Why you should always use Foursquare to find food while traveling

The stats for most frequently expensed restaurants paint a pretty sad picture of business travelers' mealtimes. It seems most travelers are chewing greasy sandwiches under the fluorescent glow of fast food chains, grabbing whatever they can get their hands on the fastest (McDonald's, Subway and Chick-Fil-A all made the Top 10).

I'd like to think that no matter where I am in the world, even if it's an airport hotel, there are viable dining alternatives to McDonald's. But if I'm working late or tired from a day of travel, neon lights and those weird laboratory-produced smells can have a magnetic pull. Thankfully Foursquare is around to save me. It's the only app that's simple and global enough to ensure I eat well wherever I am.

Some people are Yelp all the way, and I'll be the first to say that with its endless ream of user-uploaded photos and more than 77 million total reviews, it's obviously a rich resource, but it's only really useful in the U.S.  I've called upon Foursquare to deal with blood sugar emergencies everywhere from Turkey to Patagonia.

I find Foursquare speedier and better-organized than Yelp, too. Restaurant listings are more succinct, including just photos, numeric ratings, and tips, rather than dissertation-length reviews. Foursquare's the Instagram of food-review apps, if you will, compared to Yelp's Facebook.

TripAdvisor's popular among travelers, too, but my biggest gripe with TripAdvisor is that it's mostly tourists reviewing for other tourists, and I'm generally seeking to get as much authentic local flavor as possible. A big thing going for Foursquare is that locals actually use it.

At the same time, Foursquare incorporates reviews from reputable food critics at places like Bon Appétit Magazine, in case I'm in the mood for something expertly endorsed. It's also incredibly easy to use. I open the app, navigate for "food," or "lunch" "near me" or within a chosen radius, neighborhood or area on the map, and all the options are listed next to their ratings.

Foursquare isn't an app geared toward foodies, but it's never steered me wrong with restaurants. Or rather, I've never steered myself wrong with restaurants when using Foursquare. And now that Foursquare is hooked up with Uber, it's even possible to request a ride right to any of the listings without ever leaving the app.

Foursquare's led me to tons of places I would have never found. And sure, in case you're craving a European McFlurry, McDonald's will turn up, too.