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"Five years ago, when Chris Stang and Andrew Steinthal were two music executives frustrated with the grandiosity of food criticism, they self-published a review of Manhattan\u2019s Gemma. Their outlet was\u00A0the Infatuation\u00A0\u2014 a blog, traditional by then \u2014 but the tone was something new. Equal parts down-to-earth, lighthearted, and accessible, the Infatuation provided an unfortunately-rare type of dinin\u200Bg advice: the type young people could actually act upon.\r\n\r\nOf course, five years online is quite some time, and since then, Stang and Steinthal have built up a significant following by coupling this tone with advances in technology. In addition to their blog, they\u2019ve released\u00A0an iPhone app, taken to\u00A0Twitter, and built a following on\u00A0Instagram\u00A0nearing 100,000 users, many of whom engage with team\u2019s signature hashtag,\u00A0#EEEEEATS.\r\n\r\nThey\u2019ve also published an annual iBook,\u00A0the Guide to Killing It This Summer, as a means of guiding New Yorkers toward daily al fresco dining and drinking.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAs it turns out, using technology to compete with an oft-dated form of criticism has its payoffs. The duo has left the music business, and this year\u2019s guide is a testament to its growth. The 77-page iBook covers 35 bars and restaurants, with brief write-ups and high resolution photography, as well as craft beer and warm-weather wine suggestions.\r\n\r\n\u201CIt\u2019s sort of like March Madness with patios,\u201D says Stang of the annual selection process. \u201CWe make a list of the new places that have opened since the previous summer, and start checking them out to see if they make the cut. Then we look at some of our favorites from the first two guides, put them together, and narrow it down to a final list.\u201D\r\n\r\nBy this iteration, readers will recognize the tone and even some of the stops, but the content reflects a growing brand and expanded partnerships.\r\nGrowing up on the Internet\r\nStang and Steinthal have now stepped beyond the confines of the city to include Destination Infatuation, where they cover weekend trips to places like Cooperstown, the North Fork (\u201Cthe Hampton\u2019s red-headed step brother\u201D) and the Hamptons themselves, which they say is \u201Cmost definitely saturated with crop tops, designer Birkenstocks and maybe Kardashians.\u201D\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u201CWe're just trying to mix it up and keep it useful,\u201D Steinthal says of the expansion. \u201CWe do Destination Infatuation travel guide pieces on the site and they do really well.\u201D\r\n\r\nDenim brand Paige, with whom they partnered at SXSW last year \u2014 the #SmokeAndDenim dinner at Austin's Foreign &amp;amp;amp; Domestic \u2014 came on board as a sponsor, expanding the content beyond food to include looks with each destination.\r\n\r\n\u201CNow that we're full time and can focus on scaling the business, we've definitely started to ramp up on both the partnerships and events side,\u201D says Steinthal. \u201CWe built the Infatuation for five years while holding demanding, high level jobs in the music business, and now that we've left, it's a whole new ball game,\u201D he continues.\r\n\r\n\u201CYou can get so much more done when you only have one thing to focus on, and 100 percent of your time dedicated to it.\u201D\r\nGoing the technology route\r\nOperating like a technology startup, rather than publication, remains a core value for Stang and Steinthal. Their demographic is young, and just as their editorial signatures \u2014 biting honesty, and brevity for quick consumption \u2014 are an expectation, so, too, is the ability to access that work on the go.\r\n\r\nTheir iPhone app and mobile site are set for updates, and an Android app is slated for beta testing in the near future.\r\n\r\n\u201COur audience is much younger than most of our competitors\u2019, so staying on top of mobile is particularly important to our growth,\u201D says Stang. \u201CWe're also excited about the idea of doing other lightweight apps which help people solve problems, as well as continuing to release digital ebooks and guides.\u201D\r\n\r\nScalability, with this startup-lean in mind, is part of the plan. This summer, coverage will expand to San Francisco, Chicago, and Denver, followed by Austin and Nashville. By 2015, they\u2019ll be abroad.\r\n\r\n\u201CHow we choose where we go is partially about singling out cities we think we'll do well in, and also about where we can finding the right people who can represent our voice for that specific city,\u201D says Steinthal. \u201CThe right people have found us in all the markets we're launching this year, and the plan is to get to places like London, LA, DC and Sydney, Australia, in 2015.\u201D\r\n\r\nTo this end, technology may be the lesser of the challenges. How the anti-foodie tone carries city by city, then country by country, will make for an interesting challenge, one that Steinthal and Stang have tested with forays to places as distant as Paris.\r\n\r\nIn New York, though, the voice remains a trusted one; expect to hear it at Williamsburg\u2019s Maison Premiere, Dumbo\u2019s Vinegar Hill House and Narcissa at the Standard Hotel - their top selections for the summer."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/06/24/new-yorks-immaculate-infatuation-growing-internet/>