Back when I was working constantly, I was always dining out. I was on the hunt for new, fun restaurants and the unknown places that the restaurant community seemed to keep coming out with.
My pre pandemic life was busy. It was stressful and it was nothing like it currently is. I was spoiled, in a non-traditional way and had the opportunity to eat out frequently throughout the month. The last thing a chef wants to do after working 12 hour days all week is cook on their days off.
I probably went to a different restaurant every 2 weeks. I would save a bit of my paycheck to go to the newest and coolest spots in Toronto. Eating out definably adds up, but to me it was money that I was educating myself with. It was like learning about different styles of food from different countries, all in the same city.
When work began to become less frequent, I began to cook more and more at home. I really have enjoyed getting back into food. I enjoy having the time to prepare a really interesting meal, even if it’s usually just for my parents and me.
I don’t often get food for takeout these days, since the weekly budget doesn’t really allow for it. One grocery shop a week or a trip to the local vegetable stand will most times suffice and are easier on the wallet.
Cooking at home is great, but for those of us who crave some normalcy, it’s nice to have the option of so many restaurants offering takeout. It’s not like they can operate in any other way at the moment, so it’s great to support them by ordering food for takeout. It’s also interesting to see what kind of ideas restauranteurs have come up with and how they have pivoted their food to be consumed at home.
There are so many choices to go through when trying to determine where to order your takeout from. It takes me a good amount of time to even decide on the style of food to order. Every restaurant has something different, but it’s important to think about how the food will transport. A medium rare steak doesn’t transport on a bike very well
This past week I had takeout food. It was from a Middle Eastern restaurant, which is well known and has been open for a few years. I have eaten there twice before, both times being positive experiences. I was hoping their takeout food would be just as good as when I physically dined at their restaurant.
Well the food was really delicious, especially for something that came on delivered on a bike. I’m not sure if it was delicious because someone made it instead of me, or if it’s because of how different it is from the usual things I eat. The food was full of flavour, texture and completely different than what I usually prepare at home.
The salad was crunchy, the hummus was smooth and the beetroot tahini was packed with protein and bite. We even ordered a couple more fresh pitas, so we could enjoy the dipping and dunking.
I much prefer eating in a restaurant, rather than ordering takeout, but it's our only option right now to treat ourselves. I do really miss going to a restaurant and experiencing the ambience, the food and service. While we are still unable to physically eat in a restaurant and have that experience, we can still have it at home. We may be in our pajamas instead of dress clothes, but that’s what we have for now.
I can’t tell you how great it is to not have to cook and prepare food for one night. It’s worth the break, so order the takeout
*Please also consider the restaurant you are ordering from and try to get the food directly from there if you can. That way they don’t have to pay a system money and can keep more of the profit for the staff
One of the benefits of this bloody pandemic is that we can get takeaway from great restaurants that didn't do it before. I just had gourmet vegetarian from the best vegetarian restaurant in the world: "The Acorn" in Vancouver. I'd just like to add... don't forget to tip even if it's takeaway! And remember if you tip Uber the chef and servers that worked hard on your takeaway meal don't get a cent.