In Washington, new friendships often come with expiration dates: his internship ends in two weeks; her job is only contracted through the end of the year.
And when your social circle shrinks, finding new pals can be just as tricky as finding a date.
Enter Grub With Us, a company that brings groups of 20- and 30-somethings together for low-key, friend-making dinners at local restaurants. Formed last summer in Chicago, it now has outposts in San Francisco, New York, Boston and Seattle, with its newest locations in Los Angeles and here in the District.
Participants who sign up for one of the meals pay the set price (usually around $30, which includes gratuity) , fill out a profile on the grubwith.us Web site and get a sneak peek at the small group of people they’ll be introduced to at dinner.
“This is a really non-awkward way to meet new people. You’re taking your online social network offline, and you’re doing it over food,” says Grub With Us development director Sen Sugano.
The dinners, he explains, are meant to be relaxed, unlike networking events, where careers are the focus, or dates, where romance is the goal.
“If either happens, that’s fine, it happens, but that’s not our purpose,” Sugano says. “Our purpose is to make new friends.”
Francine Mends, 30, a doctor from New York, gave it a shot when she arrived in the Washington area for a month. “I thought it was a great way to try out restaurants I might not get a chance to visit, and meet some fun people while I was at it,” she says.
Mends joined seven others, including this reporter, at Mandu in Dupont Circle for two hours of chatting over a three-course meal. The group, a mix of long-time locals and D.C. newcomers, talked about favorite foods, blogs and spots in the city. The conversation is supposed to be casual — no talking about war, religion or politics, and cell phones are forbidden. The night ended with light hugs.
“I was able to get a sample of the local cuisine and I learned that D.C.-ers are a pretty cool bunch,” Mends says.
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