While everyone else in the city was off enjoying this year’s mildly disappointing Cherry Blossoms, I decided to meet a group of my friends over at DC’s newest beer garden, Standard.
One of Standard's promo shots by Leo Schmid
On the corner of 14th and S, Standard was basically packed to the gills when I got there.
No frills, straight forward menu — just an all around great place to hang out outside, eat some home style BBQ favorites, and drink German beer.
Photo by Prince of Petworth
Photo by Prince of Petworth
FOOD! Photo by Alla G. (Yelp!)
Weihenstephaner! aka a delicious German beer who's name I cannot pronounce. Photo by Cameron B. (Yelp!)
While I was waiting in line for a beer I actually overheard some interesting conversation (major creep alert, I know.) According to these two bros, Standard has done little to no advertising — news of its opening has been spread largely by word-of-mouth.
Well, who knows how true that is, all I know is that I heard about Standard from friends, so perhaps there is some truth behind this. After all, word-of-mouth is the most effective form of marketing (after that is Coupons, learned that in IMC. Thanks Professor Neal!)
Anyway, I got so caught up in all the excitement I forgot to take pictures (thus all the borrowed pictures above) HOWEVER, I did remember to check in on Foursquare! WOOHOO! I have to say, Foursquare is quickly becoming one of my favorite social media tools, especially after their latest software update.
I like Foursquare for a lot of reasons. For one, it’s really great for looking up cool places in the area. I also really like that you can leave tips, or read tips people have left, about what’s good or what to avoid. However, I think what really draws me in is the competition aspect of Foursquare. After this latest update, each week Foursquare puts you in a competition against the rest of your friends, to see who can have the “best week.” A different amount of points are awarded depending on: location, whether or not your friends have checked in there before, etc etc.
It kind of hard to explain, and my friends make fun of me all the time for loving Foursquare, but it’s AWESOME so download it!
And ok, I take back the Cherry Blossoms comment earlier. Even the ones that haven’t really been able to fully open are still quite beautiful. I’m just being bitter about the cold weather. Hello spring?? Where are you??
Some beautiful little buds 🙂 Photo by the lovely Ruchika Gupta (Flickr)
Photo by Ruchika Gupta (Flickr)
blsindc 
