So far we have ordered delivery three times in the past month, and suddenly it is a very big treat! I look forward to the day when I can eat in a restaurant again, but I really like how some places have adapted to doing delivery without compromising product quality.
The first place we ordered from was Delight+, one of our favourite Chinese restaurants. It's always been a really lovely place to dine, with the chef visiting the tables to ask how you're enjoying the food. I noticed on their Facebook page that they were offering free delivery if you DON'T order through Sk*p the D*shes (it actually sounds like a lot of restaurants would really appreciate if you don't order through a third party right now). We ordered three vegetable-heavy dishes which were SUCH a treat, as easily perishable produce has somewhat fallen out of our cooking rotation due to only going to the grocery store every 10-14 days. The restaurant is fairly close to our house and the food arrived about 20 minutes after hanging up the phone. We will definitely order again when we need a fresh veggie fix!
Our other two takeout meals have been from Calories, and I LOVE how they have adapted their business to facilitate delivery. Their menu is limited, mainly offering a few cold items and family meal packages that can be made ahead and reheated like soup, chili, or pasta. They have a set menu and a rotating feature family meal package each week. I love that the meals are family-style, with a meal and a dessert included. They are also ridiculously affordable considering the quality and quantity of the food you get, and there is no delivery charge (though it is not "on-demand" delivery, just within two set windows of time each day). I was telling a friend that one could order 2L of soup, a loaf of bread, and a dozen cookies for $30 (!!). She responded "Thirty bucks? That's how much ordering Taco Time on Skip the Dishes cost us yesterday!"
(Calories Easter dinner - fiddleheads, turkey two ways with wild mushrooms, and the most buttery mashed potatoes I've ever had in my life; rhubarb pie not pictured)
I believe Calories was always doing farm to table ingredient sourcing well before it was trendy, and though they changed owners a couple years ago the food is still outstanding. I've never had a bad meal there, and we've been raving to whoever will listen about the two feature packages we've ordered in the past couple weeks. If you are thinking of having a slightly fancy isolation dinner, perhaps to celebrate a special occasion, I am a big fan of the Calories takeout menu! I love that it is made specifically for reheating so you don't end up with a bunch of soggy fries, or can get it delivered on Thursday and eat it on Friday. (I know other upscale and delicious restaurants like Hearth and Odla have similar reheatable offerings, which I'm sure we will also eventually try and rave about.)
About a year ago when one of my favourite restaurants that I admittedly did not patronize enough closed, I was talking to the server during my last meal there and she mentioned that many independent restaurants in Saskatoon are a bad week or two away from permanently closing. While this hasn't necessarily made me start eating out more (I really love cooking and saving money), I always try to go to independent restaurants if I'm going to go out. Right now I think this might be more important than ever, so if you do have a choice, please order from an independent business as opposed to a chain, and if there's an option to not use a delivery app, order directly from the restaurant/do curbside pickup. I promise Taco Bell will come out of this okay, but La Bamba might not, so please do what you can to support the businesses that make our city unique!
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