Tag Archives: restaurants

Feeling the Love on Forkly: Valentine’s Day Food Inspiration

8 Feb

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching. Candy hearts, creamy chocolates, and of course, decked out restaurant dinners. So, skip the last minute run to Walgreens or Rite Aid and show your significant other how much you care through the most tasteful expression of all: food.

Here are some of the best #ForklyLove-infused dishes. See if there are restaurants near you presenting these wonderful tastes, or try to make them yourself at home. Share your Valentine’s tastes with the rest of the Forkly community–you know we’ll Love It! In the meantime, some delicious inspiration from your fellow Forkly lovahs:

1. Hearty Cappuccino 

2. Seductive Sushi

3. Crushing Cocktail

 4. Admirable Artichoke 

 5. Romantic Ravioli 

 6. Cherishable Cookies 

Happy Valentine’s Day to those of you who celebrate and Cheers to those who don’t!

Edible Halloween Happenings: London, Portland, Boston & More!

26 Oct

If you’re looking to dress-up in your best Halloween costume, support a good cause, or simply eat and drink until November 1st… we’ve got some good spots for you!

Atlanta
Stop in for some steak at STK and enjoy vampire-themed Halloween decor and executive Chef Jeremy Miller’s Halloween-inspired menu on October 27th at 8pm. Have a Vampire Kiss Martini or a Pumpkin Mojito while dining on delicious dishes!

P’cheen will be hosting a Halloween bash on October 27th at 7pm. Attendees can enjoy complimentary beer and Halloween-themed food items all night! Come dressed in your best costume and be entered to win $100!

Austin
On October 26th, Midnight Cowboy will offer refuge from the zombies, ghouls, and goblins wandering the streets. From Friday through Halloween, they’re offering a specialty menu of Zombie cocktails for $10.

Boston
The lovely folks at UpStairs on the Square are turning up the spook on Halloween, October 31st. Guests should dress in their best costumes and be ready to enjoy a menu ($40 per person) from chef Susan Regis and $8 cocktails from the bar. Later in the evening you’ll be further entertained with “skaraoke” and a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show! Be sure to make a reservation soon!

Celebrate Halloween Eve with a sustainable seafood dinner and live jazz at The Beehive on October 30th, starting at 5:30pm. Along with their regular menu, this four course menu ($65 per person) was designed by the restaurant’s execuctive Chef, Rebecca Newell, and the New England Aquarium to raise awareness about sustainable seafood.

California
The OC Fair is offering a Halloween Foodtacular on October 31st 5:30pm until 9pm. This event features a variety of delicious gourmet food trucks with Halloween-themed menu items. Other perks include a DJ, cash bar, and trick-or-treating for the kids!

Denver
Celebrate Halloween at the Molly Brown House with All Hallows Eve Full Tea on October 27th at 11am until 1pm. Tickets are $20 per person and include tea, treats, and time to show off your scariest or wackiest costume.

London
Dine at Dans Le Noir in pure darkness this Halloween. On October 31st at 7pm the restaurant will provide a special menu that will shock your senses! Make a reservation soon!

Portland
It’s Night of the Living Ales in Portland on October 29th where eight breweries will be whipping up Halloween-inspired brews like Burnside’s Reese’s peanut butter cup, chocolate pumpkin porter, and a Monster Mash! Costumes are encouraged and other treats include a Halloween burlesque show, full bar, and other themed cocktails ($8 cover charge).

And now, just to perk up your taste buds, here are some great Halloween recipes to make at home and share on Forkly!

Martha Stewart’s Brain Cupcakes

Chef Mom’s Spooky Ghost Pizza

Bon Appetit’s Vampire Cupcakes

Where to Eat During GABF: Best Fried Chicken in Denver

10 Oct

Alright GABF attendees, we know you’re all about beer this weekend, but if you wake up (on more than one occasion) feeling less than great and craving something delicious, filling, crispy and maybe a tad greasy… we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the best fried chicken dishes in Denver that your hangover is craving! 

PS. Lou’s Food Bar in the Highlands and Table 6 also have some fried goodness on their menus–locals love ‘em!

Where to Eat during GABF: Top Denver Dishes Recommended by Locals

5 Oct

The Great American Beer Fest begins next week and Denver is ready for the 50K+ attendees coming our way. There’ll be a bevy of brews to quench your thirst all week long, but don’t forget to take a break and explore Denver’s exciting culinary scene. Recommendations below for some of the best dishes in Denver, as posted by Forkly locals (Click on the venue name or find the venue in Forkly’s Discover tab to see more dishes and drinks)!

