If you’re in the D.C. area, these five food apps will help make everything — from weeknight dinners to weekend happy hours, and yes, even ordering booze to your front door — easier.
These days, there’s an app for everything. And when it comes to food, there’s no shortage of programs to help you decide what to cook, where to eat and how to keep track of your calories.So where does one start?If you’re in the D.C. area, these five food apps will help make everything — from weeknight dinners to weekend happy hours, and yes, even ordering booze to your front door — easier.
(AP Photo)
AP Photo
Spotluck: When you can’t decide where to eatWe’ve all been there: You’re meeting up with friends in Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan, but no one has a preference on where to go. Let Spotluck decide for you — and give you a discount at the same time.Here’s how it works: The user selects from one of the app’s 21 local neighborhoods and “spins” its wheel of restaurants within that area.The wheel lands on a restaurant and offers dining discounts (the minimum is 10 percent) based on a number of factors, including the day, the time and even the weather.
“So the discount will be higher on a Monday, lower on a Friday; higher if it’s raining, lower if it’s nice out,” says Spotluck Founder and CEO Cherian Thomas.
(AP Photo)
AP Photo
Spotluck: When you can’t decide where to eatThe goal, he says, it to bring more business to local spots during times of low occupancy and to offer deals for diners at the same time.“Merchants win, consumers win and the community wins,” Thomas says.In the past year, Spotluck has grown to include 275 restaurants throughout D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Thomas says the company will continue to expand in the local area, as well as other cities, such as Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
Galley: When you want a healthy, chef-prepared meal delivered — plus a bottle of wineIf a dinner of pan-seared Atlantic salmon on top of a bed of black and wild rice with roasted butternut squash, pomegranate seeds and pistachios sounds up your alley, you’ll want to download Galley.There’s no shortage of meal delivery options for busy Washingtonians, but Alan Clifford, co-founder of Galley, says his on-demand business is different from the others: Its focus is on healthy and well-balanced meals that feel as if they were prepared at home.Each day, Galley’s team of chefs prepare four different meal options out of its Ivy City kitchen. Customers can order the meals on-demand for lunch and dinner; they arrive chilled within 30 minutes of ordering.
(Photo credit Laura Fruchterman, courtesy Galley)
Photo credit Laura Fruchterman, courtesy Galley
Galley: When you want a healthy, chef-prepared meal delivered — plus a bottle of wineClifford says the recipient just needs to do some “quick finishing” to the meal before it’s ready to eat. Typically this step involves heating the food, plating it and adding any sauces.
“Because you’ve done that last-finishing step, it really feels like you’ve actually done the work of cooking, but without any of the real work associated — none of the grocery shopping, chopping, etc.,” Clifford says.
The meals cost between $10 to $16, including tax, delivery fee and gratuity. Customers in D.C. proper can also order a bottle of wine with their meal. So the next time you don’t feel like cooking, consider ordering a dish of tarragon chicken with a side of creamy parsnip purée and a bottle of pinot instead of a Styrofoam container of soggy sesame chicken.“Most food that you get from a delivery standpoint is just not really made to be delivered,” Clifford says.
(Photo credit Laura Fruchterman, courtesy Galley)
Photo credit Laura Fruchterman, courtesy Galley
Drizly: Skip the food. When you just want the wine deliveredWant to skip the meal and just go for the wine? Drizly will deliver.The app allows D.C. residents to order a variety of beers, wines, liquors and mixers, and have the products delivered directly to their door. Drizly partners with local retailers, so many of the options include local brews and spirits.Throwing an impromptu party? The Drizly app also features a section of recipes so you can make sure you order all the ingredients needed to make the perfect Mai Tai.Now, just wait for the doorbell.
(Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Instacart: When you don’t have time to get to the grocery storeNeed groceries? All you need is your phone — or iPad.The Instacart app allows users to order everything from produce to meats and cheeses from their favorite grocery store. A personal shopper with the company goes to the store to hand-select the items, then delivers them during a specified window — sometimes in as little as an hour.“If you’re coming home from work and you’re stuck in traffic, and you want some groceries at your door by the time you get home, we can accommodate that,” Erica Hard, city manager for Instacart told WTOP in an earlier interview.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
Instacart: When you don’t have time to get to the grocery storeInstacart does not operate out of a warehouse, Hard explains. Its operating model is what The New York Times calls “part of the sharing economy.” It relies on existing grocery stores and an existing population of workers with cars who want part-time or flexible work.The delivery fee is $3.99 for every order over $35; the one-hour delivery fee is $5.99 for orders over $35. The Costco delivery fee is more expensive ($9.99 per order), mostly because the orders are often large and pack the cars of the personal shoppers.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
ipiit Food Ambassador: When you’re doing the shopping, but have a food allergyShopping or cooking for someone with a food allergy? Betty Toth says ipiit Food Ambassador was developed specifically for that reason.“This really simplifies the shopping and takes the hassle out of it,” says Toth, the app’s co-founder.Here’s how it works: Consumers download the app and enter in their food preferences. Toth says those preferences don’t need to be restricted to an allergy. Users can set up the app to identify foods that don’t stick within a specific diet as well.At the grocery store, the user can scan the bar code of a food product with ipiit, and the app will say whether the product fits within the specified dietary restrictions. If the food doesn’t, it will recommend a few alternative brands that do.Toth says the app includes most major brands, and is always working to expand its database.
(Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Boozy: When you want a good taco special or happy hourOn the hunt for a good happy hour? Or maybe just a deal on tacos? Download Boozy, an app that helps you find local bars and restaurants with daily food and drink specials. Fancy a taco? Users will be clued in to Tico’s $4 taco specials from 4 to 7:30 p.m., or El Centro’s $2 tacos on Tuesdays. Pizza lovers can discover Local 16’s $5 pie, available from 5 to 9 p.m. daily, and Graffiato’s $5 pizza from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.The happy hour tool will show the best deals in Northern Virginia, Baltimore and several D.C. neighborhoods, and the brunch tab will point you in the direction of the best bottomless options.
(Getty Images)
