Take out dining during the pandemic

[ericgtr12]

Since that's how most are likely getting their food from restaurants these days I'm wondering what your experiences are. In our household, we haven't actually had any takeout since this thing started several months ago, only what we make here at home and over the last month or so I've really been craving it.

Our (mostly my wife's) main concern with doordash or grubhub is that the delivery drives can tamper with or pick through your food, we saw it on the news and it's been a deal breaker since, I thought if the restaurant sealed the bag it would be okay but am not sure how they handle that. Just wanted to get an idea of what everyone else is doing.

 

[TiggrToo]

Since that's how most are likely getting their food from restaurants these days I'm wondering what your experiences are. In our household, we haven't actually had any takeout since this thing started several months ago, only what we make here at home and over the last month or so I've really been craving it.

Our (mostly my wife's) main concern with doordash or grubhub is that the delivery drives can tamper with or pick through your food, we saw it on the news and it's been a deal breaker since, I thought if the restaurant sealed the bag it would be okay but am not sure how they handle that. Just wanted to get an idea of what everyone else is doing.

We've been hitting up several of our local restaurants directly.

I personally wouldn't touch Doordash or Grubhub with a 10 ft pole - partially because I don't trust the, but mostly because I want my $$$ to go just to the local places and not some techoscam using massively underpaid gig workers.

 

[Huntn]

Call the restaurant, order, jump in the car and pick up. Some restaurants, people meet you at the curb, some let you come in to pick up your order, drive home. No issues.

 

[millerj123]

Call the restaurant, order, jump in the car and pick up. Some restaurants, people meet you at the curb, some let you come in to pick up your order, drive home. No issues.

Yeah, not often, but we've done both delivery and curbside pickup. The only issue was one time at the beginning of the lockdown our delivery guys card reader went out, I had to go grab cash. Since then, they've been taking payment on their website so it's just delivery.

 

[Huntn]

Yeah, not often, but we've done both delivery and curbside pickup. The only issue was one time at the beginning of the lockdown our delivery guys card reader went out, I had to go grab cash. Since then, they've been taking payment on their website so it's just delivery.

Ironically it’s the fast food and one deli, Jason’s Deli who have apps tied into Apple Pay, order via the app, all is well.

 

[bunnspecial]

I've heard tales of the 3rd party delivery services taking a big chunk of the revenue, almost to the point of restaurants either breaking even or losing money.

A lot around here without proper drive-through lines set up impromptu ones, and by and large they've worked out the kinks. For a lot of them, you pull up at the curb, call and say you're there, and they bring your food out to you. Quick, easy, and the restaurant gets all the money. Others are a little more involved, but it largely works well.

One fun one that I've both laughed at but really appreciated is a local Chinese restaurant. They got really creative and fashioned a heavy plexiglass door with a flap in it just the right size for their typical take-out bags. Outside the door, they have one of their normal tables, and have a service bell and bottle of hand sanitizer on it. Inside the door is the same size table. Those are about 4 ft each, so it keeps a minimum 8 foot distance. The instruct you to first use hand sanitizer and then ring the bell. A person working there will then come up to the other side of the door and use hand sanitizer before putting on a pair of gloves. If you're paying with cash, you lay it on the table and they reach through and pick it up with a big pair of tongs. They then hand you your change back with tongs, followed by passing the food bag out, again with tongs. It's fast, efficient, and they take the "no contact" deal very seriously.

Through all of this, I've tried to support locally owned places more so than chains, as they're the ones struggling most. On the whole, too, in the past I've been disappointed the few times I've ordered take-out from what is typically a sit-down restaurant. I don't know if it's evolving know how or just the pressure that they have to make it better, but the take-out food quality has been every bit as good as sitting in the restaurant.

 

[MPclk2006]

Since that's how most are likely getting their food from restaurants these days I'm wondering what your experiences are. In our household, we haven't actually had any takeout since this thing started several months ago, only what we make here at home and over the last month or so I've really been craving it.

Our (mostly my wife's) main concern with doordash or grubhub is that the delivery drives can tamper with or pick through your food, we saw it on the news and it's been a deal breaker since, I thought if the restaurant sealed the bag it would be okay but am not sure how they handle that. Just wanted to get an idea of what everyone else is doing.

I started working with Doordash right before this all started happening. Some restaurants seal their bags/packages so you’d know if it has been tampered with, others do not. I think its pretty stupid to mess with people’s food, as if found out, they can just file a complain and the company knows who the delivery driver was, so whats the point? Not to mention is just not cool. I’ve used doordash, grub hub and the regular pizza delivery with zero issues during the pandemic too If that gives you any info, nothing wrong with any delivery.

