Who Are You Marketing?

In college I focused my studies on comparative literature and though now I teach 7^th grade science, my desire to compare still comes out every now and then. This time I can’t help but question the latest advertising campaign by Starbucks. Ironically I am at a Starbucks while I write this using their free wifi when you register a Starbucks Card, but that is beside the point. The campaign in question consists of two sentence print ads in which Starbucks makes a bold statement regarding the quality of their product and concludes by introducing a change making it even better.

Naturally a company is going to suggest that their product is superior, after all they are in the business of selling. But in this particular case it is in the style of the ad that I become confused, almost offended. The ad is printed in a style as if to suggest it was printed on the side of a burlap sack (presumably one used to carry their superior coffee beans). Use such an image invokes a near organic sense in the consumer, the burlap sack being an image of the naturally, locally, and environmentally farmed product. Clearly the use of such an image is to counter the empirical image Starbucks has become known for. But in the humility of a burlap sack, the arrogance of the phrase is printed. This is the problem.

Now in preparing for this post I did some research on the ad campaign. The Times reported on it in May in the context that it was both a counter to the McDonalds ad campaigns as well as an introduction to the internet generation. Normally I wouldn’t care to comment on these ads, and if I did I would have done it back when they were advertising an ad search via Twitter and Facebook, but I’ve seen too many of them recently to let it go unsaid that these ads are overly arrogant and pretentious. Starbucks needs to make its coffee good again before it can say it’s the best again.

I won’t try to speak for my generation, but for me and my friends, the way to advertise to us is not by suggesting you are both genuine and yet arrogant about coffee. But I guess that is their idea: We know coffee better than anyone and that’s why we’re the best. In the end I am curious to see if this ad campaign will work, I’d like to believe that our generation is more concerned with the sustainability and humility of our providers and not their quality assumptions. But then again we are the generation that birthed the hipsters.

*all photos courtesy of starbucks.com

Open City

This is the second place I ever went after moving to Woodley Park, and subsequently went approximately fifteen times in the course of maybe just three weeks.  And, I think you see where this is going…but I got Open City-ed out.   After a dinner there in January, I imposed a ban on Open City, and didn’t return there until May.  For me,  I think this was one of the longest bans I’ve ever been able to sustain!  I can’t ever diet, but boy can I ignore a restaurant.

Here’s the rundown on what I’ve eaten there…I recommend it first for Brunch, but it is always pretty crowded, dinner is always an acceptable option.  They have  a full bar and their menu stays the same throughout the day.  I think there are other interesting places for brunch around D.C., however, so as long as you don’t spend all your time there you should be good to go.

Vegetable Omelet: Mushrooms, broccoli, diced tomatoes and Swiss cheese

Got it with egg whites, was good but with a little too much cheese.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

A good comfort choice.

Veggie Burger

An excellent choice, comes with thick fries and would be my go-to choice.

Julienned Vegetable Pizza : Zucchini, squash, carrots, basil pesto, shaved parmesan & mozzarella

Wasn’t my favorite.  The julienned veggies didn’t have much taste and distracted from the pizza.  We did get it without cheese, but I would have liked larger slices of zucchini instead of tiny slices that tasted pretty watery.

Mussels: With garlic, parsley and lemon

These were good…we questioned why they had mussels, but decided to eat them anyway.  They were actually really good — the broth had a great savory taste…but they charged us for extra bread to sop up the liquid.

The tea is good, and there is a large selection, though it is slightly overpriced for how much hot water you get in the tea pot.  Coffee comes in a large mug so you never need a refill, though you will have to ask for splenda specifically or go grab it from the take out area.  For wine, I recommend the Independent Producers (a red).

The Ranking (for explanation, see “Review Key”):

Food: 3 Straws (A reliable brunch choice for the Woodley Park).

Price: $traws, Average ($12-18 depending on whether you order a latte, coffee, brunch, etc).

