As an international student and a foodie who had just moved to DC for school, Instagram was my source of inspiration for food around the city. One of the accounts I came across that eventually became one of my favorites is DistrictEats.
Sydney and Mia, two George Washington University students, respectively studying Communications and Business, found themselves loving to explore DC and all the diverse food it has to offer. They were able to create a social media food kingdom with 33k followers thanks to over a thousand pictures. I was able to ask them a few questions about their social media stardom.
What inspired you to create your food account?
"When we got to GW as freshmen, the idea sort of just came to us. We both love food and photography and wanted to combine the two to benefit GW students like ourselves. We knew of a few other DC food Instagrams, but we wanted to create our own so we could really immerse ourselves into the DC food community."
How did it become a successful one?
"We have been getting this question a lot, but honestly I think timing and marketing really helped DistrictEats become successful. We put a lot of effort into spreading the word about DistrictEats and it eventually caught on. Once we gained 10,000 followers, we rapidly received more support, publicity and followers, and it continues to grow everyday."
How many times a day/week do you eat out to post on the account?
"We try to post 2-3 a day, and we typically eat out four times a week. We love attending foodie events around DC where we get to try delicious new things. We always get a ton of great pictures of fun and inventive food to feature on our page."
What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
"Frog legs."
Where's your favorite place to eat in DC?
Sydney: "Personally, I LOVE Le Diplomate! You can never go wrong there. It is definitely a special occasion restaurant, but they always impress me no matter what I order."
Mia: "I get this question all the time from people and it's really hard to choose, because it depends on what you're in the mood for. If you're looking for cupcakes, no doubt Baked and Wired in Georgetown. If you're looking for an amazing brunch, Blue Duck Tavern is the way to go. The Fainting Goat has a great menu and a great dinner menu."
How did you perfect the art of taking pictures of your food?
"It's all about the lighting! We usually take about 20-50 pictures of each dish we photograph. We like to get every possible angle, and love to have options. It's also helpful that there's two of us, giving two different perspectives and help with lighting."
What advice would you give someone looking to start a food Instagram account?
Sydney: "Don't be afraid to reach out to everyone you know to spread the word. It takes a lot of commitment to start a food Instagram, but it is so worth it. It gives you an excuse to go explore your city and find great new places that you can then share with your followers. Also, you ALWAYS have to remember that the phones eat first!"
Mia: "I would have to agree with what Sydney says — you really have to put your heart and soul into it. It becomes part of your identity. You can't be afraid to reach out to people and be very outspoken. You also have to get used to spending a lot of time on your phone and keeping your storage open for your food pictures, it takes over your camera roll."
We would like to thank Sydney and Mia for letting us in into the ultimate foodie social network world. Make sure to check their account DistrictEats on Instagram to get inspired to explore the nation's capital a bit more (when it comes to food of course).