My wife is a world traveler. Because she’s brilliant, capable, and the queen of details, her company often sends her to their offices all over the world. Sometimes she’s in Europe, sometimes she’s in Asia, and sometimes she’s in California, which often leaves me with two hungry kids and a realization that I don’t have something in the fridge to make for dinner.
Enter the delivery man. Not long ago, if you were sitting around the house looking for delivery food, you were limited to pizza and Chinese. If you weren’t up for either, you were out of luck. Now, just about no matter where you live, you have plenty of options. From Uber Eats to Grubhub or one of your local services, you can get all sorts of cuisines brought to your doorstep.
When it’s me and the kids, we tend to go Tex-Mex, and thanks to this modern food delivery trend, one of Austin’s best Tex-Mex places, Chuy’s, can end up on my kitchen table in about an hour. We all have our “death row meal,” what you would eat if you only had one more meal left on God’s green Earth. For me, that meal is the beef fajitas from Chuy’s. I always get it with flour tortillas, extra pico de gallo, and their amazing creamy jalapeño sauce.
When I first moved to Austin for college in 1998, my roommate showed me the Tex-Mex mecca that is Chuy’s. Started in a tiny place just south of Lady Bird Lake (named after Lady Bird Johnson, LBJ’s wife), Chuy’s started as a quirky Tex-Mex dive. The original and its satellite locations in Austin are known for their hanging hubcaps, dog pictures, and odd wall art. It screams Austin and has since 1982. It’s now traded publicly on the NASDAQ and has expanded across the country, but the locations outside of Austin aren’t quite the same as the original few.
Here’s the trick with Chuy’s: when you go to the restaurant it’s always, and I mean always busy. It’s tough to find parking, you’re likely to wait for a while, and it’s guaranteed to be packed. So if you’re looking for Chuy’s food without the hassle, get it delivered! There are tacos, quesadillas, salads, enchiladas, and all the rest of the Tex-Mex goodies you love.
These days, Tex-Mex is not your only non-traditional option. Thanks to services like Uber Eats, I can get all sorts of cuisine delivered to my doorstep. I can get several different Indian restaurants delivered, plus lobster rolls, sushi, Thai, subs, frozen yogurt, and even barbecue all in about an hour. That’s just enough time to get the kids in front of an episode of “Wild Kratts,” then settled at the table for dinner. It’s perfect!
I’m a big proponent of eating at a table with your family. We made a point to do it when we could during my childhood, and I like to do it with my kids now. With after-school activities, late work schedules, and unexpected events, it doesn’t happen every day, but when it can, and it’s a day that’s been too busy for cooking, it’s nice to have good, restaurant-quality food delivered to your door.
Whether it’s an app on your phone or an online service, it’s easier than ever to get a broad array of tasty food, both national chains and local brands, brought to your door. That’s a great thing for families, lazy college kids, and the average hardworking Joe who comes home, stares in the fridge and realizes “there’s nothing to eat.”