Atmosphere: Casual

Overall: 3 Straws (A place I will return to — granted it’s one of the only good brunch places in Woodley Park).

The Details:

www.opencitydc.com

2331 Calvert St NW
Washington, DC 20008
Phone: (202) 332-2331

Hours:

Mon-Fri 6 am-midnight, Sat-Sun 6 am-1 am

Tuesday Poll: What is the BEST Frozen Yogurt Company?

So we’re a day late but not a dollar short for this Tuesday Poll. I needed that dollar when buying my frozen yogurt at Pinkberry. It was in this purchase of a delicious (and I guess somewhat nutritious) dessert that I began pondering the question of the frozen yogurt competition. It wasn’t too long ago that the Tasti D-lite franchise near me closed its doors and reopened as The Lite Choice. But then came my most recent visit down to DC this past weekend where I was fortunate enough to sample TangySweet. Anyway what this all comes down to is the poll question: Which company is the BEST?

I’m not going to pretend to answer this easily but as for my two cents on the matter, I think Pinkberry actually is the best considering the freshness and topping options. But its downfall is its outrageous price, with that consideration I may pick Tasti. But then again you get what you pay for and nothing tops that fresh taste of Pinkberry. Nothing.

Ducale: It Won’t Stay Empty For Long.

In the B. R. Guest dominated area surrounding the American Museum of Natural History it’s hard for a new restaurant to get a start. It would seem that that is the explanation for the scarcity of patrons when I dined at Ducale. But it could also be its location, on the south west corner of 79^th and Columbus, where an older restaurant establishment boasted a cigar bar on the second floor (which smelled like it was on the first) and a bad concept of how much bread to order per evening (always running out). After dinning there three times now I can attest to the fact that it is not their food that keeps patrons away. I always find it interesting to observe crowd mentalities, where diners would rather wait thirty to forty minutes outside Ocean Grill than be seated right away at Ducale (those followers are missing out).

Ducale features a more authentic upscale Italian menu including grilled (not fried) calamari, bronzino, and spaghetti with mozzarella di bufala. I have yet to try their pizzas but from a far they appear to be styled after the true Italian thin crust, brick oven style. The staff is very accommodating (even for complicated, substituting dieters) and the atmosphere is pleasant (though a little misguided between the music and the photos, they don’t really match up).

Overall if you are looking to dine on the Upper West Side and are game to try some place new, give it to Ducale.

The Ranking (for explanation, see “Review Key”):

Food: 3 Straws (A reliable Italian choice for the neighborhood).

Price: $$$traws, Average ($40-50 depending on whether you order pasta or entrée dishes).

Atmosphere: Casual and welcoming (The staff is very accommodating).

Overall: 3 Straws (A place I will return to).

The Details:

Website: N/A

Location: 392 Columbus Ave, at 79^th street.

Phone: (212) 787-7150

Reservation: No need. But they are on Opentable.

Dress: Casual.

Hours:

Daily: 11:00am- 11:00pm

Yogurtland

NEW favorite Yogurt place — Yogurtland.  In DC, all the yogurt is “someone does it for you and charges you 6 dollars for plain yogurt with one piece of fruit and a chocolate chip” — I’m looking at you SweetGreen, Mr. Yogato, YogiBerry and Cali Yogurt.  Typically, in Arizona, everything is cheaper — but not necessarily better. However, in the case of frozen yogurt, it is not only cheaper, but much, much, much better.

Yogurtland.com

Yogurtland Yogurt - yogurtland.com

First of all, it’s .30 cents an oz.  Second of all, it’s do it yourself, with at least 10 flavors.  I filled mine up pretty tall and only had to pay 2.30, which is unheard of in DC…and what’s more, I LIKED IT.  I am never tempted to get frozen yogurt by myself in DC because it’s boring and costs more money than I make in an hour.  But, Yogurtland combines the trends that are happening across the country (comeon DC, I hate to keep on ragging you, but why do we not have our own do it yourself place? Or do we? Comment me if we do) and the inexpensiveness of Scottsdale (relatively, of course) in one. Overall, it’s my pick of the summer…kudos to Yogurtland.

