How Foodspotting helped iPhone users discover nearby dishes through photos, with a real product screenshot and a check of its current US App Store availability.

Foodspotting helped early iPhone users answer a specific question: what looks good to eat nearby? Our September 2010 article, “Windowshopping for Foodies,” covered an app that put photographs of individual dishes at the center of restaurant discovery. This historical guide restores the subject of that article and identifies the original app.

Finding a dish through its photograph

The app showed food photographed at nearby restaurants. Readers could browse for something appealing, search for a craving, look up a particular restaurant or explore a guide. Our original review also described taking food photos, sharing discoveries and earning points or badges for contributions.

A restaurant name alone leaves the question of what to order unanswered.…