Download Forkly in the app store (it’s free!) for some great deals for users during GABF (they’ll be in the Forkly feed). Use the Discover tab to find out what’s good in various neighborhoods… and of course, where to drink too! Cheers!

iPhone 5 vs. iPhone 4S: Putting the “Low Light Mode” to test in Dimly Lit Restaurants & Bars

1 Oct

One of the features we’re most excited about on the new iPhone 5 is the camera’s new ‘Low Light Mode,’ but how good is it?  We decided to put this feature to the test in the real world, our testing ground, a dimly lit bar and local favorite, Russell’s Smokehouse.  We carefully shot the same dishes and drinks with the iPhone 4S and then with the iPhone 5: the differences were striking! In general the iPhone 5 low light pictures are sharper, less noisy, and the camera itself seemed to focus faster.

We’re loving this because it’s now possible for 3rd party developers to include the ‘low light mode’ right into their app. We’ve added it to Forkly, so look for ‘low light mode’ in the next Forkly update!

Below are some side-by-side examples.

iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S in Typical Dimly Lit Restaurant

Photos in Extremely Dim Setting

The iPhone 5′s camera and ‘Low Light Mode’ is a huge step forward for photography enthusiasts. Combine it with the our photo filters designed specifically for food and it opens a whole new world of food photography. If you have the new iPhone 5, try it out and let us know what you think. We’re looking forward to seeing the best looking food and drink shots yet!

Introducing the Forkly DishScore™ & Updates for the iPhone 5!

19 Sep

Hooray, version 2.2 is here! And it includes updates for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5, too! Forkly 2.2 includes a major design overhaul, aimed to help make your dining experiences all the better. Play around with the new version–start with a photo and rate later; find what’s good with the new Forkly DishScore™; and narrow in on what you like and don’t like with the new Discover filters–and learn a little more about the new features below.

Here’s a more official list of whats new:

✓Support for iOS 6 and iPhone 5!
✓ Introducing Forkly DishScore™: see what’s good at a glance
✓ New and improved Taste & Rate design
✓ Ability to start with a photo when rating an item
✓ New filters on the Discover tab: find dishes & drinks with ease
✓ View nearby “Wants” in Discover
✓ Simplified tab bar design
✓ Poor reception? New offline capabilities; add an item offline and rate it later
✓ Bug fixes & speed enhancements

More About the Additions:

Start with a Photo

You asked, we delivered. You can now start the rating process by taking a photo and rating it later (once you’re home and happily stuffed!).

 

 

Forkly DishScore™ Shows you What’s Good at a Glance

We wanted a simple way to express an overall opinion of a dish/drink.  To accomplish this we’ve added the Forkly DishScore, it takes into account 700k+ data points expressed as a numerical 1-10 score (you’ll see it next to dishes and on the food detail). It lets you know best bets at a glance and gives an idea of how popular a given dish is at an establishment. The score is derived from a variety of sources, including the number of dish or drink tastes and “wants” submitted by Forkly friends and users. So it’s not just your average rating!

 

 

Discover More with Enhanced Search Abilities

A redesigned Discover tab allows you to see nearby Wants and will show you places that are New to Me (places you haven’t been before). We’ve also added in filters on categories (eg. breakfast, coffee, dessert, etc.) and the ability to search for specific items (eg. Tacos, Pizza, and Pho). Additionally, Top Picks will show you highly recommended places.

 

 

We hope you enjoy the new updates! Download 2.2 from the app store here. As always, feel free to contact us with questions and feedback (and don’t forget to tell your friends all about it, too!).

Forkly Hits New York!

7 Aug

In our current whirlwind around the East coast, Forkly would never leave out New York! Forkly’s @JSWAuer will be attending some great events in NYC later this week and would love to meet you!

Food + Tech Happy Hour:

Bring your business cards and your favorite food tech apps, tools, and ideas for drinks and networking with the Food+Tech community. We won’t have formal demos this month, but you will have a chance to catch up with everyone and talk about your projects with the group throughout the evening. We’ll be at Idle Hands Bar in the East Village for drinks on Wednesday, 8/8, at 7.
SPECIAL: Idle Hands has graciously offered us great happy hour special until 8 PM — 2 for 1 drinks on anything priced under $10.

Our @JSWAuer will be in attendance and very excited the talk Forkly and mingle. We’re always excited to meet other food & tech lovers, as well as those who want to join the Forkly community!

We’ll also be having an unofficial happy hour at Crown Victoria in Brooklyn from 5:30pm to 7:30pm on Thursday. @JSWAuer will be easy to spot in her Forkly t-shirt, so stop by and bring other Forkly users or friends! Email her at jossie@forkly.com if you have any questions.

