Take Out Time?

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by. I hope this post finds all of you in great health both mentally and physically. I know this is a trying time for many and I also know we as a people will get through this, especially if we reach out and help one another.

On this post I thought I’d do something a little different and talk about ways to get food to you.Since the advent of the smart phone people have been coming up with new and exciting ways to do almost anything. The delivery app is no exception. Remember the days when you would call your favorite pizza or Chinese food place and in about 30 minutes you’d get your food? And Chinese and Italian were about the only restaurants that delivered if you lived out of a large city. Well those days are gone thanks to apps like, Grub Hub, Door Dash and Uber Eats, to name a few. With these apps you can order from just about any restaurant you can imagine and you prepay inside the app ,including the tip. A person picks up your order and delivers it to your door and if you don’t want to see them you can just tell them through the door to leave it! You’ve already paid for it and they get their tip. Sounds a little antisocial I know, but that’s sort of how we’re living at the moment.

Know you’re probably wondering is getting take out food safe? Good question as we keep hearing conflicting reports from every direction. In this link a doctor tells you how to make sure your take out order is safe to eat. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what’s best for you and your family. Remember that your town has restaurants that are remaining open and could use your help. A friend of mine who I consider a delivery specialist has a few words of advice. Right now be a little flexible because some restaurants say they will be open at a certain time and day and because their circumstances changed they may not be able to make food that day. Restaurants are also having shortages from time to time so be prepared to order something else. Download at least three different food delivery apps so you’ll have more options to chose from. The most important thing is to be gracious as the people making your food and delivering your food are also under just as much stress as you are. IN OTHER WORDS BE KIND!

At the writing of this post there are currently a handful of restaurants in Rockland that have delivery through the mentioned apps or call ahead curb side pickup. Remember this list can change at any moment so be patient and have a back up restaurant in mind. Also this list may not contain your favorite restaurant so look in the food delivery apps or call your restaurant and ask how they are getting food to the people. This list is from the local Lohud.com. take a look at it here

I also have one more tip on getting your groceries delivered. Many places are doing delivery or call ahead curbside pick up. Bj’s in West Nyack is one of them. If you’d like something from your local supermarket chances are the people at Instacart.com will do the shopping for you. Then they’ll deliver right to your porch without ever having to see you in person,(maybe through the window to make sure they are at the right place). Please note it can be very hard to get a delivery time right now so my suggestion is to make an account, find a grocery store you like and shop online putting everything into your electronic cart. Once you’re ready to check out you’ll probably get a notice saying “No Delivery times available” do not let this discourage you. My suggestion is to leave everything in your cart and keep trying for a delivery slot through out the day. I have had my best luck in the early morning and late at night (sometimes after midnight). Please note you’re delivery time will probably be at least a week away so make sure you buy enough to make it worth your while.

I hope this post will help you in some ways during this time of isolation and uncertainty. If you know of places in your area that are delivering or doing curbside pick-up please mention them in the comments below. If enough of us share our experiences here we should have a nice data base of places to get food. Keep practicing all the things you should be and if you go out in public you might consider wearing a mask, here’s a great resource for making homemade masks from super easy to very crafty. Click here

Until next time Boone Appétit!