April 20, 2011

Why We Write a Philadelphia Food Blog... Honoring Post #100

Holy schmoly 100 posts!? We've had our ups (amazing food, meeting fellow foodies, seeing people actually read our stuff) and our downs (writer's block, long periods of slacking), but overall the experience of writing this blog has been the best hobby we've ever taken up. We do have real jobs after all...

22nd & Philly has come a long way. After about two years of starts, stops and restarts, in 2010 we finally got into a rhythm that's made this blog a stronghold of our daily lives.


A new logo, a kick-ass camera and a recent redesign help make it the real deal, as does a growing Twitter following where we've been able to connect with some very cool people and fellow lovers of all things Philadelphia/food. Conversations have even been started with famous chefs and food critics on Twitter and Daniel Stern "likes" our Facebook page (how cool is that?).

Every one of those milestones makes me giddy, which is why I know I love this and want to see it grow and add more exciting features (yes, we have some new ones being planned!). Can't beat the mid-day emails to each other... "did you see who RT'd us???" "look, we got a comment!!" That's the stuff that keeps us going, and makes the team effort behind 22nd & Philly special.


People always ask where we came up with the idea. It triggers a vivid memory of sitting outside at D'Angelo's Italian restaurant, getting our pre- 2008 Broad Street Run carb load (how timely), and enjoying some of the best bruschetta in the city along with excellent Penne Arrabiata and Tortellini Alla Panna.

That's when Bradd suggested we start a blog. We had been eating our way through Philly for 2 years and it was time to start chronicling the experience so at the very least we would know where we've been. Along the way we hoped to give ideas to others of where to eat, drink and explore. We never were and still are not food critics, wine snobs or anything like that. We just know what we like.

Check out the very first post Bradd wrote that night... still 100% accurate.

Welcome to 22nd & Philly. Let me give you a quick background on why we started this blog. First, we love living in Philly and want to share our experiences. Second, every week, typically on Friday, we come home from work and spend way too much time trying to decide where we want to go for dinner. We use the typical Philly Mag reviews, the internet, but always struggle to find what we want. it's frustrating. I for one am a simple person when it comes to dining and don't care for the Craig Laban and other "fancy" reviewers. I'm all about good food.

So, we will aim to give our review of the places we eat or go to. The simple man's version. We won't get into presentation, be too picky about service, etc. At the end of the day, if I cleaned the plate with a piece of bread you know it was a good meal!

We go to all kinds of places - fancy, bars, byobs, hidden gems, etc. As we go we will give you a simple review. It's a work in progress so enjoy the ride and we hope you learn a thing or two that you can use as you enjoy the great city of Philadelphia.
As you can tell, three years ago we had no expectations for where this would take us. Neither of us thought we would get this far and in the process interview an urban beekeeper, go Three Sheets, meet Jose Garces, add suburban contributors or be pitched by fellow PR people (I guess that means we made it, haha).

Thanks to all the family, friends, fellow foodies and strangers who read our stuff! Looking forward to 100 more.

Kristy & Bradd


3 comments:

Julie said...

Congrats on #100! Looking forward to reading where you go next, what you scarf down next, and lastly, what famous chef you meet next!

Kristy said...

Thanks Julie :-)

JoeAnthonyPR said...

Kudos to you both! I have asked Bradd for eatery insight many times.