Jourdi Tobias is certainly a foodie, but not the picky kind. The University of Maryland graduate really just loves food and wants to share it with the world.
She does so on her Instagram account, @district_foodie. There, the 25-year-old financial analyst’s 16,000 followers can find an almost daily documentation of the restaurants she dines at and the dishes she enjoys.
How did the account all start?
I moved to D.C. three-and-a-half years ago after graduating college. And my roommate and I loved to go out to eat and try new places and we didn’t really know where to go. But our friends in New York could just go on their Instagram accounts and be like, “Oh this Instagram account said we should go here and try it. It looks so good.”
In D.C. we didn’t have any of that, so we were like, why don’t we have that for D.C.? So we started it and kept going out to eat and it became something. Now, two of my friends help me because it’s a little hard to eat so much and eat out every single day. I can’t do it all myself. I’m eating so much I really need to work out.
But that’s something that makes us different. Not everyone eats everything that they post but if we post something, someone on the team has tried it
What’s a meal from the last year that really stands out?
Red Hen is amazing. The pasta is incredible. And even the drinks are so creative. The bartender there didn’t even ask what I wanted he just asked what kinds of flavors I was looking for and made something from that. The last time I went back, I didn’t even know what I’d gotten the first time, but it was amazing.
Will you ever post something if you don’t like it?
I generally like everything. Food is good, you know?
Was food important in your family growing up?
We definitely ate together a lot and would go out to a steak house or something on special occasions. But now my brother and I are just obsessed with food, we’re constantly talking about what we had recently. I’ll ask my mom about going to dinner, though, and she’ll just be like “it was a good meal.” They’re not as interested in food as we are.
Some people live to eat and some people eat to live. I definitely live to eat.
Do you ever take a night off from eating out and cook for yourself?
When I eat I want the food to be good. I don’t want to waste a meal on something I don’t like. I’m not the best cook, but I do try to cook at home. I only want to make something that I know will be good though.
Do you ever feel like you’re running out of restaurants to try?
No. I keep a list of restaurants that I’ve been wanting to go to, but sometimes it’s really hard to get a table. I’d been wanting to go to Maydan for so long, but it was so hard to get a table. I know how the OpenTable system works, though, so one night I couldn’t sleep and waited until 3 a.m. to make a reservation two weeks out. I was sitting up at 3 in the morning so excited over a meal in two weeks.
But there are also restaurants that I’m not going to go to for no reason, and I only have so many special occasions in my life so they get put off. I don’t mind eating alone though, and if there’s somewhere I really want to go to, I’m not going to wait for someone to come with me.
Is there anything else you want to say?
Just follow the account. It’s great. And be my friend. I’m great.
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