Fascinating speakers and great bands are two reasons to check out the Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival this weekend in Las Vegas. But for some of us, it’s all about the food. Foodies at Life is Beautiful will have the opportunity to nosh your way through the festival’s Culinary Village, packed with local food vendors, mixologists, food trucks, and a roster of buzz-worthy celebrity chefs.
If you’re anything like me, a tech-obsessed, modern foodie, you seek an immersive experience with your food. You don’t just want to eat, you want to learn more about the great dishes you are eating, and document and share your food experience with the world, and maybe even try to recreate the magic at home. With that in mind, here are five foodie apps that are tailor-made to enhance your experience at Life is Beautiful.
This preview of the 2015 Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival is brought to you in partnership with Wendoh Media.
Chefsfeed
Before you go, prep yourself on your favorite new chefs at Life is Beautiful by looking them up on Chefsfeed, where you can look up brief bios on chefs from across the country, and get their recommendations for their favorite dishes and restaurants. Impress your friends with knowledge of chef Kim Canteenwalla’s favorite restaurants and dishes before you check him out at the Grills and Guitars kick-off party later tonight.
Foodspotting
Share a picture of your favorite food truck eats (or find out more about a dish you’re interested in) with Foodspotting, a visual guide to the best dishes in an area, and where you can find them. Foodspotting is available for free on both iOS and Android. To get started, here’s the Foodspotting map for Las Vegas. You can also join in the fun by using the hashtag #foodspotting on Instagram when you upload a picture of your food.
Untappd
It goes without saying that a lot of foodies are also beer snobs, and Untappd is a great way to let people know about that great IPA you sampled at the festival. In addition to checking in, you can also rate the beer you’ve tried and find out what other new brews have you haven’t tried yet are available near you. Untappd is available for free on iOS , Android, and Windows Phone.
Mixologist
If you’re more of a cocktail person than a beer person (and you may become one after checking out the mixologists at Life is Beautiful) you may want to try your hand at recreating some of the drinks you’ve tried at home. That’s where Mixologist comes in. This handy app (available for $0.99 on iOS and Android) not only provides an extensive list of cocktail recipes, but also a detail breakdown of ingredients, and if you’re stumped on where to find them, a listing of local liquor stores. Happy mixing!
SnapDish
Instagram is a perfectly acceptable way to share your food photos, but if you want to guarantee that your great shots are properly appreciated, check out SnapDish, a food photo-sharing app that has special filters to optimize the look of your food photos. These filters act as a pocket food stylist of sorts, making the colors pop a bit more and generally improving the look of your photos. It’s a great way to capture your favorite dishes and make all of your friends jealous. Snapdish is available for free on iOS and Android.
Check out a trailer of the Life is Beautiful Culinary Lineup: