Carryout dining, long the sole domain of pizzerias, burger joints and glum Chinese restaurants, has gone upscale in a big way.
In the mood for a prime steak? Phone Iron Mike’s Grille. Lobster? Dial McCormick & Schmick’s. French (Mon Ami Gabi, Trocadero), contemporary American (North Pond Cafe, Okno), vegetarian (Earth), nuevo Latino (Mambo Grill) and even tapas (Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba, Meson Sabika) are on the take-home menu.
Upscale restaurants that can’t be bothered (yet) with the intricacies of delivery service offer carryout to customers willing to pay premium prices.
“The night of the NCAA (basketball ) finals, you’d have thought we were a takeout (only) restaurant,” says Tony Durpetti, owner of Gene & Georgetti. Tom Tunney, whose Ann Sather restaurants offer carryout and delivery service, confirms that for customers, “Money really isn’t an object. They want convenience.”
Indeed they do. People are eating more restaurant meals than ever; they’re just eating fewer of those meals inside restaurants.
In 1988, off-premise dining – a category including carryout, delivery and catering – accounted for 44.5 percent of the dining market, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Last year, for the first time, off-premise dining represented 50.8 percent of restaurant traffic – which was $336 billion (approaching a billion dollars a day).
Taking out is taking over.
So now there are restaurants such as Mantuano Mediterranean Table, which has a separate carryout counter for processing orders quickly, and Bistrot Zinc, whose Cafe Zinc offers ready-to-eat foods for dine-in or carryout. On Friday, Susan Frasca will unveil Mio Mezzo and Kinzie Market at 230 W. Kinzie St. Mio Mezzo is a Southern Italian restaurant; Kinzie Market is a European gourmet shop with ready-to-eat main courses, breads, produce, wines and cheeses. The restaurant-market combo may well be a prototype for carryout-friendly restaurants to come.
RL, Ralph Lauren’s new signature restaurant, offers its entire menu to go, and already has one steady high-profile carryout customer – Oprah Winfrey, who’s fond of the penne Sette Mezzo.
Other fine-dining destinations are making gains by targeting niche markets. The Ritz-Carlton Chicago offers departing guests an “In-Flight Menu” of gourmet alternatives to airline food. For guests still taking in Chicago’s sights, there are picnic baskets available, loaded with everything from low-fat pasta salads to Beluga caviar to chocolate-dipped strawberries with champagne.
THE SPECIALISTS
Sophisticated takeout is the main course at these places:
– THE BOUNTIFUL BOARD, 2826 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-549-1999.
Favorites: Barbecued sirloin meatloaf and chicken dijon are “the two dishes that if we don’t have it on hand, people beat us,” says one clerk. Ditto for the Belgian chocolate brownies and apple slices.
– FOODLIFE, Water Tower Place, 312-335-3663.
Favorites: The salad bar, which is so popular that it will be expanded to 80 items next month. The hot and cold deli serves up a tasty and firm grilled salmon in a tomato vinaigrette, roast lamb and egg-less egg salad.
– BITTERSWEET, 114 W. Belmont Ave., 773-929-1100.
Favorites: Sandwiches (artichoke heart-ham-gouda on foccacia also is the staff favorite), salads and soups (carrot-jalapeno, corn chowder). And, of course, desserts, including flourless chocolate souffle cake and apple tart.
– FOODSTUFFS, 338 Park Ave., Glencoe, 847-835-5105; 2106 Central Ave., Evanston, 847-328-7704; and 1456 Waukegan Rd., Glenview, 847-832-9999. This is the big kahuna of classy carryout in the northern suburbs.
Favorites: Tuna salad, cold poached salmon with dill sauce, sweet onion tart and slices of garlic-infused roast turkey that you’ll want to remember at Thanksgiving time.
– A LA CARTE, 111 Green Bay Rd., Wilmette, 847-256-4102. An abundance of heart-healthy and vegetarian items.
Favorites: Sesame noodle salad, ratatouille-phyllo tart, chicken pot pie and chicken casserole.
– BUTTERFINGER’S, 2552 45th Ave., Highland, Ind., 219-924-6464; 921 Ridge Rd., Munster, Ind., 219-836-4202.
Favorites: Chicken salad studded with almonds, Amaretto pound cake and sour cream fudge. Plus, vegetable lasagne and beef tenderloin with apricot mustard. Remember this place when you’re headed to the Dunes or southwestern Michigan and want a posh picnic.
— Bonnie Miller Rubin
ASIAN FARE WITH FLAIR
Asian food is one of the most popular categories for carryout. Here are some of the most intriguing options:
– PENANG, 2201 S. Wentworth Ave.,312-326-6888. Malaysian dishes are the specialty at this Chinatown outpost of an East Coast chain. Penang wins points for packaging meal components separately to keep them firm on the ride home.
Favorites: Buddhist Yam Pot, a flash-fried ring of creamy mashed taro root, which comes with a filling of mixed vegetables, shrimp and chicken. Also roti telur, a thin, Indian omelet filled with onion and green chilies.
– BEN PAO, 52 W. Illinois St., 312-222-1888. Ambitious entrees come in attractive containers with tight-fitting lids.
Favorites: Juicy, flavor-packed, ginger-portobello mushroom satay and tuna-and-mango skewers. Wok-seared salmon is pricey ($15.95) but satisfying, accompanied by fresh spinach with garlic-chili sauce. Faux pas: The menu offers “curbside pickup for carryout.” Yet we were told: “Oh, we don’t really have that….”
– NANIWA, 607 N. Wells St., 312-255-8555. Local chefs often stop here for sushi, and consistent quality is why.
