Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Soup to Nuts: app happy
for Maine restaurants

Smart phone downloadables are all the rage, nowhere more so than in the foodie world.

By Meredith Goad mgoad@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

There's a smart phone app for just about everything these days.

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Local East is one of the apps available for Maine

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Ratiio

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HERE ARE A FEW MORE APPS that are local favorites:

SmartBrief (Free): This is a subscription service that covers a lot of territory. Tony Poulin of SMCC follows the SmartBriefs put out by the Culinary Institute of America and the National Restaurant Association. "They scan the headlines around the world of all media outlets and give a daily briefing of what's going on in the world of culinary arts," he said. "You click on the headline, and it links you directly to the original source so you can read the article in more depth. It's a great way to stay current on industry news and trends."

Seafood Watch (Free): This app, and its newest version, Project Fishmap, was mentioned by more than one chef as a great resource for buying ocean-friendly seafood. Species are color-coded green, yellow and red (for good choice, use caution and avoid, respectively). For species in peril, the app recommends alternative fish to buy. Project Fishmap takes the app to the next level by allowing users to share locations of restaurants and markets where they've found sustainable seafood for sale.

Convert (Free, or 99 cents for an ad-free version): Lee Farrington, chef/owner of Figa restaurant in Portland, says she can't live without this app in her kitchen since she can't convert culinary measurements off the top of her head.

Gourmet Live (Free, with upgrades available): Professional recipe developer and food writer Kimberly Mayone of South Portland says this is her favorite app mostly because she misses Gourmet magazine. "I adore the photography, and the content is always timely and appropriate," Mayone said. "If you read through an article, you are rewarded with access to another grouping of recipes and articles for a seven-day trial." Mayone says she organizes all the food blogs she reads with another free app, Pulse News. "It is a real time saver."

Feast on Maine (Free): This is the Maine Restaurant Association's dining guide, searchable by location, price, type of cuisine and restaurant style (delicatessen, fine dining, pub, etc.). It's a handy reference for tourists, because it includes both destination restaurants like Hugo's and Fore Street, but will also tell you where to find the closest Dunkin' Donuts. Fans note that it needs to be updated more often.

Urbanspoon (Free): This is one of the most popular food apps around, and was recommended by several food lovers. It features both restaurant reviews and photos that diners have uploaded. Can't decide where to eat? Shake your phone, and it will give you a suggestion. I used this app recently when I was in the Boston area with a friend and we had to find a place to grab a quick dinner before an event. We discovered a little hole-in-the-wall Persian place we'd never heard of, and when I checked Urbanspoon on my iPhone, I discovered it was a brand-new business that was getting nice reviews from folks in the neighborhood. Instead of warily passing it by, we went inside and had a pleasant meal and a nice chat with one of the owners

Hungry? Yes, there's an app for that, too – lots of them.

To separate the wheat from the chaff, I asked local chefs, restaurateurs, food writers, food bloggers and all sorts of people obsessed with food and dining to fill us in.

What are their favorite food-related apps, and why?

Their answers ranged from popular apps such as Urbanspoon and OpenTable to some that you've probably never heard of before.

Here's a taste of what they had to say:

OpenTable (Free): OpenTable is an online reservation service that lets users book a table at member restaurants all over the country, then write a review about their experiences. You get dining reward points every time you use it.

Anestes Fotiades, the blogger behind portlandfoodmap.com, says OpenTable is his favorite app for his iPad.

"It's my go-to solution when trying to book a table at the last minute, or for larger groups," he said. "It's also very helpful when I'm traveling in a larger city and need help narrowing down the options to someplace I'll like that has a table free when I need it."

Raymond Brunyanszki, owner of Natalie's at the Camden Harbour Inn, likes that the reviews on OpenTable are only from people who actually dined at the restaurant. Brunyanszki travels a lot, so by now he has VIP status on OpenTable. That means he gets better treatment even when he's visiting a restaurant for the first time.

Foodspotting (Free): Chef Tony Poulin, an assistant professor of culinary arts at Southern Maine Community College, shares my fondness for this restaurant search app. If people who take pictures of their food irritate you, perhaps you should stick with Urbanspoon. But Poulin and I agree that this site has potential. Users upload pictures of their meals so you can see what a particular dish looks like before you order it, or spot new menu items you might not have tried yet. Entries for Portland-area restaurants include photos of the fried banana egg rolls at Little Seoul, blueberry pancakes at Pepperclub, and a cheese course at Hugo's. It's fun to see where folks from away have been eating in the Portland area (there's lots of photos of Duckfat fries) and read what they think about our restaurants, but some of the entries are getting old. Start shooting, Portland!

Ratio ($4.99): This app, designed to free you from the tyranny of recipes, is based on food writer Michael Ruhlman's best-selling cookbook "Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking."

The idea is that if you know the appropriate ratio of ingredients in, say, a pie crust, you don't need to go fumbling through your recipe files to find how much fat and water to add to the flour. Ruhlman gives you ratios for doughs, batters, custards, fat-based sauces, stocks and thickeners, meats and dessert sauces. Enter the amount of one ingredient you want to use, and the app will do all the appropriate calculations for you. The app also has a conversion feature.

This is a favorite app of Sam Hayward, chef/owner of Fore Street in Portland.

"Since I'm baking-challenged, it's especially useful to me in pastry and bread work," he said.

LocalEats (99 cents) and Locavore (Free): If you're a local foods enthusiast, or just want to avoid eating at chain restaurants, these two apps are right up your alley.

LocalEats, a favorite of Brunyanszki, lets users search for independently-owned restaurants in the United States and in 50 international cities. No chains allowed.

"You can search restaurants alphabetically or by category," Brunyanszki said. "If you are only interested in the best of the best, you can choose 'Best in Category.' The app uses the iPhone's GPS receiver to identify your location, and lists the restaurants that are nearby."

Erin Dow, the expert chef for Guiding Stars, a program that rates products on nutritional value, says she is "in love" with Locavore, an app that shows what's in season at a user's current location and how much longer you have to buy it. It also helps you find, via pins on a map, where seasonal foods are being sold near you.

Click on the pin for Sebago Lake Ranch in Gorham, for example, and you'll not only find its location and contact information, you'll discover how far away it is, and that it can sell you beef, eggs and maple syrup this time of year. Click on the directions button, and it will send you to a map with driving directions.

"It's amazingly comprehensive," Dow said. "I honestly don't know how they get such accurate information -- but it's just great for people like me who plan travel itineraries around local specialties."

Harvest ($1.99): Lee Farrington, chef/owner of Figa restaurant in Portland, loves this app that helps users select the freshest produce at the market. Click on acorn squash, and the app will inform you that a shiny skin indicates that a squash was picked prematurely. A lighter squash will be drier, because it's lost too much moisture through its skin.

The app gives you information on peak season, pesticide residues, and offers storage advice: Don't put that acorn squash, or your garlic for that matter, in the refrigerator. Who knew?

Paprika Recipe Manager ($4.99): This is an app to organize your recipes, designed for both home cooks and professional chefs. It's a favorite of Jean Kerr, editor-in-chief of Northeast Flavor magazine, and her entire editorial staff.

"This app allows you to enter your own recipes, link to popular recipe sites and download straight to the app, and share your recipes with other app users perfect for sharing family recipes," Kerr said. "All recipes can be categorized, like breakfast, snacks, etc."

Staff Writer Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at: mgoad@pressherald.com

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