 

[44267547]

I started working with Doordash right before this all started happening. Some restaurants seal their bags/packages so you’d know if it has been tampered with, others do not. I think its pretty stupid to mess with people’s food, as if found out, they can just file a complain and the company knows who the delivery driver was, so whats the point? Not to mention is just not cool. I’ve used doordash, grub hub and the regular pizza delivery with zero issues during the pandemic too If that gives you any info, nothing wrong with any delivery.

First off, thanks for what you do. You make it possible for a lot of families to not have to venture out in public and taking the initiative of delivery. I think essential workers like yourself don’t receive enough credit, being driving is a job by itself, let alone any other responsibilities.

Press on!

 

[LizKat]

I don't usually get takeout up here anyway except on /election days when my tradition has been to stop at a pizza place on the way back from voting. This year I'm settling for fake mini pizzas made with pitas, Italian-herbed tomato paste and whatever toppings happen to be available. Not great but far better than I had expected when I first thought about making them.

When I go up to Ithaca to visit kinfolk I head straight for Chinese, Thai or Turkish restaurants... looking forward to a return to those routines and hope the restaurants have managed to survive meanwhile. I suppose some of them have managed to adapt existing takeout setups to delivery options, or else switch to curbside pickup. Hope so!

 

[MacBH928]

Our (mostly my wife's) main concern with doordash or grubhub is that the delivery drives can tamper with or pick through your food, we saw it on the news and it's been a deal breaker since, I thought if the restaurant sealed the bag it would be okay but am not sure how they handle that. Just wanted to get an idea of what everyone else is doing.

You are right and I don't understand why sealed bags have not been implemented yet. Something like a bag that is "seal-once, break-once" is very easy to implement, I think they already exist. To be extra paranoid though, even workers at the restaurant can tamper with your food, have you not seen those KFC and Dominos workers?

 

[MPclk2006]

You are right and I don't understand why sealed bags have not been implemented yet. Something like a bag that is "seal-once, break-once" is very easy to implement, I think they already exist. To be extra paranoid though, even workers at the restaurant can tamper with your food, have you not seen those KFC and Dominos workers?

ITs true, anyone can mess with it if they wanted to. I know Chick Fil A does seal their bags, some McDonald’s do the same. Others just give it to you in a plastic bag and maybe tie a knot on it...

 

[ericgtr12]

ITs true, anyone can mess with it if they wanted to. I know Chick Fil A does seal their bags, some McDonald’s do the same. Others just give it to you in a plastic bag and maybe tie a knot on it...

Good to know, I've been craving Chick Fil A for months, I might give that one a try.

 

[AlliFlowers]

We have Waitr down here. Been using them for years. GrubHub has screwed up my order every single time, so I just don’t bother with them anymore.

We order once a week, more if one of us is really in the mood for something specific. Thursday night I decided I’d gone long enough without a sushi fix, so I ordered sushi and got my husband a hibachi steak and chicken rice dish. Fortunately, it lasted him two nights!

All our favorite restaurants deliver now, and the bags are always tied closed.

 

[artfossil]

We order delivery once a week. I'm happy to support the restaurants and to help UberEats people survive. Both the restaurants and the UberEats people have been fabulous.

There are so many other things to worry about, I'd never think of worrying that my delivery person would untie the plastic bags holding my takeout food and sample some unknown dish.

 

[TrevorR90]

We order delivery once a week. I'm happy to support the restaurants and to help UberEats people survive. Both the restaurants and the UberEats people have been fabulous.

There are so many other things to worry about, I'd never think of worrying that my delivery person would untie the plastic bags holding my takeout food and sample some unknown dish.

Yeah doordash user here, we haven't dined out since the shutdown but prior to that it was twice a week we would dine out.

A lot of businesses here will put a seal on their bags so that we know it hasn't been opened between it leaving their hands and getting here. I just make sure to leave the driver a tip so that I kinda sway the driver from touching my food heh.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Delivery (with all the add-on fees) is so expensive with DoorDash, UberEats, Grub and others.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

I've been ordering takeout regularly from a few places. I have used DoorDash to place takeout orders but haven't had much delivery (mostly because it's expensive and I can't justify my laziness). There's one restaurant, though, where if you want takeout you stand in a crowd on the sidewalk waiting with everyone else, there's no order to it, people who just arrive are served before people who've been waiting for half an hour, no one's distancing, it's a mess. So for that one, I'm ordering delivery (their food is so good that I'm willing to put up with it).

 

[artfossil]

Delivery (with all the add-on fees) is so expensive with DoorDash, UberEats, Grub and others.

I have a very modest income. But I'm happy to support my health and support my community by ordering delivery. And I tip VERY generously. I'm so grateful to the humans who work for UberEats and InstaCart for saving me from going out and shopping. That's worth a lot to me.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I have a very modest income. But I'm happy to support my health and support my community by ordering delivery. And I tip VERY generously. I'm so grateful to the humans who work for UberEats and InstaCart for saving me from going out and shopping. That's worth a lot to me.