Favorite: The generously portioned Sushi A dinner comes in a clear-topped, nearly air-tight container, allowing the colors of the tuna, salmon, octopus, etc., to shine like edible jewels next to the generous mound of pink pickled ginger and swirling California maki roll.
– SUNSHINE CAFE, 5449 N. Clark St., 773-334-6214. This Japanese restaurant does a brisk takeout business.
Favorites: Gyoza pork dumplings (six pieces for $2.80!), shumai shrimp dumplings and quart-sized servings of udon, thick flour noodles with veggies galore and choice of meat. Congenial servers offer good advice on takeout-friendly dishes.
– PENNY’S NOODLE SHOP, 3400 N. Sheffield Ave., 773-549-0683; 950 W. Diversey, 773-281-8448)
Favorite: Lard nar (crispy, wide rice noodles stir-fried with meat and broccoli) and pad se eu (rice noodles with egg, broccoli and sweet soy sauce). Faux pas: Our phone order-taker balked at describing any of the dishes and failed to mention that Penny’s accepts no credit cards.
— Susanne Fowler
WHAT THE CHEFS CRAVE
Here’s what some of the city’s most discerning desire when in comes to carryout:
Paul (Blackbird)
Stuffed spinach-and-garlic pizza from Edwardo’s Also, catfish and red curry from Bangkok Star.
Sara Stegner (The Dining Room, Ritz-Carlton Chicago)
Pad that from Penny’s Noodle Shop and bar-be cued-chicken pizza from California Pizza Kitchen.
John Manion (Mas)
Chicken soup with wontons and pork fro Hi Ricky on Randolph, and sushi from Kamehachi. Plus, “It’s little-know secret that Let Bouchon will let you order to go,” he says. His choices: Duck and rabbit dishes.
Suzzette Metcalf (Marcha)
A ham-and cheese omelet with hash browns, or a turkey melt from S & S Restaurant, across the street from Marche. “It’s good diner cooking, with fresh ingredients.”
— Leigh Behrens
DO’S AND DON’TS
DO stick to places that offer a carryout meal, but don’t dismiss those that don’t. If you ask them nicely, they likely will accommodate you.
DON’T insist on ordering something that a restaurant is reluctant to prepare to go.
DON’T order dishes that will chill quickly, advises Barry Bursak of Earth. “Fish fillets are a bit rare in the middle and consequently not that hot to begin with,” he cautions. “Denser dishes, such as roast chicken or pastas, travel much better.”
DO ask for proper reheating instructions.
DO request separate containers for sauces and dressings; if they’re added at the restaurant, they likely will turn your meal into a soggy mess.
DON’T expect your meal to have the visual panache that it does on the restaurant’s plate. But remember that you can’t eat at The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in your jammies.
— Phil Vettel and Leigh Behrens
MEDIA BITES
Here’s where some of the broadcast crowd goes for tasty takeout:
From Dean Richards, host of WGN Radio’s “Food Time”:
– GIOVANNI’S, 6823 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn, 708-795-7171; 600 E. Central Ave., Des Plaines, 847-298-3311. When Tom Ferguson opened his restaurant in Berwyn, rib fans immediately started flocking to it. Twenty-eight years later, he continues to collect numerous local and national awards for the tender, fall-off-the bone slabs. Though he just sold the Des Plaines location, the new owners promise they will continue serving the ribs that made Ferguson famous.
– GOLF & DOGS, 16532 S. Oak Park Ave., Tinley Park, 708-633-7888. After 38 years with the Chicago Fire Department, many as a firehouse cook, Jim Nix followed his dream to open an old-fashioned drive-in with great Chicago-style dogs, Maxwell Street-style polish and much more. Carhops deliver your order to your vehicle in “American Graffiti” style, and classic car collectors cruise the place on Friday nights. Don’t leave without trying the gourmet ice cream. You can always work off the calories on their 18-hole miniature golf course.
From Larry Potash, co-anchor of “The WGN Morning News”:
– CHINALITE, 3457 Southport Ave., 773-244-0300. Potash orders sesame chicken whenever his fridge is empty, “which is about 90 percent of the time,” he says.
– Il FORNAIO, 1011 W. Irving Park Rd., 773-404-2210. Shrimp and fish dishes are his favorites.
PHIL’S FINDS
– GENE & GEORGETTI, 500 N. Franklin St., 312-527-3718. Even though we were late picking up our order, our steak was still hot. The aluminum-bottom, cardboard-lid containers were nothing special, but it was all packed into a box and nothing leaked. The salad came with the dressing already on it, a faux pas. Cottage fries, included with the order, cooled off fast.
– LA ROSETTA, 70 W. Madison St., 312-332-9500. The carryout chicken Vesuvio is a boneless breast, not a half chicken, and there was rather too much sauce. But thanks to tightly sealed, state of the art packaging (microwave AND oven-safe), nothing leaked. The rigatoni La Rosetta was huge, still hot on arrival and delicious.
– MANTUANO MEDITERRANEAN TABLE, 445 Cityfront Center, 312-832-2600. NBC Tower. Huge takeout menu; separate carryout counter is very convenient. Grilled salmon tasted great, though it cooled considerably in transit. The Greek salad had dressings in tightly sealed containers, and the greens were still crisp and cold.
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Dining editor Leigh Behrens highlights top takeout during broadcasts throughout the weekend.
Find a bounty of carryout choices and tell us about your own favorites at metromix.com/dining.
Dean Richards tackles tasty takeout choices during “Food Time,” from 11:30-noon Sunday.
