Eat the World App Review
We all travel for many different reasons, but one we can (almost) all share, is the love of food. Yet one problem seems to rear its ugly head all too often. I find out about an amazing dish after I’ve left a country. “*Insert food* is AMAZING THERE,” I’m told. “How did you miss it?”
And then there was “Eat the World.”
Eat the World is an iOS (iPhone, iPad with ‘zoom’) app for the traveler and foodie in all of us. Born out of the hearts, minds, and stomachs of two long term travelers, it’s a cuisine-lovers guide to the best local dishes around the world.
Eating the World is Easy
As apps go, it’s basic and to the point. Choose the country (currently 12 are featured), and up pops a list of the “crème de la crème” they have to offer. Some countries even offer a breakdown to certain regions or cities that are known for a certain set of culinary delights.
Once you have drilled down to the where, you’re on to the good stuff. Photos accompany the vast majority of the dishes on Eat the World, and names are provided in English as well as the local language. This is very handy in a country with a language you don’t speak. Just being able to show someone a photo and a name in their own language is often the clincher to successfully getting the food you came so far to try.
For each dish, short 1-2 paragraph descriptions are provided. These often give some of the basic ingredients and some historical or cultural significance to the selection. When you find a dish to note for later, you can tap the star in the top right corner to add it to your favourites. Your favourites are easily accessed at any time from the bottom of the screen.
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I Want to Eat More
Although the app has hundreds of dishes in a dozen countries, I would like to see more. Currently China, Columbia, Fiji, France, Japan, Philippines, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay and Vietnam are covered.
The social nature of food, photos, and iPhones makes me feel that it’s too bad that Eat the World doesn’t have an option to upload photos or descriptions directly from the phone. If you have a dish that you think should be included, you’ll have to head to their website and fill out a form the old fashioned way. Recommended restaurants, and user comments would also be great to see.
The Verdict on Eat the World
These are minor quibbles in a young app that does what it sets out to do. That is, to put good food into your mouth. As far as I’m concerned, the $1.99 price tag on the iTunes store is nothing if you get to eat one amazing dish from a foreign (or local) land that you would have otherwise missed. Pick it up for your next trip.
One of the editors of Too Many Adapters, Dustin just can’t get enough travel or technology.
When not directly feeding his above insatiable habits, you can probably find him at some far away ice cream shop taking pictures and tweeting of all the flavors to jealous followers. That, or on top of a mountain somewhere shooting panoramas with his DSLR.
