During my freshman year at Temple, my social life consisted of trying new foods and restaurants in Philadelphia. I went out with my boyfriend, friends, family or sometimes by myself. It didn’t really matter the group or occasion; I was always eating, taking pictures and posting them on my personal social media accounts.
My mother constantly berated me about the time I spent eating my way through Philly.
“Sophia, all you do is eat good food, what about studying?!” she’d say.
Growing up just outside New York City, going out to eat has been one of my favorite things to do in my free time since I was little. My hometown, Port Chester, New York, is predominantly Latino with an array of diverse food options from Italian and Mediterranean to Mexican, Peruvian and Colombian. Food has always had high value and importance in my family, I grew up around home cooking and carefully curated restaurants to eat at together.
I was once a strong advocate for New York being the city with the best food. But coming to Temple made me especially in tune with the food scene in Philadelphia, and I grew an admiration for all of the incredible food sectors and affordable choices.
I’ve subconsciously set an expectation for myself that my week isn’t complete if I don’t eat at a new restaurant. Experimenting with new foods, learning more about cultures and being satisfied after a great meal releases neurotransmitters in my brain, and I constantly crave that feeling.
The restaurants I choose range from award-winning, extensive tasting menus to smaller family-owned restaurants of ethnic cuisine like Zahav and Marrakesh. My biggest priority was making sure I tried as many restaurants as possible while sharing my experiences on social media, as I was already receiving positive feedback from my peers on my personal Instagram account.
My boyfriend Jon and I created a food blog page called Philly’s Good Eatz during my sophomore year. Much of our inspiration came from online restaurant recommendations, and we thought it would be beneficial to other college students and people living in Philadelphia who are curious about the unique food options.
The Philly’s Good Eatz website, Instagram and TikTok showcase the excellent food in Philly through restaurant recommendations and reviews. I’ve picked up many social media and writing skills through the development of the blog, and I’ve also expanded my knowledge of diverse cuisines and cultures.
It’s unrealistic to eat at restaurants multiple times a week as a college student on a budget, which is why we’ve added home cooking and recipes to the blog. I often post old restaurant content from before we started Philly’s Good Eatz to keep things fresh and consistent.
I’ve also been able to connect with so many other food bloggers from around the world, in places like London, Melbourne and Toronto, which shows just how large the presence of the foodie community is on social media. It’s refreshing to engage with others who are relatable, supportive and helpful in guiding us toward the next steps of collaborative opportunities.
Although there are times when I feel the account isn’t growing fast enough, I remind myself that the amount of followers doesn’t really matter and Philly’s Good Eatz is supposed to be a fun and influential page meant for both me and others to enjoy.
Creating a space to embrace my hobbies and passions can be challenging because I am the one managing the content, and the consistency of posting is up to me. It’s common to feel self-doubt and lack of motivation, but I’ve found that genuine dedication and awareness of decisions affecting my work ethic is key.
I realized that in order for Philly’s Good Eatz to succeed, I had to love what I was writing and posting about; it had to come from the heart.
Philly’s Good Eatz is starting to pick up this semester, doubling in followers within two months, because I’ve tapped into social media strategies and ideas to help us stay consistent and appealing to others. By combining both of my passions for food and writing, I finally feel like I have an outlet that gives me purpose. It’s amazing to see positive feedback, like when my friends say, “Whenever I want to go out to eat, I just go look at your food blog.”
We had our first collaboration on Oct. 19 with one of our favorite happy hour places, La Chinesca, a Mexican-Chinese fusion restaurant. We were given a meal in exchange for creating an Instagram reel and grid post of our full dining experience. The partnership was exciting for us, we were able to network with a restaurant we admire for their uniqueness in fusion and ambiance.
I am thrilled to start documenting my food outings throughout my travels in Europe when I study abroad in Rome next semester. I plan on re-branding Philly’s Good Eatz to a more generic food and travel page in the future when I leave the city for Rome, and because I don’t know where I’ll be after graduation. We’ll have more freedom by rebranding to blog our food endeavors throughout traveling, moving and wherever life takes us after college.
There’s nothing more invigorating to me than having shared, collective experiences over delicious food. With the profusion of rich culture, history and authenticity, Philly’s food is too special to avoid indulging in.
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