Georgetown Cupcake vs. Bens Chili Bowl

The line out the door is a phenomenon found in food cities across the country. The trick is too make your space so small that very few people can wait inside and produce the food quick enough as to not need a server to entertain patrons. Im too lazy to research it, but im pretty sure the Kogi Korean BBQ Taco Truck in LA was at the forefront of this movement. The basic formula reads: line = then and only then a food city.
Ok, so Ben's does not have a line down the block, but it has the buzz and the continuous crowds. In the other corner we have the new kid on the block.... Georgetown Cupcake. I have to give GC credit for a couple of things. One, they make $4 cupcakes that I would say are well worth the cash. Two, they have brought some much needed buzz to the city's dining scene. Three, in addition to buzz, they have brought hope. Hope, that the city can evolve from a formula of independently owned pseudo-corporations; those restaurants that look and act like chains, with their safe designs and two dimensional menus (Clydes, et. al).
So now that I have given the credit, its time to point out the downside of a place like Georgetown Cupcake. GC is probably the most sought out place to find food in all of DC. In LA you have the Korean BBQ Tacos, in SF you have either French Soul Food or a one table coffehouse/ straight from farm to table rotating menu, and in DC we have cupcakes. These places tend to represent a history or diversity of a city. Its only ability to succeed has to connect the residents and tell a story about the area. Bens Chili Bowl fits the mold, Georgetown Cupcake represents a coming schism of the city. For the last 40 years, there has been a deep divide between blacks and whites. Fortunately the gap has been shrinking. There has been some great development in areas, such as U st, Columbia Heights and Petworth, that have developed economically and held onto the rich history of the respective neighborhoods. BCB has become a representation of the past, present and future of the city. A past of hate, a present of hope and a future of acceptance and understanding. Georgetown Cupcake will hopefully develop into a wildly successful, compartmentalized vision of the far west side of the city. In the end, I think we are at the start of a culinary enlightenment and I can only imagine that the success will be in part derived thanks to an inclusion of a regional perspective.