The best recommendations come from trusted friends, hence your reliance on a close pal’s off-hand suggestion (“great steak tartare”) versus a random yelper’s culinary analysis (SoccerMom34: “OMG chicken fingerz!!1!!”)
Below, two recent (and free) apps that keep endorsements coming from their proper source: people you actually trust.
Like a curated Yelp, Fondu lets you follow anyone whose restaurant acumen you trust, from close friends to celebrity chefs to that old lady who reviewed the Olive Garden. Simply download the app, import contacts from Facebook or Twitter, and begin browsing thousands of restaurants so you’re not forced to frantically call friends for a last-minute recommendation on your anniversary. You do know it’s your anniversary today, right?
Free | fondu.com
Similar to Fondu but broader in scope, Stamped lets you “stamp” your personal seal of approval across a massive database of books, movies, albums, restaurants, and bars. When friends apply their own stamp to one of your recs, you receive two more stamps. The upshot: if your recommendations suck, no one will re-stamp them and you’ll run out. This ensures advocacy for only the best stuff, which you can then sort by location or category, search, or add to a to-do list.
Item one: deactivate Yelp account.
Free | stamped.com
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