The last iPhone dining application to make news was Urbanspoon, which frustrated Times critic Frank Bruni a little bit with its random slot machine approach to locating a good nearby restaurant. So we're curious to see if the latest iPhone toy, LocalEats, is more Bruni's speed. This feature seems pretty simple; drawing from a list of the 100 best restaurants in Manhattan and Brooklyn (as decreed by the folks at Where the Locals Eat), LocalEats uses GPS technology to refer users to the best nearby dining options. Which could come in handy when you're getting hangry in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
A LocalEats rep says that the application will ultimately expand into all five boroughs, but in the meantime it also works in the largest 50 cities in America, using the reviews and data from the "certified foodies" who contribute to the print version of Where the Locals Eat. For 99 cents, iPhone users can download LocalEats via iTunes, where it's currently the ninth most popular paid-for application. At least until old man Bruni gets his hands on it.
