How often do you use restaurant ordering services? (DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, etc.)

A lot of people don’t have one restaurant within two blocks of their home, let alone multiple options.

“Is it sanctimonious to be creeped out by the number of ghost kitchens that operate actual storefronts in neighborhoods I walk through, where the storefront only contains a rank of app-operated lockers for drivers to pick up from?”

lol I found myself driving to one of these in some desolate industrial zone a few months ago, it was the weirdest vibe, the sandwich sucked too

Question for those who get delivery, do you reheat the food?

Def prefer to eat it as soon as it comes Usually hot enough

I seldom need to reheat. It might be necessary when there's some kind of mix-up in the delivery process and the food arrives way late.

When ordering for a family of four it’s also kind of insignificant to tack on that extra $2 for “priority order” or whatever, although it’s possible it doesn’t actually make a difference.

Huh I've never had delivery food that wasn't too lukewarm or soggy, but I like hot & crispy food, I'm weird like that.

Btw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFsfJYWpqII

I wish I could hate them, honestly, I do. I wish the restaurant got 100% of my money. But I wouldn't have many options, not even pizza or a burger or a burrito. All the delivery people are on apps now.

I will point out also, again, that restaurants that look like they have their own in-house delivery don't actually.

The local pizza place in town uses the ToastPOS system, but also uses Toast Delivery Services to deliver. Where do the drivers come from? Doordash! But you don't find that out until you've submitted.

The local taqueria advertises delivery on their website...but it's handled through FoodHub, another third party delivery service.

Only know of one restaurant around here that delivers via its own engine. We usually pick up though cos it's simply not cost effective for delivery unless ordering for a lot of people

This was actually xxxxxxxxposts way back lol

I'm thankful that our favorite local pizza place (the only place we get takeout from, although we pick it up) keeps it old school and actually keeps their own drivers on staff. They still take orders on the phone and their own homegrown website (although I think they accept orders on the apps too, which presumably involve other drivers).

And to be honest I love not talking to anyone. I don't want to talk to people, I feel stupid when I can't understand them or they don't understand me or they can't tell me if there's wheat in something.

Mom and pop Pizza places seem to be the most likely places to do it. I delivered for one years ago

Never! I’m so central in London terms that it makes no sense (same reason I never use Uber, 24/7 buses also available). The places I get take-away from are a) quality Japanese mini-chain 200m from my door that does £10 bento boxes b) Malay lunch place 150m from my door c) the Franco Manca by the tube station d) shawarma wraps from the Palestinian place across from the tube, and all of those I either stop in to order or phone directly to pick up in 10 minutes.

There once was a great local Chinese delivery place (Mayva) with a £5 minimum that I did use loads, but it closed years ago.

I don't use any of these, and don't plan to, but I am thankful for modernized online ordering systems, which I imagine share a backend with the apps. Also, the abundance of app delivery people has also made it so double-parking on a busy street to get take-out isn't a terrifying proposition anymore. Around here, you can usually pull up behind a line of cars, their hazard lights blinking, and if you time everything right you can hop out for your food and be back in your car before the line moves up. Generally, I'll find parking, but there are a few places where parking is just about impossible and it's easier just to role-play a DoorDash driver.

I imagine this thread is showcasing contrasts in urban vs. exurban/suburban/rural disadvantages more than anything else.

maria kinda wanted to do the box of food in the mail thing and i was against it. the local market is within walking distance and all i need is some chicken, a vegetable, and an onion and garlic and some spices to work my magic. don't need no food in a box. she just thought it would make life easier. during the pandemic? it must have been. probably that was the impulse back then but it just really seemed wrong to me. all the packaging and plastic and shipping....not for me. thinking about doing a local meatshare though. we have an old fridge in the basement now and we could freeze stuff down there.

I voted "I have done this occasionally but may never do it again" but I only did it once, back when this was still relatively new and I had a coupon for free delivery. Most of the food I order is either pizza (who generally have their own delivery people) or one of the places within walking distance from my house (a couple of restaurants on a street about 10 minutes walk away), in which case I just walk. I guess if I lived in a less walkable area I would do it every once in a while.

Never done it, can't imagine doing it.

I imagine this thread is showcasing contrasts in urban vs. exurban/suburban/rural disadvantages more than anything else.

― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Thursday, April 4, 2024 12:31 PM (twenty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Somewhat, but even when we were in brooklyn and queens, the nearest takeout place we liked was often a 15-20 minute walk, and especially when you have little kids and especially when it's not great weather and you are coming from work late, that makes a difference.

yeah actually when i think of lots of takeout i think of cities. mostly chinese food. but obviously the suburbs are all about it.

in the suburbs i think of pizza delivery.

the mayor of the town i live in calls it "rurban". which is a dumb word. and technically the town i live in is called a "city" but only 17,000 people live here and that just seems like a big town to me.

DoorDash was a lifesaver when I was recovering from surgery.

I feel like an alien reading this thread. At least 2x a week for me. Nearest real restaurants are 10 min ISH walk but nothing I would want take out from so delivery it is. I didn't realise that it was so uncommon.

2x a week is nothing to be ashamed of. I don't judge anyone for how they choose to spend their money tbh

i think it makes perfect sense for some! especially city folks. but for me it would just be dumb. everything is close by car. i can eat in or pickup if i want to go that route. though i try to limit eating out cuzza $$$. still trying to come to grips with $15 burritos in life.

I'd be slightly curious how many people used to habitually order delivery in the old school way but then stopped when the apps took over.

Xpost - my mind was blow by how expensive restaurants had gotten when I was in Boston last week.

xp my parents still do this! They will normally get takeaway for us when one of us is home and whichever one is being ferried home in the car from the bus or train has to call the place to arrange an order for pickup. I think they use the apps for when they’re home and want something but if someone is out and due home they’ll call the place so they can ask the person when it’ll be ready.

