gurgaon welloff and welltravelled would best describe a decent proportion of gurgaons residents not surprising then that gurgaonites love to indulge in the finer things in life and food and drink would top that list in the last halfdecade the city has seen the growth of online groups that have become fora for those who have an adventurous palate and cant hide a love of craft beer or an exceptional single malt to share their gastronomic experiences gurgaon food freak is the oldest of these online communities it has offshoots such as indian food bloggers network indian restaurant reviewers guild and foodies against service charge but its the freak with over 23000 members that is the biggest of these online bands this is a place for us to share our eatingout experiences says pawan soni the man behind gurgaon food freak back when we started out we would depend on newspapers and magazines for reviews recalls soni zomato was around but it was menu rather than reviewdriven we were looking for authentic feedback and because there was trust amongst the members from the outset we could rely on each other for advice then we started to hang out together and eat out together soni feels gurgaons floating population one that travels within and without india has helped make freak a success indeed most members would come with a fairly extensive knowledge of recipes and cuisines besides that precious knack of discovering the best bistro or bar in town they know their food says soni for example someone might be seeking information on where to eat in kolhapur all theyd have to do is post online and theyd have their answer i just came back from lucknow and though i knew quite a few restaurants in the city i left a post asking for suggestions so that i could try out some new places and i got a great response aalok wadhwa is the admin for gurgaon foodies which began its innings in 2010 and now boasts over 10000 members i had been living in the city for seven years but didnt know much about the eatingout scene here says wadhwa i came across the concept of facebook groups and on a whim got together some foodies the 20 of us landed up at hachi ba and had the time of our lives from the start it was all about organizing gettogethers with likeminded members and people now rely on us for authentic reviews not surprisingly the foodies continue to have fun but its not all about food beer buddies an online roundtable for those who enjoy their tipple was established by rajeev gulati in 2014 the idea was conceived last july and in august we started adding people five months down the road the group has 5200 members our purpose is anything and everything about liquor but we insist everyone drink responsibly and never drive when theyve had a drink says gulati every month beer buddies conducts twothree