Menuish helps you find restaurant menus on your phone

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Like many couples hitting the town for a bite, Chris Eigner and Devon St. Clair started scrolling through their phones to find a good place to eat. But much to their frustration, most restaurants have flash-filled websites that are difficult to navigate, much like this Oatmeal comic demonstrates. So after dinner that night nine months ago,… Read More…

Food-finder Foxtrot looks to compete with Yelp, Urbanspoon

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As the assigned restaurant-selector of his travel group, all Suraj Samaranayake wanted to do was find the best places to chow down in San Francisco. He tried using popular review apps like Yelp, Zagat and Urbanspoon, but came up empty-handed. So he turned to a more trusted source – his Bay Area friend. “All his… Read More…

CityGrid Media cuts staff, but Urbanspoon keeps growing

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CityGrid Media, the parent company of Urbanspoon, Insider Pages, Buzz Labs and Citysearch, announced today that it is cutting 15 percent of its staff in a shift of advertising models from cost-per-click to cost-per-acquisition, reports TechCrunch. The move comes six months after SeamlessWeb co-founder Jason Finger was appointed CEO. TechCrunch notes that the layoffs are… Read More…

Where’s Ethan Stowell eating? Urbanspoon Guides show the top picks of top chefs

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In the online age, everyone can be a critic. And now, Seattle-based Urbanspoon is letting you release your inner Tom Colicchio via your smartphone. A new app feature, Urbanspoon Guides, allows users to create and share their own favorite restaurant lists, as well as browse other folks’ favorite spots as well. You can also create… Read More…

New Julia Child app offers fresh look at French cooking

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We know Seattle is a serious food and drink town — and we have the apps for that. Now food-geek fans of the late, great Julia Child can download a new app developed by Seattle-based Smashing Ideas aptly titled Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Selected Recipes. Developed with Random House Digital, it’s available now… Read More…

Urbanspoon adds ‘Right Now’ feature for real-time table availability

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Urbanspoon, the Seattle-based restaurant locator and reservation service, is rolling out a new feature that will let diners check the immediate availability of tables at restaurants where they want to eat, stepping up the company’s competition with the rival OpenTable service. The new feature, called Rezbook “Right Now,” is being rolled out as an option… Read More…

KidScore: The best places to eat with your screaming kids

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As a parent with an energetic toddler, I sometimes struggle to find restaurants that have the right balance of good food and entertainment when dining with a two-and-a-half year old. For the most part, we’ve relied on word-of-mouth, getting recommendations from other parents of the best spots. (We love Fremont Brewing Co. and The Ridge… Read More…

Urbanspoon updates iPhone app; adds filters, partners

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Urbanspoon is, if you’ll forgive the pun, shaking up its signature iPhone app with a completely new interface and by adding recommendations, filters and maps. The new app available today still preserves the traditional slot-machine “shake” method of finding restaurants for which Urbanspoon is known. But the free app now highlights other methods of finding… Read More…

Urbanspoon seats 1 million diners, looks to feast on OpenTable

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Urbanspoon may be best known for helping folks find new dining experiences, from sushi restaurants in Seattle to steak houses in Kansas City. But a growing component of Urbanspoon’s business is helping diners make reservations, an area where OpenTable remains the 800-pound gorilla. Since OpenTable’s inception in 1998, the San Francisco company has helped to… Read More…

Scrappy Urbanspoon turns to TV ads to connect with foodies

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Urbanspoon scratched and clawed its way to success, driven by the bootstrapping mindset of founders Adam Doppelt, Ethan Lowry and Patrick O’Donnell. The online restaurant directory grew largely through word-of-mouth; smart SEO and a cutting-edge iPhone application that caught the attention of the marketers at Apple. Except for a largely unsuccessful radio campaign, Urbanspoon didn’t… Read More…