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Finding Hidden Gems Through Beli

Shanmathi Muruganambi Student Contributor, University of Connecticut
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Conn chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

If you don’t know about Beli already, it is a food review app. I like to describe it as Goodreads but for food, cause you get to rate, rank, and review the restaurants you have tried. I only recently discovered this app (about a month ago), but I have been obsessed with it ever since. And you get to connect with your friends, and you get to see their reviews as well. I have gotten so many of my friends to get this app (nine people to be exact, don’t mean to brag), and we all love it. It has been a great way to get recommendations from other people and from the app itself. 

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https://beliapp.com – Picture

One of the restaurants I found through the ‘Recs for You’ feature was Zohara Mediterranean Kitchen which is located in West Hartford. I actually tried this restaurant over spring break and it was so delicious. I was surprised I did not know about this place before. I was so thankful to Beli for finding this restaurant and this made me strongly believe that their recommendations are personalized and curated for your specific taste. 

Another one I tried through the Beli recommendations is a baker called Neri’s Bakery. Located in Port Chester, NY, it is an Italian bakery and family-run. When I visited this place, I got to see that they have the factory right across, which produces freshly made baked products and delivers them fresh to the bakery. I thought that was quite cool! Their breads are amazing! They are so soft and do not get stale. I had it with my broccoli cheddar soup and could not have asked for a better bread to dip in. But my favorite had to be their tres leches. The rich taste of milk and the fresh peaches (since I got a peach tres leches) was everything I needed. It became my entire family’s favorite!!

Some restaurants that I want to try that I found through Beli are Chama Mama, which is located in Manhattan, New York. I want to try this restaurant because it is a Georgian cuisine restaurant,t and I have never tried Georgian food, so I am excited to try a new cuisine! And I know I would have never found out about this if I had not gone through my recs in Beli. 

Another one is La Taqueria El Chino located in Norwalk, CT. A Mexican restaurant that serves freshly made burritos, tacos, birria tacos, quesadillas, carne asada, and many more. I love the fact that it is an authentic Mexican restaurant. As a matter of fact one of my friends went to this restaurant also, finding it through Beli, and she absolutely loved it. And that is how I found this restaurant actually! Through her reviews and pictures, I knew I wanted their burrito ASAP. 

I also found a bakery called Angelina Bakery. An Italian bakery located in Times Square, NYC. I saw the pistachio croissant in the pictures uploaded in Beli and knew I had to try this. Pistachio is one of the flavors I absolutely adore and I was convinced after seeing the picture. I also want to try their Bombolone which is a dessert with delicious chocolate stuffed inside and it just looks too good. 

Listen, I could go on and on about the recommendations and this app, but I am going to stop here for now. If you read all this, this is your sign to download Beli today! Do not miss out on many more restaurants and go try a new restaurant through their recommendation!

Shanmathi (shun-muh-thee) Muruganambi is a Economics student at the University of Connecticut. She is from Stamford, CT. When she is not writing she loves spending her time reading, baking, journaling, or listening to music.