Instagram Ready

 Instagram isn't just cute pictures and fashion ideas. It's now a place for people to order food and create new restaurants. This once lightweight app is now becoming a heavy weight for foodies and cooks alike.

A chef, herself Tejal Rao wrote about this in today's New York Times Food section. Instagram is now a great way of advertising pop up and cloud kitchens. The last is basically a restaurant that rents out its' cooking facilities to two to three cooks from different pop ups.Last year, before the pandemic went full throttle, chefs only dreamed of starting a successful business. Then Covid-19 hit and eateries closed.It was possible for smaller, independent chefs to prepare meals in their or their parents backyards and kitchens or reached out to restaurants that found their business drastically reduced. Then Instagram introduced Shop and Reels which allows prioritizing popular brands and influencers. Chef Rao worried that the platform would be hostile to these tiny pop ups but cooks do make it work. They rely on direct messages and linking out to forms, custom built shopping pages or third party apps. It's paid off. It can be difficult for diners however. They have to follow each business closely and remember each pop-up's schedule,pick up rules and payment methods.

Yet they survive. Kevin Hockin's pizza has gotten a huge following. On a busy weekend he sells a whopping six hundred pizzas through a gap in his fence in Altadena, California. Side Pie is a small operation started after his Collage Coffee closed in March.  He was smart to post cute pictures of chihuahuas in cute hats and pizzas on the app. This led to a small but devoted fan base for his charred thin crust pies and then tie dyed merchandise He even has a former pastry chef at the famed Sqirl bake seasonal slab pies for him to sell as dessert. Chef Hockin has reopened his coffee shop and is hoping to incorporate Side Pie into it.  Then there is Persian Sophia Parsa who with her mother, Farah, makes the famed mound of rice for their pop up Golden Rice. It can be a challenge for them because they're not fluent in English. It is tough because there's so much to do, from writing advertising to writing menu descriptions. However the Parsas are still successful. One night there were forty domes of tah dig, Iranian style rice complete with barberries and herbed yogurt.It was the same for Jihee Kim who went from working in a Mexican restaurant to creating her  popup that reflects the best of Korean banchan shops in busan. She cooks Japanese yams in soy sauce and delciate omelets with seaweed. There is also fried chicken from Anwar Herron in Napa, California and Trina Quinn's pelamin in Brooklyn along with Erik Piedrahita's succssful pop up barbecue place.

Instagram is the way to go for any burgeoning chef wanting to gain customers and fans. It allows them to start in one of the toughest industries and become wildly successful. It's now the backbone of the pop up restaurant  business.

When The In Season is Out

Like any other businesses  restaurants have in and out seasons. Of course the busy times are a boon to eateries. It means more of a food turnover as well as more cash flow coming in. It's a great time?Or is it?

I experienced this yesterday when visiting my favorite shore restaurant ,  the Atlatnic Highlands Bahr's and its' offshoot, Moby's Lobster Deck.  I was in need of some serious eats.after a beach day of walking and splashing about. I figured it wouldn;t be that crowded.Was I wrong.It was beyond packed. Thanks to the holiday and the high temps this shore hang out was crammed with customers and cars. It was a headache. This is start of the in season for many shore eateries. That means making reservations or waiting and fighting for everything from parking spaces to tables. It also means long lines and shortages.What to do? Think about packing your own meals. This saves on both eating out and waiting a ridiculously long time for a cup of clam chowder and fries. Pack a lot.Have plenty of extras such as water and snacks. You don;t want to make an extra stops, especially if you're in a steady line of traffic. That  will delay more time at the beach. If you do want to eat afterwards, then head inland. There are some cute and often well rated cafes a mile or two from the sand and sea. Check them out on  line.You may even find one that will become a family favorite.

With warmer weather more people spend dinner time out and about. Again this means making reservations at places that you normally wouldn't. Another idea is eating at an earlier time. Many Yelp reviews list the most popular times. Follow this when you''re planning a night out and go for an early hour.  Another idea is take out dinners .It's really the best of both worlds. You eat your favorite dishes in the quiet of your backyard patio. Ask for dessert as well to complete the experience. You could also recreate then at home. It could be a fun challenge to  whip up a dish even better than your favorite chef could. What happens if the restaurant becomes too popular and crowded? Again, like with the beach front places , look to other ones. Take advantage of Groupon and Val-Pac which introduce the newest eateries to the local  population.. Newer restaurants do not have a following as the older, more established ones. They will not only be grateful for the business but also accommodating.

An in season place is going to usually be overcrowded and rife with shortages and sell outs. Go to it in the off season. Take this time to discover new eateries and quiet dinners on the back patio.

Vegas Dining

Most people will visit Las Vegas this summer - not for the gambling but for the .dining. It seems Sin |City is not known just for The Strip but for its' strips of fine beef along with top quality restaurants and chefs. The question is is Las Vegas dining as good as eating in LA, Chicago or even New York?

This was the question in two articles in todays New York Times Dining section. The respective pieces were written by the great Julian Moskin and newcomer Adam Nagourney. Ms. Moskin covers the new food book that features Vegas restaurants. The eateries form casino hot spots to trendy food trucks are rated by the unholy yet trendy trio of Al Mancini, John Curtis and Max Jacobson, They , especially Mancini have tasted and tried most of the hottest and newest foods trending in Sin City these days. The book is entitled "Eating Las Vegas:The 50 Essential restaurant" It's a must have for anyone who will be visiting the city  this summer.

Mr . Nagourney's article concerns itself with one particular neighborhood restaurant,Blue Ribbon Sushi, that branched itself out to the Strip, He laments that it went a little too Vegas. What used to be a great sushi place wirh reasonable prices went monster once it hit Casino Row, He finds that restauranteurs change their menus as soon as  they go Vegas to attract the high rollers. The food has to be cooked flamboyantly and offer a lot . This is done in order to grab in people who would rather spend their money on roulette wheels or cheesy entertainment venues,A restaurant has to outdo itself in order to survive. However , like anything else that hits Sin City it loses its' soul and integrity.

Las Vegas Dining is a big deal. People visiting there this summer should have at least one great restaurant experience. Howe4ver be warned for those vising branches of their favorite eateries , there's going to be a change  .They'll be big and showy  - much like the city itself.

Hopes For The New Year

What to expect in the New Year with Foodie Pantry? As the blog heads into its' fourth (!!!!) year there will be some interesting ideas coming forth. I plan on a trip to the famed Chelsea Market in New York and there will be several articles with that.Hopefully there will be pictures and video too.

I also will be focusing on nutrition. You are what you eat is very important to me. Although there will be plenty of posts and articles on junk food (I am American and a Jersey girl after all and it's in my DNA to eat a burger and fries and boardwalk candy apples) there will be some informative pieces on what's better to eat. I will always promote garden fresh and garden grown ingredients along with healthier food choices. Don't eat that pasta with jarred sauce. Try some whole wheat spaghetti with your own recipe of sauce.

Of course Wednesdays and Thursdays will  still be devoted to the New York Times however if the Daily News has an interesting recipe, then I'll be covering it.There will also be some Food Channel reviews as well as discovering new eateries and new products.

Myself and Foodie Pantry wish all our readers a very healthy and nutritious New Year. Eat well, but most of all eat happy.