"Dirty" soda, Dubai chocolate: Where to get viral TikTok food trends in D.C.
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Dubai chocolate at Lily's. Photo: Courtesy of Julia DiBenedetto
Pickle sandwiches. "Dirty" sodas. Dubai chocolate. Viral TikTok food trends are live at D.C.-area restaurants.
Why it matters: Social media shapes what we eat IRL and drives revenue for businesses that hop on huge trends.
The big picture: Even basic dishes, such as viral baked feta pasta, can make major waves. (Cue the great global feta shortage of 2021.)
- TikToker Logan Moffitt (aka "cucumber guy") and his refreshing salads caused a scarcity in Iceland this summer. He now runs an Amazon storefront with cuke-related products.
So yes, major retailers are watching (and no, you're not hallucinating that pickle-infused foods are everywhere).
- Discount grocer Aldi, expanding in the DMV, told Axios that it launched a team of trend experts who monitor social media to "stock the must-have items shoppers want."
Here's where to find the viral food trends du jour in the DMV:
Pickle sandwiches
What/why: The war on carbs is coming for delis as sandwich-makers swap out buns for jumbo pickles (sound off if you hate crunchy munching).
Where: Mega-chain Jimmy John's just released a "picklewich," so RIP cool trend.
- We'd still try it at Bub and Pop's in Dupont, making pickle subs years before they were big dills (look for specials).
Dirty sodas
What/why: Mormon mom-tok sent these sodas mainstream — mixed with ingredients like coconut water, creams and syrups (and, if you're Dua Lipa, pickle juice).
Where: Coco's Sodas + Sweets in Vienna, Virginia — an unexpected hotbed of TikTok food trends — offers signature dirty sodas. Think: Diet Dr Pepper with coconut syrup and cream, plus fresh lime.
Dubai chocolate
What/why: Dubai-based Fix Dessert Chocolatier created the viral bars — like decadent, gooier Kit-Kats — spawning global copycats.
Where: Iraqi immigrant-owned Lily's Chocolate & Coffee, also in Vienna and Alexandria, sells Dubai chocolate with pistachio cream and knafeh filling, as well as eye-catching lokma (doughnut holes).
Hail, Caesar
What/why: The Caesar trend is holding on longer than the eponymous Roman emperor, with a recent boost due to the salad's 100th anniversary. It's going viral in wraps and subs.
Where: Bite into a Chicken Caesar Sarnie at Your Only Friend sandwich shop in Shaw. The owners tell Axios that the stack of crispy chicken, Provolone, Caesar dressing, pickles and chips — on special again next week — is a bestseller, selling the shop out of bread and chicken cutlets.
Tanghulu
What/why: The traditional Chinese dessert of sugar-glazed fruit is having a moment (it's shiny!).
Where: Shilla Bakery in Annandale sells the glossy fruit skewers.