My Favorite Travel Food Apps

By Jennie

When I wrote about Slater's 50/50, Christy asked in the comments what food apps I use. I thought I'd round-up some here and then open the comments to your favorite food apps. My travel folder on my iPhone is always looking for new additions.

Delicious burger from Slater's 50/50, featured on the Food Network (photo by me)

1. TVFoodMaps. It may be a little cliche to try out restaurants featured on food shows but I continue to seek these places out because they are so often REALLY GOOD. Some of my favorite eats on all my past trips (and even in my own backyard) are from Food Network or Travel Channel shows. This app includes a slew of TV shows, too, not just the most well-known. You can search by proximity to your current location, by show, or by keyword (I NEED A BURGER NOW, etc.).

2. Yelp! This is one of my favorite restaurant websites, so it's no surprise the app has produced some real winners. I usually scan quickly--in the car, etc.--for dollar signs in our price range, many good reviews, and operating hours that work for our plans. (Never fun to show up somewhere excited about the "can't miss" special and realize the place is closed!)

3. Diners TV. This is just an app for Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and you can search by season or location. I've used this a couple times when I'm looking for something D, D, and D specific.

4. Food Network On the Road. I just downloaded this and I really like the interface. You can build your own road trip, search by show or city, and it seems well organized. I haven't gotten to play around much but I have a few upcoming trips I may test this out on.

5. iExit Food. What I like most about this is that sometimes you don't want an off-the-beaten-path local joint. Sometimes you want Subway or McDonald's or some place easy, familiar, and CLOSE. This app lets you search nearby for fast food. Hey, I'm all for ditching the Wendy's for a custom burger joint when I'm on vacation but I'm also for preserving my sanity and that sometimes includes a Frosty, am I right?

6. Google Maps. When I'm really desperate, and short on time, I just bust open Google Maps, search for the nearest WHATEVER and then breathe a sign of relief.

I'd love to add the Zagat app to my list, but it's $9.99. Does anyone have it? Worth it? Other than that, what are YOUR favorite food/travel apps? My finger is just hanging out over the app store icon!

Comments

[Em]

I use Yelp, Urban Spoon, and Google Maps. I can't speak for the worth of any of these since I've only used them a few times though.
I'm excited to try iExit (assuming it is available for Android) since we often look for Sonic while traveling (there isn't one anywhere close to us) and sometimes struggle. I've also used my friend's GPS that we borrowed on a road trip once and it was awful!

[Sharon]

I love the East St app (from the Food Network show of the same name). I haven't ever used it outside of my general area, since I haven't been able to travel for a while, but I'm sure it's great for other cities as well. I love food trucks, and the app has a lot of great options, including searching by GPS, etc.

[Christy]

I use Yelp just about every weekend when we are looking for a place to have lunch while grocery shopping.

I also really like TV Food Maps. I'm a sucker for food networks shows so this app makes me smile like a crazy person.

I also really want to know about the Zagat app, but won't go near it because of the price.

Thanks for answering my question so thoroughly and for linking to me. :)

[Rhi]

I like Open Table (reservations and reviews) , Food Spotting, Bravo City Guides (only certain cities are listed) and Foursquare.

[Elizabeth]

Leloca is a must have app for a trip to NYC. The app offers deals at popular restaurants near wherever you are in NYC (using geo-tracking on your phone.) You can expect to see deals around 30-50% off at nearby restaurants and you use the deal right away. No purchase required, coupon or wait time! http://www.leloca.com/

[freeiphone]

www.foodlushblog.com loads very slow, what is wrong?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOxP5i2LWV8