Now that we got the business over with… let’s look at some New York food!

It’s National French Fry Day!

12 Jul

There is apparently a National Holiday for every type of food, from apple pie day, to caviar day and roast leg of lamb day (no we’re not making this up). However, out of most of these dishes, National French Fry Day (July 12) is definitely a reason to celebrate. Whether they’re plain, sweet, spicy, dipped in a saucy concoction, or covered with cheese, bacon, onions, you name it–we don’t know anyone that doesn’t love french fries.

So today, stop by your favorite restaurant, or make your own french fried goodness!

Now time to salivate over these delicious pictures from our Forkly users.










App Update, Forkly 2.1: New Food Photo Filters, Tastemaker Features, Wine.com & More

20 Jun

Forkly friends, get excited… the newest version of Forkly is now available to download! Forkly 2.1 includes a series of updates for users and food & drink businesses alike. What’s included?

✓ Photo filters specifically designed for food (candlelit dinners included!)
✓ Photo effects: Tilt-shift and enhance images
✓ Auto-focus and exposure camera controls
✓ Invite friends
✓ Settings: Save photos to albums
✓ Share Tastemaker status on Twitter & Facebook
✓ View places where you’re the Tastemaker
✓ Wine.com integration: Buy wine you find on Forkly
✓ Improved Featured Users section
✓ Enhancements: User interface & speed

Below are some of the details…

Photo Filters Designed for Food & Drink

With the newly added photo filters and special effects, you can now shoot photos like a pro when dining out—think Instagram, but designed specifically for food, drinks, and those beloved dark, candlelit establishments. Mmmm tasty lookin’ photos.

Get your shots perfect with focus and exposure controls. Tap with two fingers to get the controls, drag them to the desired locations and take the photo. You can also double tap to autofocus.

New Improved Tastemaker features

Our point-loving users (or super competitive users…you know who you are…) should get a kick out of the new and improved Tastemaker features. As most of you know, a Tastemaker is the most influential Forkly user at an establishment (determined by points within the app). With Forkly 2.1, Tastemakers can announce your status through social media accounts (Twitter & Facebook friends, get ready!), see where you’re most influential, and later this summer, you’ll be rewarded with “Tastemaker Perks” too (Patience folks, patience).

Wine.com – Buy wine you find on Forkly directly from your iPhone

Forkly 2.1 also includes the integration of Wine.com, which allows users to discover wines on Forkly and buy them directly from your phone. How many times have you tried a great wine when dining out–and then tried to remember the name next time you were on the hunt for a good wine? Now you can record the names and buy them as needed. Done and done.

Invite Friends

You can now invite all your friends to join Forkly too, hooray! We’ve had so many requests from users who want to spread the word to family and friends, you can now do so with a few taps within the app. So, share away–and keep us in the loop. You know we love to hear from you on Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest (and follow or LIKE us while you’re at it!). And you know we’ll spread the word about fun food-related events you and friends are attending.

Thanks for Spreading the Love!

All of these changes are great for local food & drink businesses too–so thanks for doing your part. The better images look, the more new and repeat customers an establishment will get. The more you compete to become a Tastemaker and invite friends to join, the more word-of-mouth publicity for the restaurants or bars you’re frequenting. The more wine/food pairings posted, the more sommeliers and wineries have to work with–and to teach us all about great new wines (or ones we haven’t tried yet). All in all, everybody wins!

Forkly 2.1 can be downloaded for free from Apple’s app store (or just updated on your phone). Enjoy!

Colorado Wine Week Approaches

31 May

Colorado Wine Week, like others around the country, is the wine industry’s opportunity to show just how far local wine has come. From June 3-June 9, there will be wine events and pairings every night, all leading up to a final event: Colorado Urban Winefest at Denver’s Sculpture Park.

Colorado Wine Week events include:

We’re suspecting that Colorado Forkly users will be most excited by the $15 Colorado wine and food pairings at 20+ participating restaurants. $15?!! Awesome. Check out the restaurant list in full here — and share the meal with us all on Forkly! When you share, be sure to include the hashtag #ColWineWeek in your customized tweet.

For those attending the Colorado Urban Winefest on June 9, be ready to taste wine from 42 wineries, as well as interactive and educational components–and a sommelier shootout! The event supports local winemakers and is raising money for the Colorado Association for Viticulture & Enology (CAVE) — and is the sister festival to the 20 year-old Colorado Mountain Winefest held in Palisade, CO in the early fall.

For those outside of Colorado, come visit & let the Forkly crew know you’re in town. In the meantime, tell us about your favorite local wine festivals and traditions, we’d love to hear from you!

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