I think the take out services provide a much needed service. I am not against it. I just don’t like spending almost twice what food normally cost to have it delivered. if I were in a situation where it was of necessity, I would certainly do so. At this point, I am still able to go wherever I want and purchase whatever food strikes my fancy.

 

[hallux]

I shifted my savings on gas while I was working from home to ordering take-out more often. Now that I'm back to work it hasn't slowed much. I'll order out 2x a week, once for lunch (when I'm at the office) and once for dinner. I have a couple go-to places that I'm frequenting (and also commenting on FB posts some of them make) and they're getting to recognize me. Out of the places I've ordered from on a somewhat regular basis, only one (a sub place I order from if I'm down in that direction) is not a chain while the other 6 (2 near work, 4 near home) are local places.

Only one of my regular near-home places is one I order through GrubHub for delivery, the rest are direct-call or walk-up. They've generally managed the take-out well, even though I don't think it was a big part of their business in the past. I had one instance where the order was wrong but they re-made it and had me come back. I have also taken to generally leaving a tip, even though I typically hadn't on carry-out orders in the past, and I bring my own pen to sign the credit card slip.

 

[jzuena]

Since that's how most are likely getting their food from restaurants these days I'm wondering what your experiences are. In our household, we haven't actually had any takeout since this thing started several months ago, only what we make here at home and over the last month or so I've really been craving it.

Our (mostly my wife's) main concern with doordash or grubhub is that the delivery drives can tamper with or pick through your food, we saw it on the news and it's been a deal breaker since, I thought if the restaurant sealed the bag it would be okay but am not sure how they handle that. Just wanted to get an idea of what everyone else is doing.

We get our restaurant food... by going to restaurants. When we were in the takeout-only phase in March-May we did curbside pickup at our local restaurants. We saw news reports that restaurants weren't making any money at all with the delivery service fees, so we didn't use them. Why support your local restaurants so they won't go out of business and then use a delivery service that is doing exactly that. By June we had outdoor dining and now we have limited seating inside as well. We stick with places that take safety seriously and if it looks too crowded we just go someplace else. Eastern Massachusetts was hit hard in the beginning (not as bad as the NYC metro area, but worse than just about anywhere else) but is now one of the less active places. If things get active again in the fall, we will go back to curbside pickup and cut out enriching the delivery services at the expense of the restaurants.

 

[artfossil]

We get our restaurant food... by going to restaurants. When we were in the takeout-only phase in March-May we did curbside pickup at our local restaurants. We saw news reports that restaurants weren't making any money at all with the delivery service fees, so we didn't use them. Why support your local restaurants so they won't go out of business and then use a delivery service that is doing exactly that. By June we had outdoor dining and now we have limited seating inside as well. We stick with places that take safety seriously and if it looks too crowded we just go someplace else. Eastern Massachusetts was hit hard in the beginning (not as bad as the NYC metro area, but worse than just about anywhere else) but is now one of the less active places. If things get active again in the fall, we will go back to curbside pickup and cut out enriching the delivery services at the expense of the restaurants.

Going out to eat here in Florida is risking illness, permanent CV and lung damage, and death. It's not for me.

 

[44267547]

Going out to eat here in Florida is risking illness, permanent CV and lung damage, and death. It's not for me.

Which is really unfortunate, because Florida is like a second home to me near Fort Myers Beach. I actually was planning on spending two weeks at my timeshare in July originally before the pandemic. And one of my favorite parts is actually visiting all the restaurants that are local, experiencing a different restaurant/venue every night. Quite a few people at the resort use delivery services, but I was within walking distance for most of the restaurants, plus you meet a lot of great people (Both travelers/locals), the vibe is always fun and you support local joints.

[My avatar is a pic from a Ft. Meyers Beach house along my cardio sessions during the day. Love the Palms.]

 

[maflynn]

We get our restaurant food

Here in Mass we seem to be in better shape, though the numbers are creeping up, yet with that said, I absolutely refuse to eat inside a restaurant. If they offer outside dining, I'll do that and be sure to position myself close to the fan away from people.

Time and lack of air movement seems to be the key factors in this disease spreading, the longer you stay in a place with little airflow, the higher the risk imo.

As for takeout, when I'm not cooking, that's probably the next option. With that said, I see inflation hitting here, as the cost of eating out has risen dramatically. I a chickparm for one daughter, something for my wife (I forget) and a pizza for myself. All takeout and I picked it up - the cost before the tip was in the 75 to 80 bucks. This was just a tiny family owned place. With my wife out of work, we're not eating out really anymore but if we were, it won't be back there.