With your iPhone in your pocket, you’re never far from a good meal. Yelp, Urbanspoon, Zagat, even Siri -- any of these will steer you in the right direction if your stomach’s grumbling. But if you’ve got Forkly, the latest in a simmering melting pot of social foodie apps, you can satisfy most any craving, whether you’re looking for enchiladas or cheddar bacon donuts.
Forkly sets itself apart from the pack of popular restaurant raters with a sleek, Facebook/Twitter-integrated interface that puts a serious emphasis on what matters: the food. Where Yelp and Zagat solicit comments and ratings to grade restaurants based on overall cuisine and ambiance, Forkly users can share and discover “tastes.” So if the dive bar up the street has the best nachos you’ve ever eaten, you can let everyone who’s given the joint one star on Yelp know what they’re missing.
But Forkly is more than the social sum of its competitors’ ingredients. Photos are encouraged, of course, but if a dish tastes a whole lot better than it looks, just use its microblogs to describe it to your followers (within the standard 140 characters). Forkly’s mini-reviews work best when tied to a restaurant, but even if you’ve just had a killer guacamole dip at your friend’s Monday Night Football party, you can share a photo and a link to the recipe for that, too -- though you probably won’t pick up any coveted “influence” points for it. And since all meals aren’t goods eats, Forkly’s versatile rating system ranges from “loved it” to “not for me,” providing simple at-a-glance feedback for each taste.
However, since Forkly depends on iPhone’s location services, food “discovery” is somewhat restricted. Searches canvas a limited 25-mile radius, so if you’re planning a trip to another state, you’re pretty much stuck until you get within range (though the scattered “Featured” tab extends the range a bit). That same principal applies to your tastes, so you can’t tag a photo if you’re out of range; nor can you edit a dish after it’s been posted, though tastes can be deleted if you have second thoughts about your criticisms. A simple search field would go a long way, especially if Forkly catches on with food lovers.
The bottom line. Forkly’s suggestions may or may not whet your appetite, but its food discovery methods -- though limited -- are pretty tasty.
of 5
iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4.1 or later
Flexible posting guidelines. Objective "taste" ratings. Social network integration.
No search for restaurants. Can't edit posts. Limited discovery radius.
