After living in the city of Guelph, Ontario for the last 4 years and being here for 12 months straight I realized that I had really not taken advantage of the wide variety of restaurants available within the city. I had previously stuck to chain restaurants or cooked at home, with the cooking at home always being a great cheap alternative. But I realized I wanted something more, and there definitely is a great way to do it without spending a ton of money (and local restaurants are most often cheaper or have better food at a comparable price to chains). I’m sure many people can relate, but just for another city. I feel almost the same way when it comes to places I’ve tried out in Toronto (where I’m originally from).

So the only real option was to start testing out local non-chain restaurants within the city and there were a few ways that I did it, and the first topic, mobile apps will be covered all about how I found some cheap eats.

There are quite a few mobile apps that are great sources of information in order to find restaurants you may never have heard of and/or find out reviews for the restaurants in order to make a better restaurant choice.

• Urban Spoon- Has a list of top picks, restaurants that are highly rated in your city (based on your location) as well as a break down of restaurants by price. With a section called “Cheap Eats”
• Street Food App- If you have an interest in something different than a restaurant, check out the Street Food App, which provides food truck locations for Boston, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver. Choose your app based on the city you live.
• Foursquare- It may not be the first thing you think of when someone suggests food. But foursquare is an excellent source for recommendations as well as check in deals when going to some restaurants. Some restaurants even offer special bonuses for location mayors.
• Yelp-Check out this app for restaurant reviews as well, similar to Urban Spoon.
• Groupon- and other daily deal sites. You can download the app, or check out their websites but you can often find great deals for local restaurants by purchasing daily deals.