Deliver us from cooking
A close-up take on takeout Aug 13, 2007
By Michael Hines For RedEye
Published August 13 2007

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."

[ Michael Hines is a RedEye Special Contributor. ]