With the Presidential trip to Ireland recently, one of our fave countries has been in the spotlight. Where Foodspotting is concerned, we have a wee soft spot for all things Irish - our signature cocktail does contain Guinness, after all. So to celebrate our love for Ireland and its cuisine, we're partnering with DiscoverIreland.com, our first international partner, to offer a Spot & Win campaign.

Starting today, if you spot one of many amazing Irish dishes using Foodspotting's site or mobile apps, you'll be automatically entered to win an all-expense-paid special food exploration trip for two to Ireland thanks to Discover Ireland. Here's how it works: Spot one of the eligible Irish dishes below. The more dishes you spot, the more opportunities to win. Pretty photos are encouraged, of course! Once you've added your sightings to the candidate pool, we'll randomly select a winner. The contest will end on Sunday, July 31, 2011 at midnight PT. Contestants must be U.S. residents and aged 18 and older. For more details on the rules, click here.

Eligible Irish dishes include:
- Black Pudding
- Boxty
- Corned Beef
- Cottage Pie
- Guinness
- Irish Breakfast
- Irish Coffee
- Irish Soda Bread
- Mead
- Smithwick's Beer
- Whiskey

We are in the process of exploring the many ways that we can make sharing food sightings more rewarding, so we're excited that this marks the very first opportunity to automatically unlock possible rewards by spotting certain dishes. We're already creating similar programs with other partners, so stay tuned for more.

Now get out there and spot some Irish dishes - you could be just one simple sighting away from a fabulous trip to Ireland!

In early May, the Foodspotting team joined forces with MINI Countryman and embarked on a day of wanderlust through New York City. Last week we recapped our driving and foodspotting adventures with photos, but be sure to watch this video put together by MINI to see exactly what we mean when we say we have the greatest jobs ever. And since you're wondering...we're hiring!

Check out this great video review of our Android app on AppJudgment! Big thank you to the producers for using Foodspotting and for sharing their thoughts on our Droid app.

The verdict? They love it, but want to be able to find and follow friends. Well, guys, we hear you and are working on including these features and more in the full Foodspotting Android app coming out soon.

Being a part of the Foodspotting team has certainly taken us on some amazing adventures. And the pinnacle of this might be our inclusion last week in the wonderful James Beard Foundation Awards to which we had an all-access pass, allowing us to do crazy things like accidentally wander onto the stage and hang out all night behind the scenes with the likes of Thomas Keller.

The blogging that we did, with our official live-blogging duties for JBF didn't quite do the event justice. So what better way to capture the experience than with a video? Check out our quick highlight reel of the fun night and be sure to follow the James Beard Foundation on Foodspotting for updates on the award winners' food recommendations.

Video produced by our own Amy Cao.

Everybody knows that discovering and sharing good food is 110%* more fun in the company of friends. To that end, we're encouraging foodspotters everywhere to host eat-ups, happy hours, and food crawls all over the world. Our team in San Francisco even hosts monthly "Cereal Bars," with one happening this Friday! To host or attend an eat-up in your city, visit our Meetup page. We diligently promote eat-ups on Twitter and Facebook, too, so keep your eyes peeled for upcoming eat-ups in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Orlando, Munich, and more.

Next Thursday, April 28th, we're co-hosting Foodspotting Cocktail Hour at Ai Fiori in New York City. We're huge fans of Chef Michael White, so you can imagine how excited we are to team up with his newest restaurant to ring in their spring cocktails and menu. Follow their guide on Foodspotting.

There will be exclusive drink specials and even a rumor about a Foodspotting cocktail. So, save the date: April 28th 5-7PM and be sure to RSVP. Space is limited, so consider yourself warned. Looking forward to seeing you guys next Thursday!

*not scientifically proven, but it's true.

Video produced by Jeff Schwartz for Ai Fiori

It's been a couple of weeks since SXSW and I think the team has fully recovered by now... Maybe :)

We had our whole team - all 10* of us - out in Austin to help promote and staff our SXSW Official Street Food Fest, presented by BlackBerry: the first event of its kind for SXSW. As we recapped after the event, we had a blast that day and the vibe was happy and fun - our perfect idea of a good time, which wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for BlackBerry, the amazing food trucks that participated, and the almost 4,000 people who came by.

What event would be complete without some video action? So enjoy this fabulous clip, pulled together by Awesome Amy from the day, and it doesn't even do the event justice.

We're thinking bigger and better next year! Who's with us??

*I know you're curious about this number... So behold the full Foodspotting team: Alexa, Ted, Soraya, Ben, Shelly, Kim, Amy, Seth, Jeremy and me!

If you have been following Foodspotting in the news, you might have noticed that our company has not one, but two women co-founders. Our CEO Alexa Andrzejewski has been leading the company since its inception, while our Chief Marketing Officer Soraya Darabi has been inspiring the global digital community since her days at the New York Times. To this end, we're thrilled to share this video from Soraya's recent interview on TechCrunch about Foodspotting, women in tech, and what she would be doing if she wasn't working on Foodspotting. Some answers surprised even us, but it's all worth watching.

Check out the full interview on TechCrunch.

After the lobsters were presented on a platter at our table, they were whisked away to the kitchen where they (magically!) became lobster sashimi for our first course. The second course was lobster tempura, and for the final course, the lobster remains flavored a filling lobster miso soup.

The three-course lobster menu for two is available for $120. If you're seriously considering stopping by, do make a reservation. This experience, along with some of New York's best sushi, should inspire adventurous eaters and sushi "afishionados" to put 15 East on their Wanted list!