Time Warner Cable News highlights the coolest and newest apps for your cell phone or mobile device in the twice-weekly segment "App Wrap."
NoWait
Even though you are being given plenty of warning, there is a good chance you may blow it by forgetting to book a restaurant for Valentine's Day. While it is not a guarantee to get you out of the dog house, NoWait is a mobile app that may be able to get you out of a jam on any occasion you need a table. What it does, quite simply, is shows you restaurants all around you and tells you real-time how long the wait is. Beyond just that, it also allows you to jump in line via the app even if you're still several blocks away. That is one of the catches, since it uses GPS; each restaurant requires you be within a certain distance to get a spot in line through the app. The other catch, of course, it will not work everywhere, just with restaurants that have signed up with the service. NoWait is a free app on iOS and Android devices.
Tasteful
If you or your date is the, “Sure, let’s go out…but where can we find a vegan, paleo, low-carb, gluten-free restaurant,” type then check out Tasteful. It allows you to check off all of your dietary restrictions or desires then serves up restaurants near you that can serve your needs. But it’s not just a list, it’ll also rank them for you based on reviews so the darker that little leaf there, the better it should be. And even if you don’t have a bunch of dietary restrictions, but just want to be healthy, this app can help since it claims to only list establishments that fall in with the so-called “Real Food Approach" - food that’s more like farm-to-table, less like processed or out of a can. Tasteful is also a free app and also for iOS and Android devices.