Gratitude Day: What’s Next

Participating in the Neighborhood Gratitude Day yesterday got me thinking about what could be done with this concept in the future. I used the gratitude day as a reason to introduce my friend to Popover (who I might add wasn’t the most enthusiastic about the trip). Regardless we went anyway, I mean we had to, it was Gratitude Day. Upon arriving at Popover we were warmly welcomed by Carol Baer herself sitting outside the restaurant saying thanks and offering free popovers and lemonade to those who stop by. What really impressed me about what Ms. Baer was doing doing for gratitude day is that it didn’t require participants to spend money, it truly was a gesture of thanks alone. Unlike some of the other participants whose promotions were store wide discounts, popover was hosting a multi-prize raffle with free entrance, passing out popovers, and serving cold lemonade on a hot day; all with Ms. Baer herself welcoming guests.

Following our lunch at popover, and after thanking Ms. Baer and entering the raffle, we walked down Amsterdam Ave checking out the other participants. One in particular I wanted to stop by was West Side Kids, a toy store I knew fondly growing up. Most participants tied balloons outside and had signs describing the events, as far as I could tell it was only Ms. Baer who was personally welcoming guests.

As is my nature I always jump to thinking about how this can be improved next year, and in so doing I realized the biggest problem with it is that there was no third party hosting the actual day. Perhaps we don’t need a third party to do it, but we need then at least one of the businesses to step up and run it. What we need is to make a community day out of it where all the local businesses will have their own events going on with a central group, or committee of volunteers, organizing the participants, locations, and events of the day. Something like this annually would be so much better than the crowded, not locally run, traffic disrupting street fairs.

Just my thoughts for next year. Popover was still excellent for lunch.

Plum Perfect

Today’s Wednesday — aka  the New York Times dining and wine section day.  Here are my two favorite articles from today’s section:

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Adding plums where you least expect them… (and what a great picture, huh?)

The other article I read today was Frank Bruni’s article about his dining companions…lately he’s had some great articles and I have come to really enjoy his non-review writing. I’m a fan.

GRATITUDE DAY! Go out and be loyal!

Today is Gratitude Day on the Upper West Side.

Visit the local businesses on Amsterdam Ave and enjoy the festivities.

Review to come tomorrow. Today, let’s all enjoy our local hotspots!

Info at Coffee Straws.

Guest Post at Westside Independent.

Original Article from New York Times.

-Huysmans

Tuesday Poll: How do you eat a Black & White?

In shopping for my 1940s themed dinner party this past weekend at Zabar’s I came across the baked goods section. Now my job was to select cheeses and sausages for an appetizer plate (all French themed as my character was a French sausage seller and we were celebrating the end of the war), so to end up in the baked goods section was not part of the plan. But the box of Black & Whites caught my eye and I made the daring assumption that these little delicious pieces of New York probably existed back in 1945 and I could feasibly rationalize their presents at a celebratory dinner in France as paying homage to the liberators (without sounding too patriotic). This got me thinking.

So I researched, and though I love Wikipedia I wanted something a little more substantial.

I ended with this Times article from back in 1998 (when Seinfeld was still on).

So this all brings me to today’s poll: When given a Black & White cookie how do you eat it?

*Photo courtesy of Zabar’s.com

My answer: The middle is the best part, so I start with the chocolate side (a few bites), move to the vanilla side (again just a few bites), and save the middle for a glorious end.

El Bulli

I was sent this link this weekend — I opened it immediately and loved it.  My dad and I are obsessed with the THOUGHT of going to El Bulli, and reading about it was the next best thing to going. You have to read the Amateur Gourmet’s adventure at El Bulli – it’s a fantastic mix of picture, story, video, and food.