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I'll be back, post-pandemic, for my favorites. Delivery doesn't fulfill my desires. As a consumer, everything I enjoy getting at a restaurant has three critic

I'll be back, post-pandemic, for my favorites. Delivery doesn't fulfill my desires. As a consumer, everything I enjoy getting at a restaurant has three critical properties. * Hot (or cold; extreme) temperature * Fresh (IMO: short best by time) * Annoying to make at home The exceptions to the first two on this list were already delivery pre-'gig jobs'; pizza and most (American) Chinese food; those kept reasonably well in insulated or even warmed bags. The last factor might involve the hassle of deep frying, or the need for food specific industrial equipment (like a pizza oven), or even just a ton of ingredients to keep fresh. Something a kitchen selling 50+ of that thing a week can easily accommodate but I can't. The secret to the best sourdough bread and butter at the fish shop, pre-pandemic? That butter was farm fresh daily because they just used THAT much; and the bread fresh from the oven the same way.

flukus 6y ago
> The exceptions to the first two on this list were already delivery pre-'gig jobs' IME just about everything that wasn't awful when delivered was already being delivered decades before gig jobs existed. Indian and pizza work well with delivery but things like burgers or anything with a hot component and a salad component just become a soggy luke warm mess. A gourmet salad place is about the only exception I've come across. The other big advantages of restaurants is that they get to "hide" the calories, if you make the same thing at home you're aware of everything that goes into it and half the time the restaurant version is only better because the amount of fat/sugar they put in things.
oftenwrong 6y ago
>pizza and most (American) Chinese food; those kept reasonably well in insulated or even warmed bags. I don't necessarily find those to be good examples. A pizza fresh from the oven will steam its delicate crispiness away in a box. The same applies to a fried dumpling. On the other hand, a non-crisp dish like a vindaloo or a soup will arrive almost entirely unchanged. When I order anything time-sensitive, I prefer to get it myself. That minimises the amount of time it is sitting (e.g. awaiting a driver). I like to arrive early, so I can take it away as soon as it leaves the kitchen.
- antonvs 6y ago
  > A pizza fresh from the oven will steam its delicate crispiness away in a box It's not a coincidence that companies like Domino's specialize in spongy dough.
  - oftenwrong 6y ago
    That's quite brilliant, actually!

flukus 6y ago

> The exceptions to the first two on this list were already delivery pre-'gig jobs' IME just about everything that wasn't awful when delivered was already being delivered decades before gig jobs existed. Indian and pizza work well with delivery but things like burgers or anything with a hot component and a salad component just become a soggy luke warm mess. A gourmet salad place is about the only exception I've come across. The other big advantages of restaurants is that they get to "hide" the calories, if you make the same thing at home you're aware of everything that goes into it and half the time the restaurant version is only better because the amount of fat/sugar they put in things.

oftenwrong 6y ago

>pizza and most (American) Chinese food; those kept reasonably well in insulated or even warmed bags. I don't necessarily find those to be good examples. A pizza fresh from the oven will steam its delicate crispiness away in a box. The same applies to a fried dumpling. On the other hand, a non-crisp dish like a vindaloo or a soup will arrive almost entirely unchanged. When I order anything time-sensitive, I prefer to get it myself. That minimises the amount of time it is sitting (e.g. awaiting a driver). I like to arrive early, so I can take it away as soon as it leaves the kitchen.

antonvs 6y ago
> A pizza fresh from the oven will steam its delicate crispiness away in a box It's not a coincidence that companies like Domino's specialize in spongy dough.
- oftenwrong 6y ago
  That's quite brilliant, actually!