When I travel, I pick where to eat a few different ways. Sometimes, a particular restaurant is what drew me to the location in the first place, so I obviously know well in advance that I’m going there. These would be places that have been hyped-up by friends, places that I’ve seen on TV or social media, or places that I’ve already been and loved. These don’t really require much thought- they go on the list and get worked in to the itinerary by default. Sometimes I’m working off of a list- for example, when I go to a theme park (or very small town) there are only a few options for where to eat. When this is the case, I pull up menus and compare both dishes and prices to find the best fit for my trip. This post addresses the third type.
That third scenario starts with the need for a meal, and no idea of where to go. When I’m in that situation, I use these two trusty tools to find somewhere great and close by to get the meal I’m looking for. These have led to GREAT success, and through them I’ve found a few new favorite places. I’ve discovered Stans Donuts in Chicago, Clyde’s in DC, and Amorelia Mexican Cafe in Costa Mesa using these tools. All of those spots have become must-visits in these cities for me.
The first tool is an obvious one- yelp! People love yelp, though I think it has gotten less popular over the years. It’s very helpful that you can search the type of food you’re looking for and set a radial distance. With these features, you don’t have to sift through a bunch of restaurants that don’t meet your basic criteria (like you would have to if you just used Google).
The next I think is less obvious. I love using Instagram to find trendy and tasty new food near me. This one is a little tricker in regards to distance from current location, but I like to look up the location tag that I’m wanting to have a meal in, and scroll for mouth-watering food pics. Then I figure out where they are and see how close it is to me. Sometimes, it’s worth it to travel a few minutes further than I might for some other options. When you find super photogenic food that you totally have to try, you just gotta go after it. 🙂
I also like to use a hashtag like [cityname]eats to find what people are eating and ‘gramming (an example would be #chicagoeats). This is how I found Stans Donuts, which I will never again visit Chicago without stopping at. I also use Instagram to plan ahead for some meals if I don’t have plans for the day yet. If all I plan for a day is meals, I can follow the good-looking food and then find things to do in the nearby neighborhoods.
I know none of this is revolutionary, but I hope it was helpful! I really swear by these apps when I need to find really good food and don’t know where to go. Does anyone reading this have tricks for finding the best food while traveling? Share below!
where-we-gonna-eat.com 
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