Too busy to cook? Or maybe just lazy? Either way, it’s no secret that a little bit of both of these things have us asking, “What the hell am I eating tonight?” Don’t look through an empty fridge or shove your mouth full with unimpressive junk. You have delicious options.
Here are some of my favourite places to pick up some good food and bring it home when things are just too hectic. And if you’re really lazy, some places will deliver right to your door – even if they have to bike through a snowstorm!
Dinette Triple Crown
Let’s be honest for a second: fried chicken is the solution to most problems. You have an upset girlfriend at home because you spent too much time at the office? Fried chicken. Your boyfriend has a long face from not being able to watch the game all week because of La Voix reruns? Fried chicken. You just had an annoyingly busy day of doing TPS reports? Fried chicken. Dinette Triple Crown has a lot of Kentucky flavours on the border of Little Italy, and they know how to do it right. With not much room to sit, they love packing it for you to go. (They also deliver now!) Everything is well priced, and I would recommend you take their dessert of the day to go as well if you can. The mac & cheese is wonderful, the briskets are perfect, and they make some delicious chicken liver mousse. Follow them on Facebook and drool over your keyboard.
Chak Wow
So this guy goes to Thailand and meets a woman who teaches him all the authentic tricks of cooking spicy and tasty Thai food and moves to Montreal from Edmonton. What happens next? He buys a bike, opens a kitchen, cooks and starts to deliver to anyone who can call in time and lives in the Mile End and Little Italy areas. They have a good variety of things, including dishes that would suit a vegetarian. All of their dishes are very spicy and there’s only enough to feed a few hungry mouths at a time, so please call early in the day. You can even leave them a Facebook message, which brings lazy to a new and efficient level.
Il Focolaio Pizza Resto
Pizza has to be one of the most precious food inventions ever. At one point, pizza was all we ate, and once we graduated, we promised to never go back to Al-Taib. But Il Focolaio has a long (more than 75 kinds!) and delicious menu, so you’ll have no choice but to revert to pizza for the night. They’ve mastered making their oven pizza very quickly, probably from serving the rushing suits at lunch. This is key, because you usually have to wait a long time to get a fresh pizza for take-out. If you’re working in the downtown area and need to pick something up, Il Focolaio Pizza might be your best option. I bet you can’t wait till you get home to eat your first piece.
Other Notable take-out places:
Aux Vivres – Vegan and you won’t even know it.
La Rôtisserie Côte St-Luc Bar-B.Q. – Charcoal-grilled chicken!
Phyllo Bar Mélina – Fill up on phyllo.
Venti Osteria – My secret! They will pack it up for you if you ask nicely.
