There are so many thousands of apps our there these days that it can be hard to find what you’re looking for, even with the App Store’s categories and highlighted apps. Luckily, the increasing numbers also mean that you’ll never be short on great apps when you need them, in whichever category you’re searching. If you’ve got an iPhone, you probably already have Yelp downloaded and ready to help you find a good restaurant in your location, but we’ve rounded up some of our favorite apps for all of the foodies out there. These will help you decide where to eat, what to cook up, how to do it, and where to find your ingredients.
Urban Spoon, Free
You might have seen this popular app before, but we’re including it because it puts a fun spin (literally) on the restaurant-choosing game. Just shake your iPhone, and with the help of GPS, Urban Spoon will pick a nearby restaurant for you to try. If that’s too spontaneous for you, you can also browse nearby restaurants by neighborhood, cuisine, or price, compare restaurant picks with your friends, and read reviews by newspapers, bloggers, and other Urban Spoon users.
Epicurious, Free
This great free app is one of the most comprehensive when it comes to cooking up your own fantastic meals. Browse thousands of recipes, including special recipe collections, search by keyword, and save your favorites to your own virtual recipe book. Once you’ve chosen which recipes to use, you can even create a shopping list and share via Facebook and Twitter. This app has a recipe for everything, and each one includes step-by-step instructions and stunning professional photos.
Seafood Watch, Free
Started by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, this app aims to help you choose the most ocean-friendly seafood at restaurants or in-store based on your regional location. Search by common names to find important information about any kind of fish, including whether it is recommended or should be avoided based on health and environmental concerns. The app also has a helpful sushi guide that lists both English and Japanese fish names, and will provide users with alternatives to fish that land on the “avoid” list.
Foodspotting, Free
This visual app, as the name would suggest, puts the emphasis on specific dishes and documenting the foodie experience. Users can see photos of the best-rated dishes nearby, search for a specific food, or look up a restaurant and see what particular dishes are good there. Users are also encouraged to take their own photos of restaurant dishes and earn badges and points with participation.
Locavore, Free
As you might guess by the name of the app, Locavore is intended to help users eat more sustainably by eating locally. Using your location, the app will tell you which foods are in season and which foods aren’t, also giving you locations of local farmer’s markets where you can buy in-season foods from those harvesting them. Users can also find recipes using local, in-season foods and share to Facebook. The app even tells you how many weeks you have left to buy in-season fruits and vegetables.
Chefs Feed, Free
This app lets you follow famous chefs and learn where they go for their favorite eats in every city. View your city’s list of best chefs, see chef-recommended dishes in your area, and follow live Facebook and Twitter posts from your favorite chefs. Participating chefs include legends like Thomas Keller, Wolfgang Puck, and Mario Batali. Users can also create itineraries and share via Facebook.
Martha’s Everyday Food, $2.99
Almost every famous chef has their own app, but Martha Stewart has a whole army behind her comprehensive app that acts almost like its own little magazine. Users can browse through recipes, watch tutorial videos, and check out the “Dinner Tonight” selection, which features simple and fast seasonal recipes. The app also includes a shopping list feature, saved favorite recipes, and daily articles by Everyday Food editors. You just can’t beat Martha.
GrubHub, Free
If you’re a foodie who likes to indulge in some good takeout once in a while, GrubHub can help. Based on your location and search terms, the app will find local meal options for takeout and delivery in all major cities. Users can then easily place a delivery or takeout order right in the app and save favorite orders as for speedy re-ordering. Payment information is stored to make the checkout process simple.
Harvest, $1.99
This one is for all the produce fiends out there. Your mom probably taught you a few things about how to tell when a fruit is ripe or how to store your romaine lettuce, but this app brings all those tips together into one helpful app. Select a food and Harvest will give you the inside info on how to tell if it’s ripe or good quality. Beyond that, the app will also tell you how to store each food to keep it fresh for the longest period of time. The app offers pesticide residue levels for each produce item, enabling users to selectively buy organic based on such data.
FoodGawker, Free
This visually-stunning app lets users browse dishes and recipes primarily by the images that accompany them. Food bloggers from around the world submit photos and recipes to FoodGawker everyday, and the editors select the best and most delicious-looking to publish. Visually browse through food to find something appealing, or enter a search term for quick results. Tap on the image to see the accompanying recipe or blog post submitted by a foodie blogger, then save your favorite images to your personalized home screen.
