A tasty app that let’s foodies dish on the dish.
How many times have you been to a restaurant and the first question you ask the waiter is “what’s good here?” It’s a loaded (and unfair) question, with generally one answer: “Everything!”
It’s a sensible question though because when trying out new restaurants, a hint of apprehension arises when presented with unfamiliar menus; a practical fear of ordering the wrong dish. These scenarios often lead us to our “fall back” restaurants—friendly confines, consistent service, and familiar food greeting us upon every visit. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, at least there’s an iPhone app that helps to eliminate such indecisiveness.
Chewsy offers a simple alternative to long-winded, all-encompassing restaurant commentary often found on sites such as Yelp! and Urban Spoon by limiting reviews to single dishes. Users can instantly grade their meal on a scale of one to five spoons, along with uploading a photo and adding comments. The results are then compiled, similar to online review sites. But rather than searching for and logging into Urban Spoon, Chewsy employs an easy-to-use interface that makes searching, scrolling and uploading a cinch.
Even though it’s a small Seattle-based start-up, Chewsy debuted in a big way a little more than a year ago, launching in major cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver, BC. It was born from the minds of a team of Microsofties led by Chaitanya Sareen, and is already making waves in the app world, thanks in large part to a first place finish at the 2011 Startup Riot in Seattle. The competition pitted 25 startup companies against each other, where each delivered a three-minute presentation to a panel of judges, followed by a three-minute question and answer session.
Competing apps have entered the marketplace since, but the Chewsy team is the pioneer, and it’s chock full of Seattle content, so give ‘em all the love. As for your next night out on the town, consult with the masses rather than rely on a waiter’s canned response.
