My Exclamation Point Eating!!!

Today let's talk about getting food delivered. I started out very lukewarm about the idea. I didn't really know how to do it, and I thought it would be too $$$ and the food would be stone cold. Then I'd think, from the comfort of my home, "I really don't want to drive somewhere and get out of my car toting my oxygen in this heat to get food." Besides, I couldn't go in my pj's barefoot!

A big breakthrough in my thinking occurred when I discovered that anyone with Amazon Prime has free Grubhub delivery service. That "free" word caught my attention. I don't remember which restaurant I tried first, but it didn't take long for me to embrace the concept! And...drivers seem to have a way to keep the food hot in transit, a big plus for me. 

I have only used Grubhub, Door Dash, and Uber Eats delivery services. You just enter www.grubhub.com in your search bar to get a list of participating restaurants. I have gotten very good deliveries from Abuelo's, Black Eyed Pea, Chicken Express, and Jersey Mike's. I have received two orders from Prespa's on Sublett which were not complete. When I called they said I would have better service from them through Door Dash. I have the Chick Fil A ap on my phone, so I order it delivered by them--very fast, but they do charge.

HOT NEWS JUST OFF THE WIRE!

Abuelo's!!!

Blackeyed Pea!!!
 

Two of my very favorites!!! Uh-oh! I notice the Blackeyed Pea does not say "free!"

Another place that does a great delivery is Blue Mound Cafe. I had heard that they served a great Monte Cristo sandwich, one of my faves!  It surprised me that they deliver until 8:30 P.M. I doubted that a Monte Cristo long enough out of the frying pan to be delivered would be very good, but it was! They actually have a huge, mind boggling menu from which to choose. They recommended Door Dash for delivery.

I have to warn you there are often fees of assorted origin tacked on to orders, especially annoying to those of us who have bargained shopped and pinched pennies through the years. But...if we're going to have the covenience, we'll have to face the music of the cost! Often the restaurant will include a minimum tip, but I always try to be generous in increasing that to a "custom tip" for my driver. I think that's one reason I get good service, and those dollars mean a lot to people driving for a living!

I always have "contact free" delivery. Food is just left on the porch. I had one botched delivery, taken to someone else's home. The order was replaced, but the process took forever. Just be prepared for that possibility.

I think one must register initially to Grubhub with your Amazon password, but I think you are automatically recognized after that. There's some kind of little symbol that must appear on your restaurant's listing for the delivery to be free, which I found out through personal experience! Each restaurant lists approximate delivery times. Start early!

Be thankful if you or someone in your household looks decent enough and is willing to go pick up food! It's more economical! But keep this in your back pocket in case you get lazy like me... or is it "like I?"

P. S. While I was working on this, I stopped and drove to Taco Bueno, not very far from me, to pick up lunch for myself. The traffic was terrible. I quickly recalculated the value of delivery. 

My Exclamation Point Eating!!!

 

Now that I have committed myself to this, I have become very doubtful that anyone is going to WANT any of my ideas! They are not that unusual, unhealthy for the most part, and maybe downright weird. But here goes since I promised!

I'll start with one of my recently discovered and best ideas! It involves The Cracker Barrel! I love to eat and shop at CB. Did you know that it is one of the few places that will allow "kids of any ages" to order from the kids' menu? So I usually get kid's pancakes and bacon! This time I treated myself to a fancy latté (for absolutely no good reason!)

You can now order pre packaged to go dinners when you dine in and order any entreé. They let me count my kid's meal as an entreé, and let me order more than one meal to go. They are chilled but not frozen. And...they are only $5 each! 

Here's what Cracker Barrel offers to go:

This is a French toast bake. I only ate half of it the first morning, warmed in the microwave. The second morning I wrapped it in foil, put it in the regular oven (this counts as cooking, incidentally) and it was much better! Has syrup with it.

Their meatloaf is delicious--probably my favorite restaurant version! Mac and cheese very good, too!

The grilled chicken has very good mashed potatoes with it.

There is also a fried chicken meal, but I lean toward my old faithfuls...Chick Fil A and KFC for that!

I have not had success in ordering delivery from Cracker Barrel. They do, however, have designated parking places and will bring food to your car. I like my food hot, so I would drive there and then order!

 

One more hint! You need something green with your meal, ya hear? I've got you covered with something amazing. Put a can of Del Monte French style green beans in a small sauce pan. Add one teaspoon of sugar (no more) and one teaspoon of olive oil. Let them simmer til all the liquid is gone and the beans caramelize a bit. You will be surprised at how good they taste! It's worth washing the pan! One time when I prepared them I ate the whole can and, without details decided the next time it would be better to just eat half.

Come back tomorrow. I'll surprise you with a place that delivers!

"Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first?"

Jane Austen wrote that to her sister, and I am writing it to you.

My chosen subject matter: "I Love To Eat And How I Do It." (Hoping that some of my ideas might tickle your fancy!) My ideas will NOT include cooking. I do NOT like to do that any more. I am a very good cook, and I really miss some of my creations, but not enough to make that mistake again. Unfortunately, there will definitely not be medical approval. You will have to believe the theory that "we need a little cushioning on our bones as we grow older." Yes, cushioning is guaranteed.

For the last few years I have called myself a masterful "gatherer." There will still be lots of "gathering," as to where to find the best...fill in the blank. New on the scene is food delivery. Through trial and error I have warmly adopted that process into my repertoire. There will be items I discover that you might have missed. There will be favorite restaurants. There will also be miscellany. (I had to look that one up!) Furthermore, there will probably be stuff that doesn't fit at all. Rabbit trails are my speciality.

Now...what do I call this new endeavor? "I Love to Eat and How I Do It" seems a little long. "Eat Like Me" seems a little presumptive. I mean, we don't know yet if anybody will even want to. "The Merry Widow's Eats" ran through my head.

Stay tuned for the decision.

To kick off my important nothings, I am going to reshare with you my most recent, and final culinary effort. It will help you understand my new plans for eating without cooking.

Here I am this week...off on a gathering mission!

Yes, I still have my oxygen. Just snapped a pic before I put it on because I was getting away from home at a record early time! Only 12:45 P.M., and I'm off like the last turtle of the herd!