Give the gift of a martini, ceviche or flourless chocolate cake with the Gratafy app

Finding the perfect gift for that friend who’s impossible to buy for -- we all have one -- can be a nightmare. Especially when that friend is a cocktail connoisseur, or even worse, a foodie!

Ryan Halper and Brian Erke, the two friends behind the free iPhone and Android app Gratafy are trying to make the gift-buying process a little easier. Their app works by allowing you to send items from participating restaurants to a friend. The friend receives the gift via email, text or Facebook.

“I’m probably one of the worst shoppers around, so starting this company was mostly for selfish reasons,” said Gratafy Chief Executive and co-founder Brian Erke. “In all seriousness, I use the app several times a week for things like birthdays, engagements, new babies, graduations and the like.”

If you want to send your friend a dirty martini from her favorite bar, you can. Or a piece of cheesecake, or cheeseburger and a side of fries. After receiving the Gratafy message, recipients show servers a three-digit code to redeem gifts.

The convenience will cost a few extra dollars over the menu price. A quick look at the app shows a dozen oysters at the Santa Monica Seafood café is $30, while the same dozen on Gratafy is $33.75; an order of churros at Paiche is $9, and $10.25 on Gratafy and the chicken crispy sliders at the Hudson are $12 in the restaurant and $13.50 on the app.

The app, which originated in Seattle last November, launched its new 2.0 version and expanded to include the Los Angeles area Tuesday.

Participating Los Angeles merchants include the Hudson, the Churchill, Jones, Seven Grand, Santa Monica Seafood, Paiche, Mo-Chica, Ford’s Filling Station, Bar Toscana and others.

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