Funny. I’d think slicing it would give more room for air circulation and help avoid sogginess. Do you keep the box open or closed? Where’s that science dude when I need him?
I’d say most fried foods don’t travel well, since crispiness is important - whether it’s fries, calamari, fried chicken, wings… luckily, we have a very good wing delivery in town that’s not only fast, but you can order your wings naked (or with a dry rub) and just get the sauce on the side. Crispy wings FTW.
And a Thai place in town from which I occasionally order pokes some holes in the fried calamari container so the pieces don’t end up being steamed = soggy.
Things that travel well are def Indian, Chinese (depending on the dish, of course) or Mediterranean foods - stews, curries, noodle dishes. Even noodle soups, if - like @small_h wrote - soup and noods are kept separately.
Sushi, too, I guess.
We have an In-n-Out less than five minutes from our house. Occasionally I’ll go through the drive thru and take home a #2. It’s amazing how quickly it cools down. Just lukewarm by the time I get it home. My routine involves pulling the patties out and putting them in the toaster oven, along with the fries, for a few minutes on high heat. The result is always disappointing compared with on-site enjoyment.
OTOH, if the 5 Guys near us was located nearer the In-n-Out (instead of 10 minutes in the opposite direction) I could accomplish my desire to have a Double Double Animal Style with 5 Guys fries. Gotta go now… the round trip to do this will take close to an hour, depending on line lengths.
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This is specifically for thin crust with a wet topping like margherita. The wet stuff drops between the slices and sogs up the crisp undercarriage.
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Got it. But none of the pizzas we enjoy are ever that wet from sauce. I DO relate to my youth in New York, when pizza slices were usually pretty oily.
Here’s something interesting regarding fried chicken. I’ve found that fried chicken that’s been sitting under a heat lamp is great for takeout, whereas just-out-of-the-fryer fried chicken turns into a soggy mess by the time I get home. When it’s freshly fried the heat and moisture completely sogs up the outside.
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I’ve done open box unsliced for Neapolitan pizzas, and I have to say the result still lags compared to on-site enjoyment since I live 15 minutes away. The pie still gets a bit soggy, and barely warm by the time I get home.
Dad lives in NYC and has been ordering a lot of take out lately. He was in the mood for a burger and ordered one from Jackson Hole, which is a block away. Could have told him that was a bad idea. He said it was awful. Cold, overcooked. I’m not a fan of Jackson Hole when I eat it there!
Agreed!!!
Albeit it’s been a while…Jackson hole burgers suck period
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Some places spend the extra money for those plastic take out containers, which are reusable. I think they work better than the typical take out trays…
Indian is totally fine. The pizza place i like their odd yet delicious salad pizza- basically the pizza crust with sauce and a heap of salad on top, you don’t want to heat it up. Any place that delivers salads puts the dressing on the side, so those are fine
We just had thin crust pizza delivered for an office lunch today- the place is just three blocks away and they used the insulated bags. Pizza was still fairly hot with a crisp crust
The best:
- pastries, cakes…
- slow cooked food with a lot of sauce
- soup
Worse:
- anything that is cooked with method like deep-fried
Noodles separate from soup is average, usually the pre-cooked noodles isn’t as good as freshly cook noodles. I tried once to bring to office doing that (my own cooking), was quite disappointed.
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That is a common practice for deep dish pizza joints in Chicago. Lou Malnati’s will always ask you which you prefer.
If you have the time you can avoid soggy pizza but asking them to par-bake it. Then bake it on your pre-heated pizza stone at your convenience.
Totally with you on the sushi. I picked up some chirashi sushi to have for lunch at work once when I was out on a work errand, and it really wasn’t the same. It was more like “eating raw fish at work”. The atmosphere does matter sometimes, I think.
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Good idea about not cutting the pizza.
I’m not sure why it took me so many years to figure this out, but cooking takeout pizza over cast iron rules! It comes out fantastic and crispy, if that is your style. An oven does the trick but I’m not sure why, cast iron gets it done for me. Try it. The top stays moist while the bottom gets crisp. Teflon simply doesn’t get it done right…it could be my cooking method.
Fries dont work for me no matter what. Nothing beats hot out of the fryer potato.
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I just learned about this too! It’s brilliant, no more melted cheese dripping all over the toaster oven or heating up a pizza stone. Especially perfect for late night drunk fooding.
Also warming it on the grill is great or on a preheated pizza stone.
quote=“corvette_johnny, post:37, topic:5891”]
Fries dont work for me no matter what. Nothing beats hot out of the fryer potato.
[/quote]
Agree!!
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