Let’s get one thing straight here, this topic is no joke. How many times have you gone to the effort of trying to save a few of your hard-earned pennies, fought off a take-away craving, schlepped it to the grocery store, only to be so disappointed you end up buying the takeaway you were craving anyway. If you’re staring down the barrel of another Friday evening, wondering whether you can make that thing you want yourself, and therefore feel less guilty, I’ma stop you right there. If it’s anything on this list, check yo’self before you wreck yo’self and just order in instead. Oh and P.S, we’re talking the cost of your time too, because ain’t nobody got time for that (just in general, time is short people!).
Pizza
Everyone loves pizza, because when it comes to pizza there really is something for everyone. But for anyone who has ever made homemade pizzas, you get where we’re coming from here. There are a lot of ingredients involved when it comes to homemade pizzas. You think that pizza would be simple right? Just slap on some sauce, a whole bunch of toppings and away you go. No. Because if you’re going to do this at home, you need to go out and buy this said “bunch of toppings”. And unless you want to be the most annoying person at the deli ever, you’re always going to have so much left over, without a pizza base to call home. And look, it’s never going to taste as good (or as bad, however you want to look at it) as your average pizza delivery service, and it’s definitely not going to taste as good as something you might find at Don Beppinos.
Chinese Food
I swear there is some sort of secret society of Chinese restaurants where they share their recipe for honey chicken. Only the people in this secret society know what this secret recipe is, and it’s not to be shared with anyone. Ever. Which is why every time you’ve tried to make it at home, you dear friend, have failed. And that’s just the beginning. Because if you think about it, what’s the best part about ordering in Chinese food? The variety of course! But are you really going to go out and buy chicken, lamb, and prawns, as well as all of the vegetables and condiments, and not to mention skill that’s required to produce a Chinese-style banquet fit for you and your family? Heck no.
Chicken Schnitty
You may be laughing at this particular section of this article right now and wondering what on earth was going on in our brains when we penned this. Anyone can make schnitty right? Oh sure, sure, sure anyone can make schnitty but not everyone can make great schnitty. This seemingly innocent dish is actually pretty darn easy to muck up. If your pan is too hot, you end up with the classic burnt on the outside, raw on the inside vibe. If you cook it too long, you’re basically eating rubber coated in soggy breadcrumbs. There are so many variables involved just to satisfy this classic pub-style craving. Not to mention, the cost of the chicken breast, breadcrumbs (since who the heck has breadcrumbs at home on the reg?) the vegetable oil, the gravy, the throwing out of the first batch of gravy because it was lumpy and sad, and the potatoes you painstakingly hand-cut because what is a schnitty without chips. You see what we mean here? Save yourself the hassle and splash your cash and head to the likes of the Grand Hotel, The Lambton Park Hotel, or wherever you get your local grub.
American-style food
We’re talking mac and cheese, burgers, ribs, and wings. And sure, if you look at these things in isolation, they may cost less than their takeaway counterparts, but what are you going to do? Buy a 24 pack of raw chicken wings, try and find a sauce that matches the buffalo deliciousness you’re craving, combine that with the right brand of ranch dipping sauce, only to find that those delicious morsels need to marinate overnight to even get close to the flavour flav you crave? OK fine, say you get that far. But what about all of the delicious combos you’re used to when dining out or getting takeaway? Want a side of burger with your wings and ribs? Off you pop then. Go out and purchase all 234 ingredients necessary to make that cheeseburger. Or… you could just save yourself the time and money, and go to the Falcon (or your local equivalent) and have the best evening in.
