Takeout & Drive Thrus
There have been plenty of restaurant drive-thrus that I have seen and have seen me lately during these times of coronavirus isolation. Don’t get me wrong they saw plenty of me before all of this—whether it had been an early evening pickup after school from play practice for my daughter or a late baseball game for my son.
I am all for a well-balanced, home cooked meal every night. Heck that’s how I remember growing up here, but then my parents didn’t have a Longhorn’s around the corner or a Door Dash or Grub Hub to deliver. Not that they would have ventured to use those services, but it would have been convenient.
Times are different, really different–parents nowadays work longer hours at places farther away from their homes. I remember sometimes as a kid when my dad would be working a contracting job out of the county and he would often come home later than normal after dusk. My siblings and I would have already had dinner (prepared by my mom) and dad’s portion would be waiting on him just as I would be waiting too.
He would arrive, unload the truck then head in to wash the grime from his day away. If it had been a desirable meal with something I perhaps desired a bit more of, I would wait until he plopped in his chair with his plate and pounce. He always obliged!
Alas, those were the good ol’ days. As for me, I like cooking what I like to eat which can vary from Morrocan to Greek cuisine on any given day. The kids are more “skittish” eaters. I have gotten Robyn to try most foods before she turns her nose up at it whereas Jacob is becoming a more discerning eater. He gave up bacon last week (but not really) after digging into “Charlotte’s Web.”
Cooking to suit the both of them on any given night is a hard task nowadays. A meal he likes is usually shunned by her and vice versa. So rather than prepare three different vegetables and two different carbs each night for kids that don’t take too kindly to leftovers, I resort to take out probably more than the average mom. And let me tell you this takeout mom has been noticing some marked differences in pre-covid and current service.
Though lines are longer and more parking lot spaces designated for pick-up, more service workers (that are working) seem to be a bit cheerier than usual. But why wouldn’t they, there are no crowded dining rooms with annoying customers to navigate which for them means increased calm while amassing less of a threat from the virus. I ordered takeout for my son’s birthday last month and will probably do so for my mother’s birthday on Monday.
Though many restaurants are open, dining in won’t suit me for quite some time well into the future. And though restaurants are allowed to open, it’s good to see that those that have adapted well to the new model of takeout and drive thru only are continuing to shutter their dining rooms for now. It appears that many are still thriving.
I drive by a Chick-fil-a most days and some days find myself in that line, often times a double line, that curls all the way around the spacious parking lot. There business is still booming and runs quite efficiently, I must say. With a line of 20 or 30 cars, I have seen drive and wait times as low as 10 minutes that concludes with friendly “my pleasure” service and hot vittles, for now at least until poultry runs low.
Many mom and pop restaurants are having a tough go of it though. I was watching the news earlier this week and learned that due to Covid-19 circumstances that a restaurant, Blaxican, I had been meaning to try was closing its doors for good. Located in Peachtree Corners, it offered an interesting take on Mexican/soul food combination cuisine. Guess I will miss out on that experience unless it has a rebirth down the road.
Meanwhile, I’ll just be preparing my usual weekly kid-approved meals of meatless spaghetti, Mardi Gras chicken, fajitas & beef tacos while also taking advantage of some appreciated takeout.