About

Hi and thanks for visiting PhillyFoodporn.com, a food blog for adults based out of always-sunny Philadelphia, PA!

What do I mean by “a food blog for adults?”

With all due respect to the many food blogs that have helped Philadelphians find their next grub spot over the past few years, I’ve managed to find my own niche in Philly’s food scene by featuring some of the lesser known dishes and places to eat. If you’re looking for yet another cookie-cutter food blog with a “Top 10 Cheesesteaks” article for your visiting in-laws to read, then this site isn’t for you. Instead, I try to shed a light on the more refined dishes and lesser-known events and, more importantly, the actual people, that truly make Philadelphia a unique food city.

What you’ll find on this blog:

– Food (obviously). It goes without saying that this blog revolves around my love of food. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the countless aspects that come along with my dining experiences such as the people who make it possible and those I’m fortunate enough to meet along the way. In my personal opinion, the cultural and personal stories behind the dish is just as important as the food itself.

– Stories: Whether it be about a new restaurant or the people who run it, I try to add a more personal tone to my articles instead of simply giving you a list of spots to eat at. I think this is the best way for my readers to truly experience the spots and dishes that I talk about. Other blogs tend to just copy and paste the press releases they get from restaurants and their PR firms without having eaten the food that they’re talking about. Others just think that becoming an “influencer” for food is a great way to make money. That’s not the case here.

– People: I try not to pigeonhole myself into the typical food blog that tends to just be a copy-and-paste outlet for local restaurant press releases. Instead, I try to make sure that my readers not only know where to eat, but to learn about the people or places that make these dishes so unique. Think of it as my personal journal for my adventures through Philly.

What you won’t find on this blog:

– Everyday recipes that you probably won’t make. Unless it’s something that I absolutely think that you should know about, I don’t waste space on my site with stuff that I don’t think you’d actually read or want. I’ll leave it to the many talented home cooks and other local blogs to do this as I’m nowhere near talented enough to tell you what to cook at home.

– Rainbow bagels and other distractions: There are a lot of trendy foods out there now that the likes of Instagram and other imaginary-internet-point platforms have changed the game. It seems like most of the foodies on social media are being paid to push what I call “the trifecta of trendy foods.” I’m sure you’ve seen them all too many times: rainbow colored bagels, mac-and-cheese infused whatchamacallits, and obscenely big burgers dripping with an ungodly amount of cheese that only look good in the form of a small squared photo on your screen, but would otherwise be a pain in the ass to eat if it were put in front of you.

– Disingenuous reviews and sponsored opinions: As helpful as social media has been to me and the food industry, there are much too many bloggers out there who think that writing about food involves featuring every and any restaurant that would be nice enough to comp their checks. As nice as it can be from time to time, you won’t read anything from me that I genuinely don’t think is good food. I’m interested in writing about the real Philadelphia food scene rather than just be another copy-and-paste outlet. I don’t use this blog as a means to make money rather than just a way to eat some of the best food in Philadelphia while meeting some great people in the process.

A word on food influencers:

As the era of social media continues in the food industry, you’ll undoubtedly run into a number of other food bloggers or insta-foodies with considerable followings on social media (whether they actually earned their following or not is a totally different story). As someone who has unexpectedly fell into this strange sub-culture of free dinners, random check comps, and personal invites from local chefs to try their food, I have a unique perspective on not only Philly’s local food scene, but the people who cover it. Having said that, I encourage you to inspect the credibility of any food writer (including myself) before taking their words or recommendations to heart. Simply put, there’s a lot of very talented people covering their local food scene, but with them come even more opportunists that are, frankly, just in it for the gravy train of free food, VIP treatment, and access to special events that they otherwise would never be invited to. I’ve been known to cover this subject in the past and try to bring it up whenever appropriate as I believe it’s a crucial subject to discuss in terms of the credibility of food writing.

A good take on this issue by Philly chef, Marc Vetri, can be read here.

Most importantly, what you’ll find on this site is my personal perspective on things. I try not to take others (and myself, at that matter) too seriously and try to keep things as light-hearted as possible. Nothing on this site should be taken as “the law of the land” rather than my personal opinion and perspective on things I’ve noticed while eating through Philadelphia (so you can stop emailing me about how offended you are by my opinions on whether or not ketchup should be on a cheesesteak).

Know of a new restaurant that you think I should check out? Got a juicy lead for an article? Want to write for the site yourself? Are you just lonely? Head over to my contact page to send me a message!

For those of you who don’t know, my name is Andrew and I’ve been covering Philly’s local food and entertainment scene for years. Since starting PhillyFoodporn.com, I’ve been lucky enough to earn myself a substantial following through my writing and social media antics (@PhillyFoodporn on Instagram and Twitter). Unlike some food bloggers, I’ve actually worked in the food industry for years, most of it being front-of-house as a server at the world famous Laff House Comedy Club, which was once home to many comedy legends such as Kevin Hart, deon Cole, and TuRae Gordon. I’ve met some of the best people I know in the food industry and it would a be a disservice to them and their livelihoods if I ever put their hard work in vein or otherwise disrespect their way of life by being another phony who’s only in this for followers and other imaginary internet points.

As I’ve stated before, I try not to post anything that I think you could do without so consider all my articles as things I truly think you could benefit from knowing. I sincerely appreciate all of the support I’ve received over the years from the industry as well as my readers. I hope you enjoy reading my stories as much as I did writing them.

Thanks again, and welcome to PhillyFoodporn.com!