What’s the most popular takeout food?
Chicken!
In 12 states, chicken is the number one takeout choice for hungry Americans. Following at a close second is Chinese food, and third is pizza. Something is exciting about ordering takeout food and having a meal delivered directly to you, and not having to do a bunch of dishes afterward.
Chances are, you probably have a few favorite places to order from whenever hunger strikes. However, what about when you’re out of town? How can you find the best take out, when you’re not familiar with the restaurants? To help you out, we’ve created this short takeout guide!
So take a look, by the time you’re done reading this article you’ll know how to order a great meal no matter where you are.
Narrow Down Your Search
Before you start searching every restaurant around town, finding the best take out requires getting specific about what you’re craving. Are you in the mood for soy sauce dip Chinese food? Is your stomach craving something cheesy and quick, like pizza
?
Did you want to enjoy a fancy meal or Branch out and try a dish you’ve never tasted? The more specific you can get about what you’re craving, the easier it’ll be to narrow down the perfect takeout place. After you decide what you’re craving for dinner, think ahead to dessert.
Remember, you might be a lot hungry or now then you will be after you finish dinner, so avoid ordering with your eyes. Instead, be realistic about how much you’re going to be able to eat. You may find that you need to order your dinner from one location and your dessert from another location, depending on what type of food you’re in the mood for.
For instance, let’s say that you’re ready to get your grub on with some delicious Chinese food. Typically, even the best take-out restaurants for Chinese food don’t have a wide variety of dessert options. Instead, you could branch out and look for a local bakery that delivers.
After you decide what you want to eat for dinner, and dessert, write down a runner-up option. Having a runner-up is a great idea in case the food you’re looking for is hard to find, or you run into any difficulties when ordering. Instead of making a hasty and hungry decision, you’ll already have your runner-up meal option written down and ready to go.
Get Referrals for the Best Take Out
Did you figure out what you want to eat? Great! Now it’s time to find reputable restaurants to order from. Since you’re new to town, you’ll do best talking to a few locals. If you’re staying at a hotel, you can begin your search by visiting the front desk. Let the person working at the front desk know that you’re looking for a great place to eat.
Refrain from telling the front desk worker what type of food you’re looking for. Instead, wait to see what their first recommendation is. It’s possible that while speaking to the front desk agent, they’ll recommend a restaurant that serves a type of food you hadn’t even considered.
Search Restaurants Online
After talking to a few locals, and finding out their favorite restaurants, it’s time to do some online searching. Type in, “best take out food near me” and then search whatever recommended restaurants the locals told you about. After finding the restaurant online, look at their customer reviews before visiting their website.
Read at least 5-7 customer reviews to get a good feel for the establishment’s service and food quality. If you find a couple of bad reviews, don’t worry. Negative reviews are a part of the business. Just because one person didn’t like their meal doesn’t mean you’re going to have a bad experience at the restaurant as well.
However, if you start to see multiple bad reviews, and they’re complaining about the same thing, watch out. If a restaurant doesn’t care about delivering quality food and providing Top notch service, they don’t deserve your business. Let’s say you find a restaurant, and they have great reviews, now what?
The next step is to hop on the restaurant’s website. Once you’re on their website, look over their entire menu. Instead of beelining it for the food item you’re interested in, explore all of the dishes available to you. You could wind up trying new food that you fall in love with!
Walk-in Restaurants
Last but not least, another great way to find quality takeout is by visiting restaurants in person. Plan on spending an hour or two exploring the town. While you’re out and about, stop in whatever eating establishment grabs your attention. It’s always a good sign if the parking lot is full and there’s a long line. Whenever a restaurant or take-out location has a ton of customers, it’s usually a sign of great food.
However, don’t rely on customers alone to evaluate a location. You might be out and about during a non-busy part of the day, so an establishment that’s usually full of customers will be empty. If you don’t see a lot of customers in a restaurant, look around at the cleanliness of the location.
Is the floor swept? Are the tables cleared off and ready for people to sit down at? Do the workers look happy or are they frowning? When you start to notice the atmosphere of the place you’re ordering food from, you can get a good feel for what type of meal you’ll be receiving.
If it’s a dirty location, and the workers aren’t happy, why would they take the time to serve you up a quality meal? Whereas, when you walk into an establishment and it’s got a good vibe and it’s clean, you can almost guarantee you’ll walk away from a satisfied customer.
Start Ordering Dinner
Finding the best take out doesn’t have to be hard. If you’re willing to talk to a few locals and do a little bit of research online, you’re sure to find tasty options. Since deciding what you want to eat is a great place to start, go ahead and write down a few dish options right now.
From saucy Chinese food to cheesy pizza, let your hunger go wild as you imagine the tasty meals you could have. Finally, find a local you can get a food recommendation from, and start ordering! For more advice, explore the rest of our site.
