverse writers in the blog-o-sphere is that you’re able to find the ones who bring you joy.
Back to my foodie colleague, though. According to him, there are three critical pieces that make a blog consumable as far as he and his wife are concerned:
The blog must have photographs. Good photos. Quality photos. Not something taken haphazardly. The food in said blog must look appetizing. And, if the blog contains good links to other great sites, the quality level is boosted.*
Okay. Simple enough. I think most bloggers tend, or at least try, to follow these rules.
(Or at least, I wish most bloggers would … especially when food’s the focus. Natural light! Use natural light! Step away from the flash!)
While we were talking he mentioned a link that, if shared as a resource, would cause him to subscribe to my blog immediately. No question.
So what is that link, and is it worth all the clout? Yes.
Edible Communities
Edible Communites has been around for a long time, and over the years there have been local print and website spin-offs that have started and stopped; thrived and failed. Edible Chesapeake, for example, is no longer in being published (as of Fall 2009), but there are archived copies of some of their articles and dozens of other area editions to thumb through—or, you can simply visit Edible Delmarva online.
For those of us in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, there lots of microsites that fall under the Edible Communities parent site, including Edible DC, Edible Philly, Edible Brooklyn, and a whole host of others.
My co-worker uses these sites as an organic, locally grown, in-season food “road map” when he and his wife travel. What a fantastic idea!
I have a bookmark in place so I’m able to seek out what’s “Edible” when I travel, too. Though, admittedly, lately I’ve been using word-of-mouth to curate good eats—which also leads to great finds!
What’s your go-to source for finding local eats?
*”Quality level” used here refers to the site’s ability to refer readers to other fun, interesting and respectable spots on the web. It’s not about SEO-quality.
Edible magazine has helped me find the local fresh flavors that let me enjoy my travels. There’s a food and wine festival in Cape May in Sept, and every Tuesday is a local farmers market. (CSA) Even when on vacation I check out the local CSA spots. Any Community Supported Agriculture spot can show what’s in season and what varietals are that doing well. I buy to support local even on vacation, (especially on vacation) or travels, even if you’re eating out mostly. I find the local farm vendors, get groceries, and find out from them which restaurants they sell to. This helps me in two ways. I can concentrate on local fare for those regions specialties, and find out which restaurants (chefs) actually care about their food’s real flavors. I also like find out from the local and coastal resources what seafood is in season or what fish are running. I think the fluke season is just about to end, so I’d order fluke (summer flounder), and the striped bass (rockfish) should be heading south that time of year off Jersey, so that should be on the local’s. – coworker
Thanks!!! It also helps to know someone local to the area that’s concerned with supporting local farms. We’ll miss the food & wine festival (darn!) but it looks like there are a bunch of other ways to find local food.
Interesting post. My sources for finding restaurants when travelling tend to be OpenTable, Yelp, and TripAdvisor. I’ll compare and contrast reviews among them to come up with places to try (though OpenTable doesn’t offer a lot of coverage outside major metropolitan areas). In large part, I think this is because all three are readily available via their apps on my phone. Once I reach a destination, then I start to ask the locals for recommendations, too.
I don’t use OpenTable, Yelp or TripAdvisor enough (maybe more in NYC, but otherwise never)! I need to make that a habit. Tapping locals for their favorite places is always a good one. Thanks for stopping by, Don!