Whether you find yourself in a new city, your hometown or Syracuse this summer, finding new places to eat is always a concern.

That’s where the Apple Store’s 2012 award-winning application of the year, Ness, comes in. It’s a free iPhone app that recommends restaurants based on your taste.

The first step is to rate area restaurants you have already been to on a five-star scale. Then, you tell the app the types of food you prefer. From there, Ness adapts to your preferences and recommends other eateries in the area to try.

Users can view recommendations through both a restaurant bio card and map view, which allows them to base their restaurant selection on either its description or location convenience, respectively.

Each card has a photo of a plate of food or the interior or exterior of the restaurant, pricing and location information.

Right on the card, you can save or dismiss recommendations for later. You can also see additional information like more photos, the menu, popularity rankings and other reviewer’s comments.

Restaurants can also be saved to personal lists such as “places to try.”

The top menu bar has three icons. The first is a light bulb under which you specify what type of food you want to eat. Here, you choose the category of cuisine, whether you want somewhere casual or upscale and if you want to try something new.

The second is a clock icon, where you choose if you want to eat now or later.

Lastly, there is a location icon where you choose how close the restaurant must be to your current location.

Like Facebook, Ness users have a profile, can connect with friends and view a news feed that shows where friends have been eating.

You are able to link the app with your Facebook and Foursquare accounts so the app can learn more about your taste. Additionally, your friends are automatically synchronized in the application.

Ness’ attractive and easy-to-use interface makes the application all the more convenient, and removes the hassle of finding a place to eat in any location.

Published on April 28, 2013 at 9:14 pm

Contact Lizzie: echart@syr.edu