Where to Go from Influencers In the Know.
ALL ABOUT @Wicked.Cravings
Name: Leah Shalbey
Account: @wicked.cravings
When and why you started blogging under your current handle:
March 2018. I started blogging food because I have such a passion for it. Growing up, my family was huge on food and none of us are picky with any type of cuisine. When we would go out to restaurants, we would get the best and coolest dishes, and I would take pictures of them. Because of this, I already had a variation of different dishes from restaurants (except they weren’t nearly as detailed and positioned as I would put them now). Oh also, I WILL travel for food and I have!
What has been the most surprising thing about Blogging:
Jeeze I feel like so many things have surprised me! I never thought I would grow to what I am now and at first, I kind of just did it for fun. I also was shocked how many food bloggers there are; I didn’t realize until I had my own! What really surprised me though is how much work it is having a food blog. It really hit me how much work and engagement you have to do in order to grow, but I always told myself to trust the process. A lot of the time I say to myself, “I just want to wake up one day and be viral throughout the Instagram food industry” and I am not saying that it can’t happen, but it does take a lot of time and effort to get to that point. A good surprise is, that I love that I have followers who genuinely take what I say and take my recommendations seriously. When I first started, I didn’t think anyone would take my posts seriously, but I had people asking me for recommendations, the best restaurants for a certain type of cuisine, etc., and that was the best surprise!!
TOP PICKS
Three seems to be the best number, so what are your top three for the following categories, and feel free to give some insights:
Top 3 Things You Have Ever Eaten:
1. Korean Fried Chicken at Den Den @dendenhospitality in Providence, RI. Their fried chicken is so crispy and flavored incredibly. I LOVE it!
2. A 4-foot lobster roll from Lobstah on a roll @lobstahonaroll on Newbury Street. Biggest lobster roll I have ever seen, and it was SO fresh and so good. They put huge chunks of lobster in the entire thing and did not skimp at all. I was mind blown.
3. Killer Brownies @killerbrownie . They are some of the best brownies I have ever had. Heat them up in the microwave for 10 seconds and you’ll get an ooey gooey delicious brownie.
View this post on InstagramSummer’s calling. While you’re out enjoying the beautiful day stop by and grab a roll.
Top 3 Restaurants Inside Boston:
1. La Famiglia Giorgio’s in the North End, Boston on Salem Street. Probably one of my favorite restaurants in the North End with the BEST tasting Italian food. When I was there, we ordered buffalo calamari for an app…GAME CHANGER! I’s so authentic with an excellent menu and don’t get me started with their portions, they are MASSIVE! I loved everything.
2. Ruth’s Chris on School Street in Boston. (also in Somerville, Ma). They are a steakhouse that serves high quality food with an elegant atmosphere. It’s a great place for a date night with a delicious menu.
3. Boston Burger Company on Boylston Street, Boston. Their options are endless. Whether you want a pig pile of nachos or wings to start, make sure you save room for their INSANE burgers and freak frappes.
Top 3 Restaurants Outside of Boston:
1. Café Assisi in Wrentham, Ma. One of my favorite Italian restaurants! It’s so cozy and cute too.
2. Rusty Can in Byfield, Ma. Probably one of the best barbecues I have had.
3. Union Straw in Foxboro, Ma. They offer a wide variety of options and their meats are on POINT and that’s because the chef specializes in culinary.
Top 3 Favorite Restaurant Pages to follow:
1. Elm Street Diner in Stamford, Connecticut. If you want to drool and see the craziest creations..follow them because you will NOT regret it. They have some of the craziest stuff I have seen!
2. Mt Kisco Diner in Mt Kisco, New York They also have some extremely unique and crazy creations! I want everything they have.
3. In A Pickle in Waltham, Ma because they come out with awesome pancake specials often and I always love to see what they come up with.
Top 3 Favorite Influencers to Follow:
1. @cheatdayeats because I can’t get over how detailed and professional her videography is. She captures everything so perfectly starting from beginning to end. I watch her videos and I’m like HOW?! I could watch them over and over and drool. She also seems like an awesome person and she eats these feasts and stays so lean. She is super honest with her followers too about how much she eats, what she eats, etc.
2. @devourpower because I mean, what food blogger doesn’t love their page?! They get the craziest devour worthy foods in NYC (and beyond). A lot of my “saved” places to go in NYC are from them! I also love the way they blog. They show them getting the food, trying it, and a picture of how it looks. I met him one time in NYC and I tracked him down for a picture…oops! They are goals. I wish I had that job!
3. @thenaughtyfork Her account is so unique, and I love her boards she makes! Seriously go look at her boards; she has fries boards, pizza boards, cheese boards, breakfast boards, etc. She is extremely creative, and you can tell she puts her whole heart into her Instagram (just look at her page!) I have so many saved from her from homemade creations, to the best spots to go in Florida! She’s also apart of Forbes under 30..can you say goals?!
SUPERLATIVES
If you were “going to the electric chair” What would your last meal be and from what restaurant?
Grapeleaves with all the sides from Byblos in Norwood, Ma.
Favorite thing to do when not blogging?
So many things! I love going up to my house in Maine, it’s the best. I also do kickboxing and I love it so much! It’s the best workout and I feel so good after. Some other things I love to do is hanging out with my friends, being with my family, golf (need to get better haha!) and cooking. I LOVE finding new recipes, it’s so fun!
What are your “bucket list” items/restaurants to try that you haven’t yet been to?
Giacomo’s in the North End
Chick n Cone in NY
Milanos in East Boston
Paulis in North End
Joe’s Rotisseria in NJ
Amano Las Vegas
The list goes on and on but here are just a few!
