Dishcrawl – Find your favorite dish and food community
What would happen if Match.com, Meetup and the Food Network all mated to produce a love child? Well, that love child would be Dishcrawl, the new online website that seeks to connect food lovers not just with culinary cravings, but also with other like-minded individuals.
Dishcrawl challenges diners to “Find Your Food Community.” Even better, it provides a newly-upgraded platform that empowers you to accomplish the task. Initially created to be a “matchmaker for your mouth,” Dishcrawl has expanded its focus to help unite food enthusiasts.
Founder Tracy Lee started Dishcrawl in February 2010 and has launched in Montreal, New York, San Jose, and San Francisco, with plans to expand to DC and Detroit. So how does Dishcrawl work? It serves as an interactive food-information resource as well as a social engagement tool.
Dishcrawl as a resource: Local food influencers review dishes from restaurants in the area and load descriptive characteristics about ingredients, taste, and sensation to the site. Dining patrons log on and perform a search customized to their craving, then receive a list of recommended dishes to match. The dishes are hand-selected by trusted people in the food community. If only dating websites came with that seal of approval.
Dishcrawl as an engagement tool: After the initial launch, the demand for group events signaled the future of Dishcrawl. Many people contacted Tracy to partner and help grow their food communities. Tracy recognized the opportunity and Dishcrawl 2.0 was born. Her goal? To create a “place for food communities to congregate,” where the blossoming food culture can connect, communicate, coordinate events, and most importantly, eat.
Forget pub crawls, dish crawls are where it’s at point forward. Get involved at the global Dishcrawl in San Jose on January 26, 2011.
Anne Pao is a contributing food writer for SF Station.com. When she is not satisfying carnivorous tendencies, you can find her adventuring in the Bay area outdoors. For more Pao reads check out her blog at http://sftaoofpao.com
