Let’s start this article with an explanation. We had every intention of going on another time-crunched food expedition again this month. However, because of some unforeseen circumstances, we all decided it was best to stay inside. The night before just happened to be one of our friends’ birthday outing and we all partook – until 2 a.m., maybe later – so let’s just say our Uber driver had to stop at Taco Bell on the way home. Needless to say, none of us wanted to volunteer to drive, nor did we have the vitality to enjoy such a trek. So, what’s a gluttonous food-group supposed to do? The same thing you would do – order delivery!
This decision ended up being a pretty awesome revelation in disguise. We realized quickly that none of us really knew of many options for delivery in the Lake Nona area other than pizza. And, since no one has the same amazing taste in pizza with pineapple as Matt has, we decided to dig a little deeper, a.k.a. poll the audience on Facebook again. We started to realize that there really are some unique and satiable selections, as well as a variety of delivery methods to choose. We decided to redirect this month’s story to highlight some of these choices, just in case you come down with a “one day cold” someday as well. So, how do we win over the Nonahood News producers with this idea? With the promise of “good content.” Readers of Nonahood News, we present to you the most expensive article of our food challenge series thus far: Feed Me, I’m Not Leaving the House.
To do this article properly, we decided we must order from every delivery service we could find aside from pizza joints – because everyone knows pizza joints deliver. So, we needed to place an order with Uber Eats, EzeDining.com, and Instacart. Please note that Shipt also has delivery service in our area but requires a membership, which was too much to handle when all three of us had the “day-after-party ailment.” It’s also worth mentioning that since this event took place, Dickey’s BBQ now offers delivery to homes and businesses via their website, so check that out.
Our first order was placed at 5:56 to NY Kennedy Fried through Uber Eats. The order was expected to arrive at 6:24 and arrived at exactly 6:24. We are all pretty certain the driver waited outside for one minute to be perfectly punctual. So, was the food from our first location as perfect as the delivery service? We ordered a four-piece chicken, a biscuit and a burger. The food was still hot and fresh. The chicken was flavorful, and the biscuit was flaky and buttery. As for the burger, if the place has fried chicken in the title, stick to the fried chicken.
Order two, also through Uber Eats, was Larry’s Giant Subs, the longtime local favorite sub shop. The order was placed at 5:58, ETA 6:34. Actual arrival time 6:38, four minutes late, but we hadn’t finished eating our chicken, so we were not bothered. We ordered a sandwich called The Destroyer, mostly because it was called The Destroyer – ham, prosciutto, salami, capicola, pepperoni and provolone – pretty much the perfect toppings for a sandwich. Add on two cookies, and we were good to go. We gave it two thumbs up for both the food and the delivery service.
Next up was Loop Gyros, our last delivery from Uber Eats. Ordered at 6:04, ETA 6:44, actual delivery at 6:43, one minute ahead of schedule, and we are starting to notice quite an accumulation of food on the island counter. The lamb gyro is a perfect food for delivery and for our current, slightly rundown condition. The food was still fresh despite traveling from Hunter’s Creek. The gyro was classic, shaved lamb, fluffy pita and a creamy tzatziki sauce. The gyro was devoured quickly and was a great choice for delivery.
After exhausting our dining options from Uber Eats, we turned to Eze Dining, a local delivery company that has been in business for some time. Whilst ordering at 6:04, our ETA for delivery was showing between 9:37 and 9:47?! This couldn’t be right; we suspected this might be a glitch…so, we ordered from four different stops, all in the same order, just to make things more complicated. Thankfully, our suspicions were correct, and the order arrived at 7:13, just under a half hour for four different stops – our driver deserves a medal, a raise, and possibly a few speeding tickets.
Of the four stops we ordered, two are actually the same restaurant. However, Mr. K’s Chinese and Mr. K’s Sushi are listed as two different locations. Our orange chicken was full of flavor. The batter wasn’t perfectly crispy anymore, but that is to be expected with delivery. Chinese takeout always hits the spot, and Mr. K’s has always cooked some good food.
Next restaurant was Piazza Italia. Could a delivery entree be as good as the desserts we tried last month? Yes! The chicken parm was awesome. The marinara was thick and loaded with a rich tomato flavor. The breading was loaded with herbs and the chicken moist and tender. This one was a winner for delivery.
Last stop for Eze Dining was Durian Durian and some Pad Thai noodles. This dish also held up well during the drive to the house. The sauce had a wonderful peanut taste, however, a little more spice would have been nice. I’ll remember to ask next time.
Lastly, we had a craving for one of Florida’s finest delicacies, the Publix sub. For this, we turned to Instacart, the delivering partner for Publix. While this delivery service is meant for getting your week’s foodstuffs without having to worry about fighting for a parking spot at your local grocery store, it worked just fine to get food from the Publix deli to our counter. After agonizing over which sub to order, we settled upon the Italian sub with provolone, upgraded to Boar’s Head, of course. To complete our order, we need some sweets – a dozen Publix chocolate chip cookies and a quart of Publix Premium Chocolate Cookie Quarry Frozen Yogurt (Matt’s favorite) were two solid choices. As per usual, the Publix offerings delivered (pun intended) and were a great way to finish off the most lazy food binge of all time.
So, the next time you’re feeling under the weather, or just not motivated to spend six hours smoking ribs or 15 minutes heating a frozen pizza, use your smartphone, tablet, computer or Alexa to order some delivery. Relax, you deserve it, you haven’t done anything all day, why start now? Tune in next month when we outdo ourselves again with the College-Style Pantry-Treasure Cook-off Challenge.
If you have a food challenge you would like us to try, please submit it at: http://nonahood.to/foodchallenge.
