Not long ago, a few business associates of mine and I were out for dinner at a local restaurant. While we know the food at Sarello’s is consistently very good, I was looking a little advice for something other than a typical entree. After asking for the opinions of my tablemates, I consulted my Droid and my newly loaded app, Foursquare. I have to admit that I was not expecting the restaurant would be listed, much less that there would be any entries.

To my surprise, Heavy Table completed a check-in and posted an entry touting that visitors should try the sea bass. The Heavy Table is a Twin Cities-based magazine reviewing restaurants and bars in the Upper Midwest. Their review reads, “The tender and perfectly cooked sea bass is a top seller. It’s oven broiled with citrus buerre blanc and accompanied by wild rice and seasonal veggies.” Granted, this was a professional review, but there was also an entry from a recent ‘patron.’

This event provided a practical example of how a simple technology provided an augmented discovery that made my whole experience more pleasant. Foursquare promotes itself as “a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide and a game that rewards you for doing interesting things.” Foursquare is just one of several applications that can provide similar experiences. As the build out of technology advances, and additional apps are developed and introduced, the biggest challenge for brands is monitoring posts on the various sites.

And if you think that living in a medium sized Midwestern community will isolate you and your brand from the growth of consumer generated comments, just remember the sea bass is sensational in Sarello’s.