Later today I'll be getting on a flight from Buenos Aires and heading to the United States, where I'll be spending a month in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. And with every trip, I only have so many meals in a day and try to be careful not to waste one on subpar food.
So for the past 4 years as an iPhone user, I've been using a number of apps to help avoid any culinary mistakes. I thought I'd share a few of these.
If you have any others to recommend, do so in the comment section below.
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+ menus
+ ratings
+ prices
- US only
- Limited cities |
MenuPages:
The app I rely on the most is MenuPages. Unlike many of the other options, MenuPages gives you reasonably updated menus for each restaurant. This on top of the standard info you'll find on other applications: price range, ratings, reviews, and address. But like the app name tells you, it's the menus that make this app the most useful.
Using the MenuPages app is a sintch too. Just need to type in a cuisine your looking for and it will give you a Google Map with available options. When you click on an listing, it will give you the address, price range, ratings in stars and reviews...and with a click, the menu.
I've been using Menupages for years on the computer and the past few years on the iphone. But the biggest drawback is that the available cities are very limited.
Originally, MenuPages was just a New York based tool. Over the years, they've had new ownership, and started to expand...but at a snails pace. The only cities available are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago. They've recently expanded with London and Paris, seemingly following Yelp's lead. Luckily, these are all cities I frequent. But the app is only useful if you happen to be in one of these select few cities.
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+ reviews
+ ratings
+ price range
+ many US cites
- US only
- no menus |
Yelp:
Probably the most popular app for the hungry on the road. A quick search will give you a Google mapped result that with a single click, gives you price range, hours, address, ratings and reviews. They also include discounts from time to time for a location, like some of the other services like Foursquare, etc.
I'd likely only use Yelp if it included one more item: menus. I can read all the reviews I want and people's recommendations...which are helpful. But in the perfect world, one would be able to see the specific menu as well. And with so many restaurant official sites being in flash, it' snot always as easy as clicking the link to the official site and give the menu a look. I find I use Yelp hand-in-hand with the MenuPages app to cover that base.
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+ reviews
+ ratings
+ price range
+ many US cities
- US only
- no menus |
UrbanSpoon:
There are plenty of people who appreciate the risk in eating more than I do. And by risk I mean a menu that might not be to ones suiting. For the adventurous, there is UrbanSpoon. It's a simple interface, you can shake and assuming you're in the United States, it will give you a random restaurant to try. You can also click the "browse" feature and do a more detailed search by cuisine, neighborhood, etc. Upon viewing a cuisine, you'll get the high-level name, address and price range info. And with a 2nd click, you'll get a rating calculated by a simple "like" or "I don't" option. Photos are also a helpful tool they provide.
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+ international
- not as detailed
as Yelp, etc |
Google Places:
The Google Places app is basically the Google attempt at Yelp and other local resources. For food hunters, it's a handy tool. But mostly when you are outside of the US and don't have access to apps like Yelp. Sure, you can at times get free app alternatives for a given international city. But Google Places gives you some quick ideas, reviews, ratings, etc.
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+ International
options in
one app |
Google Maps + My Maps:
It might seem pretty redundant to include the most basic of iPhone apps, Google Maps, on the list. Especially since it comes pre-installed on all iPhones. In the United States, it's where so many of the other apps like MenuPages and Yelp are pulling their map data. That's all well and good in the United States, but when you are traveling outside the US, you need something more broad. And Google delivers that. With the simplicity we're all used to with Google Maps, you can type in something as simple as "restaurants" and be given some helpful information. If one is planning a trip, you can also create your own Google Map with pin points to places (restaurant locations) of
interest. Due to a hiccup in the Google Maps technology though, you'll need the next app mentioned to access your customized map.
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+ access to your
saved
Google Maps |
My Maps is a simple app that accesses your Google account. When you create a map on your computer using Google Maps and save it, you currently cannot access that via the official Google Maps iPhone app. My Maps is free and upon clicking, just presents you with a list of your saved maps. When you click a map, it loads it in Google Maps. Tis is especially helpful if you are are traveling outside the United States and want to have a layout of restaurants you intend to visit.
Upon searching the App Store today, it does appear that the free version I currently use might no longer be available.
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+ international
+ map view
+ ratings & reviews |
TripAdvisor:
The TripAdvisor app gives you all the info you get from their helpful site, but in a much easier method. In a foreign country and want a specific cuisine?. Just click "restaurants", type in your city, click a price range, and you're good to go. It's that simple. The results are given in list form with the star ratings, number of reviews and the handy "see on map" option, which launches all the listings on a Google Map. Granted, I've personally spent more time outside the United States the past year, but even when in the US, I find myself using TripAdvisor often.
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+ most US cities
- US only |
Nationwide Happy Hours:
There are a number of different Happy Hour apps out there. But this one covers the United States while many others are limited to a single city. Search is done by entering the city and then a Google Map appears with the various listings. A single click gives you a high-level look at hours and prices with more details in the second click.
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+ most US cities
- US only |
GoTime Happy Hours:
Another United States national source,
GoTime.com Happy Hours is a collection of listings brought to you be some of the various local publications through GoTime.com.
Some other happy hour apps for specific cities include
HourDrinks (New York) and
Venga (Maryland/DC/NoVa).
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+ extremely detailed
info with
restaurant reviews
- Only city of SF
is a free app |
This is one of the best apps for a food traveler. Just like their paper books, you get access to restaurant reviews, local food festivals and street fairs, phrase books, history, and everything else you could possibly need. The offline maps are the most helpful tool...allowing you to have the accuracy of a Google Map, but without the roaming charges.
If you are visiting San Francisco, you're in luck...the Lonely Planet app is free for the Bay Area. Each other city costs $5.99...but since SF is free, it made the list.
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+ number of free
cities such as NY, Chi
- $4.99 for other cities |
The popular travel book also has it's own iPhone app. Unlike some of the other travel guide apps where you can download specific cities from within the app, TimeOut has unique apps for each city. There are a number of free cities including New York and Chicago. If you've worked your way through Yelp, MenuPages and the other apps, TimeOut is worth some use.
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+ dining, transit,
parking all
in one app |
Another cool United States based app. Originally, the app was just for New York. In time, they have expanded to include a large number of other cities. The level of info each city app provides is very deep. You'll find a dining guide by cuisine or via your local in the "around me" section. There's individual sections for nightlife, local events, coffee, transit, parking and much more. With this one little app, you can plan where you're going to go eat, but also what subway to take there or where to park.
There is the all encompassing "USA" app, as well as 9 international cities and 22 US cities.
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- only negative is
it's only for
Buenos Aires |
Guía Oleo:
Here's a great app for anyone living in or visiting Buenos Aires. Guía Oleo is essentially the BA version of Yelp. Same handy map options, reviews, ratings, etc.
Other Quality iPhone Food apps:
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Foodspotting:
It's a somewhat helpful app, giving you a basic feel of a place based on photos.
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FourSquare
The app is primarily for social networking and seeing where people are in an area. But it does offer discounts and deals too. So you can open the app on the fly, and it will tell you local deals in the specific area you are in. |
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Groupon
If you're looking for a deal of discount, you'll find some options here in many different cities. |
10:30 PM
Matt Peloquin
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