Check out REX 1516′s Executive Chef Regis Jansen on Thrillist!

Thrillist stopped by REX 1516 this week to meet Executive Chef Regis Jansen and sample some of the Southern-style fare. Here’s what you need to know about South Street’s newest hotspot:

-REX 1516 is located at 1516 South Street (duh!) in the yet-unnamed “west of Broad” neighborhood

-Interesting to note, REX means “king” in Latin and is also a play on Executive Chef Regis’ name

-Pastry Chef Shamus Moriarty bakes all bread in-house

-REX’s owners, Jill Weber and Evan Malone, went for a “faded mansion” feel, and the bar features reclaimed wood from the Frank Furnesse-designed Rittenhouse Club

Check out Thrillist’s video from their visit to the restaurant. Click the image below:

Chipotle Goes “Back to the Start” with Poignant Grammy Ad

For anyone watching the Grammy’s last night, one moment stood out above the rest—and it wasn’t Adele’s six awards or Jennifer Hudson’s touching tribute to Whitney Houston. Chipotle unveiled the company’s first major ad buy; a commercial entitled “Back to the Start.” The two-minute spot, featuring Willie Nelson covering Coldplay, is a decided departure from in-your-face product placement we saw last weekend during the Superbowl.

The ad highlights Chipotle’s commitment to sustainable food and ethical farming, amid a backdrop of Nelson’s version of “The Scientist.” Chipotle’s spot proved that sometimes less is more, with the simple graphics and inspired storytelling. The ad disses on traditional farming, and showcases Chipotle’s simpler, Earth-friendly approach.

Check out the ad on Chipotle’s YouTube channel, and download Willie Nelson’s rendition of “The Scientist” on iTunes.

 

Super Bowl Ad Winning Formula

If it were up to our staff to determine a winning formula for the best Superbowl commercials, the answer would be simple:

Cute Dog + (insert any product name here) = Success

Three commercials stole our hearts this Superbowl weekend: the Skecher’s dog race, VW’s fat dog, and Budweiser’s rescue dog, “Weego.”

Dog Race
He’s a dog. Wearing sneakers. Doing the Moonwalk. What else do you need? http://www.hulu.com/adzone#325768

Fat Dog
We can really identify with this guy—just trying to get in shape and motivated by the smooth sounds of James Brown. http://www.hulu.com/adzone#325382

Rescue Dog
Do you think it’s really possible to train your dog to do that? No really, IS IT? Plus, we love Budweiser’s Facebook campaign to donate $1 per “Like” on their fanpage to the Animal Rescue Foundation. http://www.hulu.com/adzone#326390

Which ad was your favorite? Any that were a no-go? (Non-dog related but Broderick’s awkward reprisal of Ferris Bueller, anyone…Anyone?)

Lunch at Del Frisco’s: We Love Restaurant Week Dining!

Lunch at Del Frisco’s: We Love Restaurant Week Dining!

Why is it so hard to concentrate on a Friday afternoon?  The jury’s still out in our office, but it may have something to do with the unseasonably beautiful weather, or the food coma we’re all relaxing in after hitting up Restaurant Week at Del Frisco’s on Chestnut Street for lunch.

For just $20, your lunch at Del Frisco’s will get you a three-course tasting menu. They’re offering soup of the day or a baby greens salad to start, four choices of entrée, and two desserts. We sampled the Blackened Filet Tips Salad and Blue Cheese Meatloaf. The salad features a mixed greens base topped with blackened filet mignon tips cooked to order, and finished with a light balsamic vinaigrette.  The mouth-watering blue cheese meatloaf is topped with a tangy Madiera sauce and comes with a side of chateau potatoes.

Don’t forget to save room for your dessert! Del Frisco’s offers two can’t-go-wrong choices: Warm Bread Pudding with Jack Daniel’s sauce (liquor at lunch doesn’t count when it’s in food, right?) and a superbly sweet chocolate mousse.

Luckily for you, there’s still time to snag a table for lunch during Part Deux of Restaurant Week, beginning Monday. Check out Del Frisco’s menus and reservations.

As for us, we’ll spend the weekend running and fasting in preparation for the second half of Restaurant Week madness. Happy Friday!

Need Some Help Breaking the Ice?

In a recent article on the Wall Street Journal’s website, Jennifer Levitz explored a seemingly “dated” method to dating. With the emergence of online dating, meeting potential suitors in person seems like a foreign concept.

Thomas Edwards, founder of The Professional Wingman, aims to reinvigorate the process of face-to-face interactions for dating purposes. For a predetermined fee, Thomas’ wingmen will accompany a client to bookstores, coffee shops, pubs or other heavily frequented destinations in an attempt to meet prospective partners and initiate romantic relationships. However, this concept isn’t reserved for wingmen.

Due to her friends’ fatigue with online dating, Hire a Boston Wingwoman Founder Susan Baxter recognized an opportunity to turn the tables and offer wingwomen for hire. For fees starting at $130, Baxter’s wingwomen will break the ice and initiate conversations between the client and women of romantic interest. Baxter’s slogan sums it up- “We’re better at hitting on women than you are.”

Have we become so detached as a society that meeting interesting and attractive people requires a substantial dollar sign? Is it so rare for everyday people to be charming that those capable can make a living out of it? Regardless of the reasons, these organizations claim to be gaining popularity while Internet dating activity seems to be diminishing.

It appears that characters such as Will Smith’s role in the 2005 comedy “Hitch” don’t just exist on the silver screen. The age old saying states that money can’t buy happiness. Perhaps hiring a wingman, however, can have you on your way.

Why We Friend or De-Friend

If you ever wondered why you’ve been friended or de-friended, new research from NM Incite may explain why. NM Incite, a Nielsen McKinsey company, shared extensive data to explain Facebook users’ social networking activities.

Why We Friend
At 82%, the top reason for friending someone is because you know that person in real life. While some people believe that today’s technology has diminished face-to-face interactions, this research proves that relationships developed via face-to-face interactions is still the most important factor in expanding online networks. Mutual friends was the second highest reason coming in at 60%.

Why We De-Friend
The number one reason we de-friend users is offensive comments (55%). Not knowing someone that well (41%) and sales-oriented content (39%) came in a close second and third. While offline factors determine whether or not users friend one another, online activities and practices prove to be the main reason for de-friending.

When it comes to social media activities, men are more likely to use social media for careers, networking, and dating, while women use social media as a creative outlet, participate in promos, collect coupons, and give positive feedback.

The “State of Social Media Survey” polled 1,895 social media users over age 18 from March 31 to April 14 earlier this year.

PR Firm Strikes Out With Sexist Joke

The Durex South African brand of condoms provided us with a text book example of what not to do in PR last week. The PR company managing Durex’s Twitter account tweeted a series of offensive and misogynistic jokes igniting an outrage among bloggers and mainstream media.

To make matters worse, the company failed to immediately apologize to those offended and became very defensive spurting out excuses like Durex tweeted similar jokes in the past without complaint.

Since then, the company has changed their tune and removed the inappropriate tweets. Durex’s marketing director has also issued a formal apology.

Durex’s PR firm struck out here on several fronts. Here’s how you can learn from their mistakes:

1. Make sure that you understand the difference between ‘edgy’ and ‘offensive’ comments. As a general rule, sexist, racist, religious, and political comments are taboo.
2. Be accountable! Excuses don’t fix problems.
3. Turn a negative into a positive. Directly following the tweets, Durex squandered the opportunity to repent via Twitter for their offensive ‘jokes’ and acknowledge the importance of equality in today’s society.