Holiday Treats

It's no myth that the average person gains 7 lbs during the span between the November and December holidays. Why shouldn't we at least be enjoying and recording what we're eating? Don't forget to jot down all of those guilty pleasures that you plan to run off as part of your "New Years Resolution."

We hope you've had a great holiday thus far and would like to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2009!

The Gift of Food

Since the holiday season is upon us I thought I would take a moment to discuss gift giving. As you know, there are generic gifts that are always appropriate for certain occasions. For example, if you're going to a house warming party a nice bottle of wine is usually a safe bet. But, if you really want to make an impression you need to give something that has specific relevance to the recipient.

Recently I received an awesome gift from my sister, and part-time dishKarma camera women, Marla. She sent me the book Everything I Ate - A year in the life of my mouth, by Tucker Shaw. Yes, it's just like it sounds. A day by day account of everything Tucker ate in one year. For example, on this day last year Tucker had the following:

- mixed fruit salad, cherry yogurt from Time Inc. Cafeteria
- chicken and barley soup from Hale & Hearty Soups at Time Inc.
- bread + butter, Manhattan clam chowder, grilled halibut and
mixed vegetables at Grand Central Oyster Bar, NYC
- chocolate animal cookies
- Wheaties to round out the day 11:00pm

It's a fascinating book (notice he had two bowls of soup and a bowl of cereal) and extremely relevant considering my work on dishKarma. Now the pressure is on me to find something she'll really love. The problem is I have no idea what it will be. Drop a comment if you have any thoughts on a gift for Marla or general gift giving advice. I see a restaurant gift certificate in her future....

99 designs on the wall...

Working with the good folks at 99designs has paid off and we're excited to roll out our brand spanking new logo! While the colors aren't finalized, I thought I'd share the design we came out with. Big thanks to all the designers for their hard work and great concepts during the contest window. The winner is nueromancer. The logo just kind of makes you feel good. I'm excited to look at it everyday!

What are your thoughts?

Escape

When I was younger it was always a big deal for our family to go out to dinner. It wasn’t because we couldn’t afford to eat out; we just didn’t do it that often. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I enjoy dinning out so much.

I grew up in a fairly small town where we thought there was nothing to do (cliché, but true). So, when we were finally allowed to drive, visiting restaurants was definitely a form of entertainment. We had our regular spots, favorite waitresses, and of course, our go-to menu items. I can remember hanging around these places for hours even after the bill was paid. Thinking back, this was probably our attempt to be cool and the closest thing to experiencing the actual bar scene. Most importantly, it was an escape.

As news about the economy gets worse by the day, I think people will be looking for simple ways to escape and forget their troubles. In my mind, checking out a new restaurant and trying a new dish is one of the best remedies. It worked as a teenager and it still works today.

All this reminiscing has me thinking about my ultimate appetizer at age 15. After wasting a few hours at the Crystal Mall, there was nothing better than the clam chowder in a bread bowl from Charley’s in Waterford, Connecticut. What was your ultimate meal at that age?

Stop teasing me.

Yikes, last post: November 9...There's been a lot going on over the past 2 weeks and we're excited to be launching our teaser page VERY soon. The teaser will be simple, yet serve a very important purpose: Allowing users to connect / share with us and view a little more into the world of dishKarma. Our master plan is to get some feedback this weekend from our greatest critics -- close family and friends. Spread good karma and tell a friend...

99 problems

Now that we've established a name, it's time to logo and brand it. We've sent the logo part of this task to the designers @ 99designs. They've got a solid pitch (word for word from the 99designs website): 99designs is a disruptive startup which connects passionate designers from around the globe with savvy clients who need design projects completed in a timely fashion without the usual risk or cost associated with professional design.

We're psyched to be working with the almost 30,000 designers that are currently members of the 99designs community and look forward to posting their results right here on our blog!

Hi! My name is...