We don’t really get takeaway much just cos there aren’t many places good enough for how much it costs. Our favourite place to eat locally delivers but honestly it’s so much better in person. Used to do it more in London. I usually find a reason to get something when I’m home though cos the Chinese places at home are so much better than where I live now.

Broke the habit of doing it once a week to never now. Live in an area with a number of choices 5-10 mins away. An opportunity for a good walk and to wait around for whatever it is I choose.

And also the bin Chinese place is gone

There is a very good goat curry place.

I wish there were decent Turkish and Caribbean options near me but if I am in Dalston or Holloway I often pick up something for dinner. Actually this is a note to self to go get a Roti Joupa fix from their new place in Holloway.

I feel like an alien reading this thread.

Different life circumstances, eating habits and economic priorities will obviously lead to make different choices. If it makes good sense for your needs and desires then there's no shame.

I'm in the 'UberEats curious' camp but never used it. We cook most nights and if we have a takeaway (curry, Chinese or pizza maybe once a month) we order directly from the shop.

Never done this.
In the spirit of 'I don't even own a tv' will say that I haven't eaten food in or from a restaurant this century. Closest I've managed is getting chips from the local chippy once every couple of months. I did not have to phone ahead for my order.

DoorDash was a lifesaver when I was recovering from surgery.

― c u (crüt)

Yeah my roommate got hit by a car in late 2022 and spent most of 2023 with severe mobility challenges. Hell, *I* spent half of 2023 with sciatica that I managed by biking/scootering even the shortest distances. A nice evening walk wasn't in the cards.

maybe monthly. we don't have takeaway much more than that and most places don't have their own *independent* websites, are more than a ten minute walk away, and with two hungry kids in the house walking all that way and waiting for half an hour while the food is made is not the best idea. we always tip the deliverer obv.

I honestly didn't know you could order directly from shops at this point. I think a tired several years ago. Aimless - I wasn't ashamed lol. I am just surprised! I had never thought about it before but didn't expect people to say never, that's all.

I've done this 3 or 4 times over several years, but it really is too expensive for me to do again. The last time, I was dealing with some sort of crisis and UberEats'd a single Chipotle burrito just to have something to shove in my face. It came out to over $30. Like, what the fuck?

Before that, I had frequently ordered pizza delivery and sometimes Chinese. Those always seemed reasonably priced, but I don't go for either of those foods anymore. Maybe they're crazy expensive now too?

I mean the economics of single-meal delivery just don't make any sense, that's why it costs $30.

I mean yes a portion of that is probably the predatory middle man company too, but I'm also not sure restaurants would even bother to deliver you a single $12 burrito otherwise.

Question for those who get delivery, do you reheat the food?

I do for the pizza...but also usually only eat half of it there and then, the other half the next day (also reheated). There may be some 'two meals, better value' psychological nonsense to this alongside concerns over temperature.

Have done Doordash maybe 2 or 3 times and hated it, but we get pizza or chinese from places that have their own delivery staff once a month or so.

The most we engage with this kind of stuff is using Instacart for groceries once every couple of months. Even then we'll pick up the order curbside rather than getting delivery, just the timesaving of not having to do the actual shopping is a lifesaver when we're stressed & overscheduled.

I do Just/Uber Eat/Deliveroo probably somewhere between every 1-2 months, usually a couple of those are because my job sometimes gave us vouchers but I'm leaving that job next week. as others have said it's pretty expensive for 1 person so I tend to only do it if I've got visitors. I usually can't be bothered to wait so if I want a takeaway I just go to the chip or kebab shop

Probably once a month - also invoking the “busy family w/ school age kids and two working parents” clause here, and generous cash tips for the driver.

We have a few local businesses with their own riders still. Plenty of good food within walking distance but living in a congested inner city area it isn’t always super practical to do short hop drives. But I do prefer to pick up when I can, for the sake of freshness as much as any ideological reasons.

With two working parents and a baby, we get delivery a lot. I love to cook but it’s hard to do every day. Almost nowhere has their own delivery crew, I can think of one place, the ramen place down the street, although they run 3 or 4 brands of noodle shop from the same address and do some price discrimination - they really seem to be working the system to their advantage - also try the hainanese chicken ramen it’s really good.

Anyone else with their own ordering system is putting food in an Uber or using doordash for delivery. Tend to be higher end places where handing 30%+ to UberEats is more than sticking food in a cab.

I’m very central and we have a massive immigrant Chinese student population that comes with an expectation that anything can be delivered to the doorstep in 30 minutes. Hungry panda is the local Chinese oriented app and it’s a treasure trove of regional Chinese food, a lot of places don’t even have storefronts.

Last night we had Hunan food and whilst the pickled long beans and pork mince will be giving me spicy regrets all day long it was fantastic.

The plastic waste is a massive issue even if everyone has been mandated to standardise on polypropylene or compostable . There’s been a couple of mobs trying to get returnable standardised stainless steel containers going but without a mandate it will never get going.

I was just picturing a ramen tanker truck that pulls up to your house and you just open the spigot into your ceramic bowl.

Too often

how much are delivery fees in america? here it’s usually around 2$ with a 5$ minimum order.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/18/21262316/doordash-pizza-profits-venture-capital-the-margins-ranjan-roy

Ah there's the sanctimony that was sorely missing from the thread

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Lol only here would I have seen these results

I ordered a pizza using the Slice app last night. No delivery fees. Seems legit?

yeah Slice is legit, I've never used it but a few places I almost bought from use it

whoa these results, tracks with the discus I guess