A Socially Distant Dining Guide: What We’re Eating When We Order In
For as much of a foodie as I am, Courtney and I don’t actually eat out that much – even in the best of times. It’s pretty much reserved for special occasions and the occasional double date. Honestly, as pompous as this sounds, not much stacks up to the meals We make at home.
But now that we have no choice but to dine at home, we find ourselves wanting to try new restaurants. So, we’ve been ordering out from a new restaurant each week, supporting local businesses and giving us a little something special to look forward to on the weekend.
Week 1: Rose’s Luxury
What we got: Four course tasting menu, which included two lychee salads; cauliflower with yogurt, raisin puree and truffle bread crumbs; rigatoni with sausage; kung fu tofu; Greek chicken and strawberry shortcake.
Cost: $118
The highlights: Believe it or not, my very favorite dish was the cauliflower.
Process: Order on Tock and select a pick-up day/time. Text when you’re on the way and they’ll tell you which window to come to for pick-up. Very smooth. You take it home with instructions on how to plate and reheat, which is actually really nice because you can enjoy each course without worrying about whether the next course is getting cold.
Takeaway: While it wasn’t the restaurant experience, Rose’s did a very nice job of translating their amazing food to takeout – and they have the socially distanced pick-up down to a science! It’s a pricey night in, but their menu changes every week and I could see doing it again if this goes on long enough.
Week 2: The Happy Gyro
What we got: Vegetarian gyro, black walnut tacos, “half smoke” carrots and fig leaf gelato with graham crumble.
Cost: $65
The highlights: Omg the half-smoke carrots were AMAZING! I wished we’d ordered two.
Process: Order online. They’ll email you when it’s ready. Once you’re there, you can text and they’ll bring it out to the car. Very smooth.
Takeaway: The vegetarian pop-up of well-known Komi. The portions are pretty small. The gyro was yummy but the tacos were unremarkable. Meanwhile, the carrots were extraordinary and I loved the gelato. Definitely the order in meal that left my belly feeling the happiest. It looks like they may be on hiatus, so don’t get your heart set on this one!
Week 3: Little Serow
What we got: Crispy rice salad, chicken laab, glass noodle salad, Thai fried chicken wings and BBQ pork ribs.
Cost: $105
The highlights: The ribs. Hands down. I literally grunted with each bite and gnawed on the bones to get the marrow.
Process: Same as Happy Gyro – they’re right next door and have similar operations.
Takeaway: Many of the dishes are *incredibly* spicy, but if you can take the heat the flavors are amazing and it translates well to takeout. We had enough leftovers for another meal! As I remembered from dining in, the ribs are NOT TO BE MISSED and are delightful paired with a smoky beer. Bad news: Also on hiatus.
Week 4: Della Barba Pizza
What we got: A Detroit pie – we got one of the specials (pepperoni, roasted garlic & ricotta) and added spinach.
Cost: $41, w/ delivery
Process: You can order pick-up or delivery, for now or for later. Ours arrived to our door a little late and was a little cold – but it heat up perfectly.
Takeaway: The Detroit is made using a traditional blue steel 10″ x 14″ pan, baked just long enough to caramelize the classic Wisconsin Brick and Cheddar Cheese combination so all of the cheese sticks to the side of the crust. It’s both crunchy and chewy and parts of it taste like Cheese Itz. And it pairs perfectly with a nice cold beer. Although the pie doesn’t look very big, it’s THICK and easily made for two meals for each of us with a side salad. I would definitely recommend this and will definitely order it again next time I’m craving pizza!
Week 5: Albi
What we got: Three course tasting menu, plus garlic toum and homemade pita. We started with (strangely unsmokey) baba ganoush with preserved tomato, little gem lettuce with feta (much like a fattoush), and a vadouvan biscuit. Next up, we split the charred rock fish with dragon beans and the bbq lamb shoulder with pureed potatoes with feta and merguez. Several hours later when we had room again, we the chocolate chip tahini cookies (which came with the meal) with tahini softserve with caramel and halvah and labneh softserve with strawberries (an add on!)
Cost: $134
The highlights: I honestly think the biscuit was my favorite – or maybe the softserve!
Process: Order online and select a time for pick-up or delivery. We selected pick-up since it’s right in our neighborhood. They don’t have a super clear process to let you know when your food is ready so multiple people kind of end up hanging outside until called.
Takeaway: So, this is an example of an instance where I don’t think my judgement is indicative of the quality of the meal because my standards are just so high. I thought it was good but not mind-blowing – I expected more vibrant flavors on some of the dishes. Courtney on the other hand was extremely impressed. Also, the most expensive of our dine-ins – but to be fair we included a lot of add-ons! Overall, I’d definitely go back to check out the dine-in once things are back up and running!
