Michelle Balaz can list the contents of her refrigerator in less time than it takes to dial for delivery.
There’s champagne, bottled water and, for breakfast, strawberry yogurt.
Ask her to list her favorite restaurants, however, and she might need a little more time. Balaz, who works from home as the vice president of advertising for Popstar! Magazine, a celebrity magazine for teens, is somewhat of a takeout junkie. She estimates having at least 100 menus stashed in her West Loop loft and says she orders takeout or delivery for lunch or dinner about four times a week.
There’s Sushi Wabi, where she often gets the salmon in plum sauce ($15.25) or a wasabi filet mignon ($23.25) with an order of pork dumplings ($7.25) and some sort of dessert ($7). Another favorite is Bella Notte, where she likes the rigatone alla vodka ($12.95), Caprese salad ($7.95) and carrot cake ($4.95). Balaz estimates she spends an average of $40 on each meal, including tax and tip. That adds up to a yearly takeout tab of $8,320.
But don’t call her a takeout addict.
“I wouldn’t say I’m addicted to it. It’s just part of my lifestyle,” Balaz, 42, said. “A lot of people love to cook, but it doesn’t mean you’re addicted to it.”
Addicted or not, Balaz’s reliance on takeout is hardly unique.
More than half of the meals purchased at the nation’s estimated 557,000 restaurants are eaten at home, according to consumer market researcher NPD Group. In a 2006 poll by the National Restaurant Association of adults with full-time jobs, 36 percent said takeout food is “essential to the way they live.” Among those polled in the 25-34 age group, 46 percent considered takeout essential. It was 41 percent in the 18-24 age group and 36 percent in the 35-44 age group.
To tap into the expanding market, casual dining chains have begun offering curbside service, in which restaurants dedicate parking lot or curbside areas for customers to pick up take out orders without ever leaving their cars. Even in Chicago, River North restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen, Ben Pao and Big Bowl have curbside takeout. Restaurant takeout sales have increased by 10 percent each of the past three years as a direct result of curbside service, according to Technomic Information Services, a Chicago-based food industry research company.
“Convenience is the word of 2007,” said Andrew Ariens of the Illinois Restaurant Association, a political advocacy and promotional organization for the state’s foodservice industry. The IRA estimates 21 percent of this year’s purchases by adult customers at Illinois restaurants will be for takeout or delivery.
Increasingly, takeout no longer means only pizza, Chinese or fast food. For consumers like Balaz, a takeout meal can be anything from braised lamb shank to veal marsala to sushi, and it can come from casual and even fine-dining restaurants.
Franco Gianni, owner of Adesso, an Italian restaurant in Lakeview — where dinner entrees range from a $9 plate of spaghetti to a $24 bone-in veal chop — estimates 12 percent to 15 percent of his business is for home consumption. The restaurant offers delivery service in the neighborhood during dinner hours.
Gianni says the average takeout bill runs anywhere from $25 to $40 including tax and tip.
“You get people who call at least once or twice a week,” said Gianni, who does a similar percentage of takeout business at his other restaurant, Lincoln Square’s Tank Sushi. “I’m finding a little bit more every month is carry-out and delivery.”
Mike Tai localized the takeout trend 2Q years ago when he created takeoutmenu chicago.com, a Web site that lists menus for more than 30 restaurants in the city.
“The time it takes to actually go to a restaurant and eat is a lot more of a commitment than ordering something and bringing it home,” said Tai, 41, who says he and his wife get takeout about five days a week, although nothing as high-end as Balaz.
Sometimes they grab a couple of burgers for $10, and sometimes they treat themselves to a Japanese meal for $35. Tai estimates he and his wife spend about $150 a week on takeout, or $7,800 a year. That is considerably more than the $50 Tai and Choi spend each week on food at the grocery story. By comparison, the average household grocery bill for 2007 is estimated at $93.20 per week, according to the Food Marketing Institute, which represents food retailers and wholesalers.
For Tai’s family, the cost is worth it.
“It’s hard to try to buy groceries for two people and use it effectively,” he said. And with their 4-month-old daughter, the couple find that preparing homemade meals takes away from family time.
“It’s probably more of a necessity than an addiction,” said Tai, who runs myWebFront, an Internet hosting company, from home. “If we had all the time in the world, we would prefer to cook.”
Balaz echoes that sentiment.
“Do you think I’m adding this up?” Balaz said. “But I’m not going to change. It’s still a lifestyle thing for me.”
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Eat out, eat healthy
Even a registered dietitian can see the writing on the wall: Takeout is in. According to Kirsten Straughan, co-author of “Lean Mom, Fit Family” and project coordinator in the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Department of Human Nutrition, takeout can be a part of a healthy lifestyle if it’s done right. Here are her tips:
1
Mix it up. Get a side salad with a variety of vegetables to ensure your body gets all of the important nutrients.
2
Watch your portions. Instead of a full order, place a half-order. If that’s not possible, split the entree with someone and add a side of vegetables or fruit.
3
Drink water or milk. The calcium from milk is healthier than a sugary soda or fruit drink.
4
Avoid anything that is fried. Fish may be healthy, but not when it’s fried.
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DINNER DIARY
A close-up take on takeout
Lincoln Park residents and new parents Mike Tai and Linda Choi say they get takeout about five times a week.
How much they spend on a given takeout dinner depends on their mealtime mood. Sometimes it’s a couple of burgers for $10; other times it’s a Japanese meal for $35.
“There’s so many restaurants here close to us that we usually cycle through the restaurants that are in walking distance,” said Tai. Tai says occasionally they get delivery from downtown restaurants. Here’s a look at the couple’s meals from a recent week. (All dinners are for two.)
Sunday
Two hamburgers and pasta salad
Metropolis Rotisseria, 924 W. Armitage Ave.
Cost: $20
Monday
Sushi, noodle soup and Chinese noodle salad
Shine Morida, 901-903 W. Armitage Ave.
Cost: $35
Tuesday
Two sub sandwiches and chips
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, 2231 N. Lincoln Ave.
Cost: $12
Wednesday
Ate at home
Thursday
Hot dog, buffalo chicken salad and popcorn shrimp
America’s Dog, 2300 N. Lincoln Ave.
Cost: $10
Friday
Chicken strips, hamburger, fries
McDonald’s, 2635 N. Clark St.
Cost: $10
Saturday
Ate at home
Grand total: $87
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BY THE NUMBERS
$1.5 billion
Amount Americans spend at U.S. restaurants on an average day.
38
Percentage of table-service restaurant owners who expect their takeout will increase this year.
37
Percentage of consumers who have used curbside takeout at a table-service restaurant.
127
Average number of to-go meals eaten by one person in 2006, compared to 81 eaten inside a restaurant.
48
Percentage of food dollars (including grocery bills) Americans spend on restaurant meals, up from 25 percent 50 years ago.
$10 to $23
Average takeout bill per person.
9 out of 10
Number of family and casual dining restaurants that offer takeout service.
3 out of 4
Number of fine dining establishments that offer takeout service.
— SOURCES: NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION, NPD GROUP
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MICHAEL HINES IS A REDEYE SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR
