Delivery is one of the great wonders of the food world — the perfect marriage of
restaurant quality and home comfort. You can even support local restaurants in the process!
But there are some key pitfalls and mistakes you should avoid when you plan on ordering delivery.
When it comes to delivery, there are some dishes that should be reserved for in-person
dining only. Eggs are, without a doubt, one of those items. Uncooked egg yolks pose a number
of health hazards. In Anthony Bourdain's infamous Kitchen Confidential, he wrote,
"Bacteria love hollandaise. And nobody I know has ever made hollandaise to order."
Add to that the extra time in the car for a delivery order,
and you won't even want to think about those eggs, much less eat them.
But even if the eggs survived the delivery journey without spawning bacteria,
cold or lukewarm eggs are some of the worst things you can eat. The co-founder of Habit Nest,
Ari Banayan told Eat This, Not That,
"We forget how badly eggs smell when they're not fresh. [...] Plus,
cold eggs don't taste nearly as good as you'd hope."
So the next time you find yourself craving eggs on a Sunday morning,
we highly recommend melting a pat of butter in your own pan and saving delivery for dinner.
Though soup might seem like a good option for delivery, especially as the weather gets cold,
it's best to leave this menu item for in-person dining or make it yourself.
Because most restaurants don't use BPA-free containers, hot liquids can absorb the chemicals
from these plastic bowls. Registered dietitian, Jackie Arnett Elnahar told Eat This, Not That,
"[The] high temperature and consistency of the
soup make it a prime [leacher] of chemicals from the food containers."
Many people think soup is the perfect takeout option because it starts out so hot that by the
time it reaches your door, it's cooled to the perfect temperature. But it's probably safest
to skip the soup for delivery. On the bright side,
heating up a can of soup is not much more complicated than boiling water,
so even the most inexperienced of home cooks can handle this BPA-free kind of home-cooked meal.
Fried food might be just the meal you're dreaming of having delivered to your door, but it will
likely become less idyllic in the time it takes to reach you. Chef Ariane Resnick told Insider,
"Fried items will be soggy on arrival. [...] Also,
once refrigerated, they will crisp up less when reheated."
It's not just french fries you want to avoid — anything that gets fried in oil,
like mozzarella sticks, or fried calamari, are subject to the same
soggy fate if stuffed into a bag and driven around town for a while. Another chef shared,
"Fried food is rendered pretty much inedible after a few hours so if you don't finish it,
you'll likely end up putting it in the trash."
To avoid wasting food, try opting for something else when you want it
delivered, and save the fried stuff for the drive-thru if you're heading straight home.
When ordering delivery, it's important to keep in mind that some foods aren't made to last
forever — some hardly stay good for any time at all before you'll want to throw them out.
If you're the kind of person who likes to keep a few takeout boxes in the fridge for
late-night snacks or midday meals, keep in mind that certain dishes only last a day.
If you're ordering sushi, you should be sure to do so with an empty stomach so you can finish every
bite, as sushi can quickly become unappetizing. As a USDA Food Safety specialist suggests:
"Order it and eat it."
Salads also, when dressed, don't last more than a day,
so it's best to finish these types of dishes as soon as they arrive.
The greens will wilt within a matter of hours in the fridge. By putting the dressing on the side,
however, a salad can survive fresh and crunchy up to four days in a takeout box.
"Wise man say 'Forgiveness is divine but never pay full price for late pizza.'"
Not everything travels as well as pizza does, and sometimes the idea of a soggy,
lukewarm meal is enough to make even the most reluctant home cooks
break out the spatula. Luckily, there are many other takeout-friendly options available.
Grilled food is perfect for delivery — it's
made to sit outside past its prime at outdoor grill-outs,
so you can be sure it will be flavorful no matter how long it takes to get to your house.
Similarly, barbecue, with its intense flavor and hardiness,
can handle a drive across town. Even if it's not piping hot by the time you dig in,
the taste of barbecue can't be beat. Matthew Green of Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting said,
"It doesn't have to be crispy. [...] It's still good when it's cooled off a bit,
and doesn't depend on some fancy presentation."
If you're just looking for a snack or ordering a meal for one,
your small purchase could actually harm restaurants more than you might think.
And if you use a third-party delivery service which charges the restaurant, as many of us do,
these miniature meals can cost restaurants more to get to your door than you pay to eat
them. As at-home diners use these apps with increasing frequency, many restaurant owners
have decided to sell only family-style meals via third-party delivery, encouraging people
to order more items to share and making the delivery price worth it for the restaurant.
While it's understandable that individuals who live alone or don't routinely eat with
others would order small quantities of food for delivery, you might consider buying a few dishes
to help out your local restaurants. This way, restaurants can afford the exorbitant delivery
fees many third-party apps charge them, and you'll have a few extra
meals to enjoy the next time you're hungry. Or you could just pick up your meal yourself.
Though it may be tempting to order from Papa John's again,
supporting local restaurants is more important than ever. Giant food chains that offer delivery
services like Pizza Hut and Jimmy John's make tons of money on their food and delivery options,
whereas many local restaurants struggle to break even in the best of times.
According to CBS, most restaurants spend 70 to 75 percent of their total revenue on food,
rent, and labor, and that's despite the ridiculously low minimum wage requirement
for tipped workers. This means that in order to begin making a profit,
restaurants need 80 to 85 percent of its available seats filled at all times.
So rather than ordering from a chain restaurant whose net profits, at $400 million,
are doing just fine, try checking in with your favorite locally owned joint to see what kinds
of delivery options they offer, or stop by to say hello and pick up your takeout meal.
"Keep the change ya filthy animal."
Everyone knows tipping in restaurants is a requirement,
but often people think they can skimp when it comes to tipping delivery drivers — especially
the independent gig workers who work for apps like Uber Eats and Postmates.
Harry Campbell, a gig worker and blogger told Fast Company,
"There's definitely no tipping etiquette [in
the gig economy] like there is with restaurants or even coffee shops."
According to Huffpost, normal delivery circumstances require just about the same
tip for delivery drivers as you would give to servers inside a restaurant: 10 to 20 percent,
though you're expected to tip at least 15 percent at a restaurant. Eater,
on the other hand, recommends tipping a minimum of $5, no matter the total cost of the order.
It's important to remember to tip on top of the mandated delivery fee — that money usually
does not go to your delivery driver. Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman warns,
"Don't confuse a tip with a service charge."
Though the price of the meal, tax, service charge, and tip may seem like a lot to spend on dinner,
tipping is not an optional fee, and you should factor it in before ordering a meal.
Reheating leftover delivery takeout food is an art form. It takes practice, perseverance,
and a wide range of knowledge to understand the best way to warm up different kinds of meals.
Sometimes a microwave is the perfect way to quickly reheat an item. Chef Brian Bennett
suggests draping a damp paper towel over small pieces of meat or veggies before nuking them. To
avoid ending up with leftovers whose outer layer burns your mouth despite being cold in the middle,
Bennett encourages taking your food out of the microwave frequently to stir, mix, or flip.
When a microwave won't do — when you're reheating soups or sauces, for example — try a saucepan.
By adding a little liquid to the pot, you can remake your dish to become almost good as new.
Though the microwave works fine for larger cuts of meat,
Bennett recommends heating those up in the oven instead. Ribs he prefers to reheat in
the oven under low heat in a pan with a bit of water in it to steam them. For steaks,
he utilizes both the stove and the oven to ensure it's reheated and re-crisped.
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