Picture of the Week 9/26/2011

Blueberry Beignets from Tara O'Brady is the Number 1 picture for this week on Compare Food Pics. Check out the recipe on her blog Seven Spoons!

Moving forward with the New Site

So what's next for the site moving forward?

Categories

• I need to create categories, so that when you are comparing food, you are comparing food of the same category. That's just plain and simple, doesn't make sense comparing cake and chicken.

Mobile App

• I'm talking with developers now about possibly creating a mobile app. 
• For this kind of thing i think mobile is the direction it needs to go. Phones can now take high quality pictures, and I feel like mobile is the best way to create a kind of community feel to the site.

Stat Tracking

• To make the site more fun, I need  to create some stats so that people can see how well their pictures are doing in the rankings.
• For this type of thing there needs to be a login/username system.
• People would see how well there pictures have done relative to others in the past week/month/year.

That's all I've got for now.

What am I missing?

Site Finally Working

My new site http://comparefoodpics.com is finally up and working. 

It's sweet. Check it out, and upload some pics to the site. If you get an error message when u try to do so (still workin out some kinks), just email them over to me. nicknormile@gmail 

Hope you all like it as much as I do!

New Site

I'm trying as hard as I can to get this thing up (check out the eyesore now). My programmer buddy who helped me create it is at camp right now, so correspondence is slow.

It'll be up as soon as possible.

And if you wanna have any of your pics featured on the site, check out the previous post.

AWESOME NEW SITE COMIN

So I've been gone for a while.

Where have I been? Graduating. I have an internship at a financial services firm. Been dining, Le Bec Fin (10 course tasting menu) Zahav (chef's tasting). But I've also been working on a website with my programmer buddy from high school.

The website is very basic, but it is a pretty cool concept and it is currently working on my local server although it does not have a domain name yet.

Thing is, I need some really good food photos. And if your photos are good enough, they will hopefully drive significant traffic to your blog.

I don't wanna state outright what the website is just yet. But it will hopefully be up in a few weeks, and if you send me good photos, they could be up on the site in a few weeks driving traffic to your blog.

SO SEND ME YOUR BEST FOOD PHOTOS. nicknormile@gmail.com

• I need the name of the dish you cooked.
• I need a link to your blog if you have one.
• Your name (or however you want to be referred to).
• And then just send me your best pictures.

Small Print. By sending them to me you acknowledge that I may use them on my site. If you provide a site I will like the picture to your blog. Thank you.

I Won That Scholarship!

I found out a few days ago that I won that scholarship that I asked you guys to vote for!

Much thanks to all who voted. $1,000 down 49,000 to go!

Meal at Dandelion

Had a great meal at Dandelion--Stephen Starr's British pub--a few weeks ago. That place is great. You walk in, and it's like a whole new world. You're on a street corner and then you're in London. I love restaurants like that. Ones that take you away completely. That let you feel like you're really in a completely different place. Stephen Starr has nailed that. Every restaurant of his is so fun to go to because when you enter the restaurant you enter a whole new world. That aspect of the ambiance helps to form an enjoyable restaurant experience.

The food isn't too shabby either. I had some great bangers and mash with gravy (I'm hitting myself for forgetting to bring my camera. I don't have a smartphone either so I can't take good phone pictures). My buddy's burger was very good as well. The tangy tomato-horseradish sauce really made the burger. I always think that burgers need an acidic tang for them to be enjoyable. A lemony mayonnaise or vinegary pickle takes them to the next level.

The fish and chips were very good as well, though the fish was underseasoned. On the menu it says that the chips are "triple-cooked." I'm really curious if the chef cooks his chips according to Heston Blumenthal's method that was detailed in his book "In Search of Perfection." He advocates boiling the cut-potatoes first then frying them twice. It is an easy recipe but takes more time than I am generally willing to commit to fries. The results are impressive however.

Whether the chef does or doesn't use Blumenthal's method, his chips are outstanding. I told my friend that I can't even think about McDonalds' french fries after that. They are perfectly crispy on the outside, and pillowy in the center. And they are cut large enough to provide for both textures. Fantastic.

I do realize that The Dandelion is modeled after a pub, however the service was disappointing. And for a menu that certainly does not reflect pub-prices, I expected better, more attentive service. Our waitress, seemed constantly rushed. It stressed me out. She brought us one bowl of bread for a table of six teenagers, and then neglected to bring another when we finished it after about 10 seconds. She stopped refilling my soda glass after the entrees came out. Like c'mon girl I'm Foodie at Fifteen!

I wonder if it was because 20% gratuity is already added into parties of 6 or more. That probably contributed to the effect. But I would definitely go back. The food is good and the setting is just too cool. I actually really want to go there soon with  my friend and his British mother, who gets nostalgic for yorkshire pudding and fish and chips and the like.