A plate of quesadillas.
I’m sure I’m not alone in occasionally eating take-out food. There are those days when I’m too tired to think about cooking. Or too busy to have time to make a meal. And I’ll admit it—sometimes, there just isn’t anything in the fridge that is even remotely appealing.
My partner and I are not very adventurous when it comes to food. Once in a blue, we’ll try a new restaurant after thoroughly vetting it through friends or reviews. When we find one, it goes on the list of options.
There was a time when we could count on these select places to give us delicious, beautifully present food in exchange for money. Since the pandemic, we tip for take-out because given the circumstances it felt like the right thing to do.
But our list today is short and growing shorter. Restaurants that we have had great food and experiences with are disappointing us in a myriad of ways.
An item (or two) missing from our order.
A presentation so poor as to be unappealing.
Badly cooked—burned beyond edibility or worse.
Just yesterday, we ordered from a place that we have gotten food from many, many times. It’s gotten progressively worse. For instance, at some point we ordered a bean burrito that had no beans in it. Seriously. But we decided to give it another chance. This time we ordered quesadillas. It was the trifecta of awful: Sloppily constructed and presented. Chicken so dried out it it was unrecognizable as chicken—or anything edible. And—you guessed it—burned tortillas.
At this point, the only three places that have not disappointed us—yet—are our local McDonald’s, a pizza parlor with amazing zucchini fries, and a little breakfast place. As a business person, I have an idea what is happening and it has to do with training, oversight, lack of pride in a job well done, etc. But a question remains: WHY is it happening? I have no idea but if you do, I’d like to hear it.
Take out no longer seems worth the convenience. I think we’ll stop eating out for a while, and instead plan simple meals that we can make even if we’re tired or have little time. To be sure, it’s healthier and less expensive this way. But it sure is disappointing.
