Centralized restaurant location suggester

April 18, 2006 8:47 AM

Equidistant Eats lets you find restaurants that are centrally located to two or three locations. Just enter at least two addresses and click "Submit." Street address, city and state are required. ZIP Code is optional.
posted by jonson (15 comments total)

Wait. I don't want the government knowing I plan on walking halfway to meet someone for food.
posted by jon_kill at 8:56 AM on April 18, 2006

It's totally trivial, and yet curiously useful things like this that remind me how much I love the internet.
posted by TunnelArmr at 9:04 AM on April 18, 2006

Awesome. Though, it seems to get unhappy if I try to set up a meeting between my place in Seattle and my parents' in Portland
posted by Shutter at 9:04 AM on April 18, 2006

It's okay, I really don't like the presentation, though. And you can't include additional search terms. And I'd really prefer it to be in google maps.
posted by empath at 9:13 AM on April 18, 2006

Good idea. Flawed execution.

It certainly found some restaurants that were equidistant, but it also found some that not (ex. 10 miles from home and 5 miles from work in the DC area). Also, Yahoo! Yellow Pages shows five restaurants on the same block as the one restaurant this site says is equidistant between home and work.
posted by clearlynuts at 9:20 AM on April 18, 2006

why not just turn on the dining layer in google earth?
posted by DenOfSizer at 9:24 AM on April 18, 2006

It's a cool idea that appears to have been implemented with minimal effort to a disappointing result. It's not something I would ever use.
posted by cribcage at 9:25 AM on April 18, 2006

Ditto the 'good idea, execution needs work.'

Unless the [livestock] feed store has a cafe I'm unaware of, that suggestion fell flat on its face.
posted by cobaltnine at 9:26 AM on April 18, 2006

It really breaks down over large distances. It wants me in Chicago and my parents in North Carolina to meet for lunch at a Bob Evans in South Carolina.

Moreover, I notice that 8 of the 20 suggestions are Bob Evans locations, in NC, SC, VA, OH, and IN. Is this the Bob Evans Finder?
posted by nflorin at 9:35 AM on April 18, 2006

This seems like a great project for an undergrad intro web programming course. If that's what it is, A-.

Could use a lot of tweaking. My wife and I work a mile apart and it's suggesting restaurants that are three miles from either of us. I'm not sure how that's useful.
posted by gurple at 9:49 AM on April 18, 2006

My wife and I work a mile apart and it's suggesting restaurants that are three miles from either of us.
Hey, as long as it's equally inconvenient for both of you...
posted by Wolfdog at 10:26 AM on April 18, 2006

nflorin wrote: "Moreover, I notice that 8 of the 20 suggestions are Bob Evans locations, in NC, SC, VA, OH, and IN. Is this the Bob Evans Finder?

we should be so lucky, nflorin. I wish there was a Bob Evans finder...

OH WAIT!!! THERE IS!
posted by indiebass at 11:17 AM on April 18, 2006

I agree with Clearlynuts, flawed execution. I entered my home and the home of my parents on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and it came up with points that were indeed equidistant, as the crow flies. These points were southeast of DC on the Chesapeake Bay, some 40 miles from the Bay Bridge, the only point between Baltimore and Norfolk to cross the bay by car.

I need a point that is equal driving distance.
posted by Pollomacho at 12:00 PM on April 18, 2006

When I try to find a place between Boston and San Francisco, it tries to send me to Texas, Georgia, and... Florida?

Then again, I suppose that's not really what it's for.
posted by rkent at 1:22 PM on April 18, 2006

well, if i may self-link, we have a similar tool here that can help find restaurants (with reviews) near any given location, but you would have to do the equidistant figuring yourself. if anyone is interested. if not, then, i dunno, spank me.
posted by Hackworth at 4:24 PM on April 18, 2006