I like to think that I make conscious food choices as often as possible, but as a busy college student, the choice of where to eat often comes down to convenience and cost. However, with the new app Grubbable, I no longer have to choose.
Launched last Spring, Grubbable is an app that allows users to connect with restaurants in Michigan that use local and natural ingredients. The app not only tells subscribers where to go, but also, it rewards users with at least a 10% discount on all mains at participating restaurants.
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Grubbable’s rewards are currently available at 129 restaurants in and around Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and more regions around the state. However, they are expanding more and more every day.
I downloaded the app last week, and was eager to try it immediately. It’s user-friendly interface made it really easy to get started. I was excited to see that several of my favorite restaurants offered discounts. Places such as Mighty Good, Silvio’s, Juicy Kitchen, and other places that I already frequent are all listed on the app.
Photo by Zoe Zaiss
When you open the app, you’ll see a list of all of the participating restaurants near you. Once you select a restaurant, you’ll be able to see its full menu with the discounted prices clearly marked. You’ll also see the restaurant’s hours of operation, website, phone number, a brief description of what type of food they serve, customer reviews, and, most importantly, which categories of food fall into “local”, “natural”, or “local and natural” ingredients.
All of Grubbable’s partner restaurants serve local and natural ingredients. So, what do “local” and “natural” actually mean? A “Local” ingredient is guaranteed to be sourced from nearby farms and artisans. “Natural” ingredients are those which are grown or raised using natural methods without the use of things like unnatural pesticides or synthetic fertilizers in plants and hormones or antibiotics in animals. Finally, “local & natural” restaurants meet the standards of both categories. Pretty straight-forward.
Image courtesy of Grubbable.com
For me personally, I am most concerned with eating locally, as there are so many obvious health, environmental, and ethical benefits to doing so. However, it doesn’t hurt that Grubbable gives me the option to eat natural ingredients over less natural ones.
For those who care about making conscious food choices, Grubbable overcomes the two biggest challenges: knowing where to go and sticking to a budget. Without a doubt, I plan on continuing to consult the app whenever I need a wholesome meal on the cheap.
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