Foodspotting and Rio
Recently a co-worker, fresh back from an experience lunching in NYC with a combination of foodies and PR folks, suggested I try Foodspotting. It’s a free download, and with my BFF’s birthday dinner coming up, thought it worth a shot.
WHOA, that picture is BIG!
That’s because I am not really sure what Foodspotting adds to the game OTHER than a gorgeous interface to post a food picture.
Or, umm, DRINK picture.
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Marc Powell, the guy behind the Foodspotting iPhone app.
Photo: Foodspotting
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Check-in, create a network of friends, post a picture….umm, already there with Foursquare and its competitors. Search capabilities…lots of those already.
Foodspotting has been around for awhile- 2009- and according the its Blog, is “about the dishes, not the restaurants”. If there was a tagline, it might be: Pretty and Happy.
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IT’S VISUAL
When you’re out and about and hungry, you don’t want to read long, snarky reviews. You just want to see what’s good nearby. By showing you photos of nearby foods and keeping our rating system simple (If you love it, nom it!), we’re making decision-making easier.
IT’S POSITIVE
Because we know that even a “one star restaurant” can have one amazing dish, we want to know what you love, not what you hate. We encourage spotters to share only the foods that they like and to “nom” the foods that they love.
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There is an interesting element of producing your own guide to share. Your “Top Ten” meals, or drinks, or whatever. But I doubt that most folks have the attention span to become their own food publisher. This activity seems meant to be much more in the moment.
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Available now for Droid, iPhone and Windows 7 phones, BB coming soon. http://www.foodspotting.com/apps
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Speaking of The Rio Grille, if you are planning to be in Greenville, SC, and would like to try it, I offer a mixed review. First, it’s not cheap. While you do get salad buffet, and then a steady stream of 10-12 different meat tastings- beef, chicken and pork- 2 meals, 3 Sangrias and a dessert to share was $100 with tax+tip. The meats were also a mixed blessing- some overdone, others absolutely marvelous. Set your expectations for a continuous stream of meat “tastes” cut right off the skewer at your table, and make the best of it by asking for something a “little less well done” if you end up with the last of the skewer.
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A quick check of Foodspotting in Greenville shows only 10 entries in the city in the last 30 days. Not really catching on. My dessert entry from Rio is here:
http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/674197
It does give you a Google map and address for the location.
When sharing to Facebook for the first time, the entry actually posted in a “Yearbook Yourself” folder from 2009.
Nice reminder to delete THAT folder.
Have a great Holiday weekend!
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