The First Bite; I Think I Owe You An Explanation...
Hey There!
So you've made it this far, are you wondering what you've stumbled upon? Who I am, what this is, why I've created it? Those are legitimate questions, and ones I am happy to answer.
The Who
I'm Alex. I didn't get my first restaurant job until I was 15 years old, but was a huge fan of them for many years before that- and a lifelong fan of food before that even. I've almostĀ never felt anything that equates to that feeling of the restaurant experience. Now, I love a home-cooked meal as well, and some of them can't be beat. But a real, tangible memory of an unforgettable experience at a restaurant can be life altering. The only thing that beats that, is the feeling that you get when you are able to deliver that first feeling to someone else. And that's why I work in restaurants. To deliver that feeling, because when you do, wow... it's indescribable.
The What
This site is a culmination of the things I love, and a chance to put my energies into them to create something productive, and hopefully useful and entertaining too. I envision the site to be a place where I can keep anyone who is interested up to date with restaurant industry news, have a forum where myself and anyone else can post topics to discuss, and I can add a little more depth and substance to my Instagram food account, which I have had a blast doing because it gives me mental justification to go out to eat, or cook/be cooked at more.
The Where
I've lived in New York City for the last eight years, before that was school in the Hudson Valley for four years, and before that I grew up in Rochester, New York. I'd say those are the places I have posted photos from most often on my Instagram. That arm of social media for me is quite literally what is on my plate, in front of me, about to be consumed. My Alex Johnson Eats Twitter and Facebook accounts will be more globally and nationally focused (with maybe a slight tilt towards New York City/East Coast, but hopefully I will lose this bias over time!). This website will feature a little bit of everything; news, resources, polls, a personal blog from me, an open forum for everyone to contribute to, and even recipe and restaurant recommendations. Through this website, I hope to focus more on the industry and the community, as opposed to just about my meals, I'll save that for the 'Gram. I hope to get other professionals to contribute engaging content on here too, because I have much more learning to do, and this time period seems like the best opportunity to learn that I've had in a long time, and I might as well share the experience.
The Why
I was laid off when my restaurant temporarily closed down in mid-March, and as such have had a lot of time on my hands waiting for it to reopen. I've already been posting my meals on my Instagram account for a couple of years now, but felt an itch to do something more substantial where I could do something I enjoy, about something I really enjoy, and maybe even be helpful to someone out there along the way. And that's why; because it's a little something that I can do, during a time when I feel powerless towards most things- except voting, voting is super powerful. Make sure you VOTE!
So Anyway,
I hope that clears things up a little bit. I started out as someone who just wanted to show you what he was eating, and now I've gained moderate web-building knowledge and want that eating to maybe do some good out there. Thanks for eating with me, and being a part of this.
More to come! Hope you're eating well!
Alex