Do you need a foodie in your pocket?

A smartphone is a tiny computer that just happens to make phone calls. And, like any computer, it uses applications (programs) called “apps.” Anyway, travel and vacation apps are all the rage nowadays. In fact, when I visit Las Vegas, I use the popular app Viva Las Vegas, Baby! to learn about all the local stuff.

During my meanderings in and around the nooks and crannies of the internet, I found a travel app for Rehoboth Beach that covers just about every restaurant in town, plus a bunch of non-restaurant stuff too. Meandering further, I discovered that it’s written by a local guy who calls himself The Rehoboth Foodie. How dare he infringe on my Business of Eating territory! Anyway, the app is titled Rehoboth In My Pocket, and it’s available from iTunes for iPhone/iPad, and from Google Play for android-based devices.

One of the features of this pocket-sized program is that it links to the Foodie guy’s online reviews at someplace called www.RehobothFoodie.com. Though it’s immediately apparent that he never met a club sandwich or a piece of bacon he didn’t like, he doesn’t pull punches, either. (No wonder he cowers behind a big hamburger.) And talk about meandering! His reviews should be titled, “Everything you didn’t know about a restaurant, and were afraid to ask.” After reading them, you’ll feel like you’ve already eaten there. And all this from your phone!

Mr. Foodie doesn’t stop there. In true obsessive-compulsive fashion, he lists every fast-food place in town (with photos, phone numbers and online ordering info), suggestions for what to order - and where to sit - in almost every eatery in Rehoboth, Lewes and Dewey, plus links to his online list of happy hour times, food deals and discounts. There’s even a section called Pizza Roundup with delivery, phone and online ordering info. And all this from your phone!

Even Deb Griffin (author of the Local Buzz newsletter) gets in on the act with her vegetarian reviews that link directly from Rehoboth In My Pocket. Pizza Roundups and veggie rants all in the same place! Has this guy no shame? Of course, you need someplace to sleep  off the happy hour data, and Rehoboth In My Pocket lists hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, average room rates, photos of the rooms and places that are pet friendly.

Speaking of pets, the app includes beach/boardwalk rules for doggies in Lewes, Rehoboth, Dewey and the state parks. There’s even a diatribe (including direct quotes from the Delaware State Food Code!) as to what restaurants are set up for doggie dining (well, sort of). After you’ve slept off the happy hours, you might want to work off the pounds by scrolling down to gyms you can join (including day rates), and places for a massage, a facial, a haircut and hot-stone therapy. You can even sign up for the new Parkmobile meter system. And all this from your phone!

Rehoboth In My Pocket features about 1,600 photos and descriptions of boardwalk eateries, restaurant signs, Dewey bonfires, popular dishes, local live theater, and hardwares, grocery stores and markets big and small. Art walks, rest rooms, hiking/biking trails, surf shops (and schools), beach stores, Christmas and New Year’s activities, maps to everywhere, ice cream parlors, shoulder-season events, galleries and downtown shops are all chronicled in painful detail. He even has a list of restaurants that will prepare your meal extra spicy - and where to go for the hot sauces!

Bookstores and suggestions for rainy day reading are also provided. I am pleased to report that this Rehoboth Foodie character gives credit where credit is due: Rehoboth In My Pocket lists this column as recommended reading. Maybe he’s not so bad after all.