One who has only seen the neo-classical, street facing facade of the PNC Bank build might be shocked when they come around to the parking lot on it’s rear, which seems to tell a far different story than it suggests. While I can’t say for certain, lacking access to the architects or high quality enough […]
Author: Alexander Lane
Digital Archives 11: Dupont Duality
While the exteriors of the stores are undoubtedly more relevant to this documentation, that does not mean a reflection on the architecture of the area at large is not important. Dupont Circle, like much of DC, is a heavily modern neighborhood growing in the often historical architecture of DC’s downtown areas. One need only consider […]
Annotated Bibliography 7 & 8
7. Lin, Yann-Jou, et al. “The Effect of Experiential Providers on Restaurant Patronage Decisions.” Social Behavior and Personality, vol. 40, no. 7, 2012, pp. 1065-1066. In researchers Lin, Liu, and Chiang’s brief journal article “The Effect of Experiential Providers on Restaurant Patronage Decisions,” the three analyze the results of a survey to examine something often overlooked […]
Commonplace 12- A Discourse on Food
“As much as Andrés wants us to eat better, the man whose kitchens dish out pedigreed ham (at Jaleo) and a meringue “Rubber Ducky” made with foie gras ice cream (at Minibar) knows dining is as much about pleasure as sustenance. Or should be.” -Tom Sietsema, “Beefsteak review: Making vegetables bright, beautiful- and fast,” The Washington […]
Annotated Bibliography 5&6
5. Background Merry+Valenzula. “Beefsteak,” Behance, 10 Oct. 2015, https://www.behance.net/gallery/30211853/Beefsteak. Portfolio. In this brief portfolio work by the creative agency Merry+Valenzula, we see a brief description of the artistic spirit behind Beefsteak’s unique visual identity, both in its branding and its physical locations. For example, one sees dummy versions of apps, menus, and even stationary, as […]
Commonplace 11- Life and Taxes
1. A good portion of Americans are far too interested in how and where others use the restroom- some even to the point of losing massive amounts of money because of a perceived morality of saying that certain people can or cannot use a restroom because of their gender identity. In the midst of this, […]
Commonplace 10: Remember When We Somehow Stopped SOPA?
“Many consumers, especially those households with limited incomes, appreciate receiving relevant advertising that is keyed to their interests and provides them with discounts on the products and services they use.” –League of United Latin American Citizens, Multicultural Media, Telecom, and Internet Council, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates Unsurprisingly, the right side of the aisle has managed […]
Digital Archives 10: The Strange World of Beefsteak’s Advertising
The most striking thing about Beefsteak, and the reason I chose it over Sweetgreen today, was this rambunctious group of vegetables. Mostly unnamed, this art style is pervasive over the restaurant- the wallpaper and table settings all incorporate these mascots to greater or lesser degrees. Beefsteak’s edge among the restaurants of PNC Bank, along with […]
Digital Archives 9: Beefsteak’s Milk Crate Lights
The milk crate is a quite universal sort of box- I’ve never seen one actually used for milk, but they’re great for storing records, sitting on, just throwing stuff in, or using for art projects like this. Beefsteak (named for the tomato) likes to promote their enviromental-vegetarian method with things like this, presumably to give […]
Digital Archive 8: Beefsteak Kitchen
Beefsteak, like most fast casual restaurants, takes an assembly line approach to meals- you either get something with an ingredient list already made or pick your own veggies (not in the farming sense) and assorted toppings and bases. One particular innovation is deep-fryer style vegetable boilers, which quite impressed me personally, though I’m easy to […]