Food. Oliver Twist and his fellow orphans sang about the wonder of it. Folks post pictures of it on their social media pages. Family gatherings are planned around it (at least ours are). Last year I overheard a colleague at work (on the phone with a client) engage in a ten-minute conversation regarding the ingredients and preparation of a macaroni and cheese dish that was being planned for Thanksgiving. And don’t even get me started about coworkers and the drama over food stored in a shared refrigerator.
Recently, I’ve had a preoccupation with carry out food habits. It began specifically related to breakfast. Breakfast is one of my favorite restaurant meals, and I’m always up for a weekend brunch. I enjoy fried eggs and my own attempts end up with the yolk too hard or too runny, and I can usually count on my local diner, or a Coney Island, to do a better job.
I realize carry out food is very popular (particularly since COVID) and many, if not most, restaurants offer carry out options. But there are some foods that just don’t appeal to me for take-out. Steak is a great example. Whenever we go to Outback and I see cars lined up by the Outback To Go door, I always wonder who is ordering a steak for carry out. But after a local Coney Island put in a drive-up window and I noticed cars pulling up at 8:00am on a Saturday morning, I can’t shut up about it.
“What do you think they ordered?” I ask MOH, who I’m pretty sure, isn’t even listening to me anymore. I continue anyway. “Maybe pancakes? I suppose that might travel ok. Perhaps biscuits and sausage gravy. But who wants cold fried eggs and hashbrowns? That’s not something that reheats well.” I pose variations of these same questions every time we’re out for breakfast and I see somebody pick up their order at the register. He never responds.
Part of my aversion to certain carry out foods is the distance from their kitchen to my home. Since I’m 20 minutes from most restaurants, this can be limiting. I can’t be the only one with a strong opinion on take away food, so I posted my question on social media.
“What’s a food that you’ll order if you eat in at a restaurant, but won’t order if you carry out?”
Not surprisingly, others had similar concerns. Like me, other people had concerns about drive time/distance, and also mentioned packaging. Good point! French fries (also onion rings) put in a Styrofoam clam shell are going to be soggy before you get a mile or two down the road, but McDonalds or Wendy’s fries are packaged to enjoy on the way home. (Pro tip: Take a few out of each order so when you get home it’s not obvious you started without the rest of the family.)
Chinese food, fast food, and pizza are long time carry out foods that seem universally accepted. My sister mentioned Culver’s fish dinner as an good carry-out option, but fish is on MOH’s carry-out banned list. My other sister mentioned the length of the drive home not being conducive to crunchy tacos. I can’t disagree, but soft tacos and burritos travel pretty well.
Pasta was also mentioned as a food that isn’t worthy of carrying out. I can’t say that would have occurred to me. I avoid restaurant pasta, not because of its ability (or inability) to sustain travel, but because it can’t compare to my mom’s Italian tomato sauce.
Ok. That is all I have to say about this topic for now. But if anybody out there regularly orders fried eggs as a part of a carry-out order, please contact me. I have questions!
Once Upon a Willow 