What’s FOR DINNER

Give us your tired, your famished, your weary workaholics longing for hassle-free meals. You’ve got good taste. You’ve got two paychecks. What you don’t have is time. We can’t put more ticks on your clock. But we can give you a panoramic view of more than six-ty restaurants and gourmet shops that specialize in keeping you out of the kitchen. We’ve got the old favorites for those on the run-pizza, chicken, Chinese, and Mexican-with some enticing variations on the theme. And beyond the basics, we’ve got gourmet-to-go, salads, soups, pasta, seafood, and the lowdown on the best grocery and department store offerings. So farewell to time-consuming preparation and heaps of dirty dishes. The light stilt shines in the kitchen, but it doesn’t burn for hours on end. That means quality time and quality food. Welcome to Takeout City and Delivery World.

Restaurants To Go



This service may be the ultimate luxury for wilted white-collar types. From downtown to LBJ and from Stemmons to Abrams Road, wish for a California Roll from Sushi on McKinney or a cassoulet from Chez Gerard, and it will be yours.

Carole Christner runs the phones, logs in the dinner orders, and scrutinizes the wall-sized delivery map hanging in the Highland Park headquarters of Entrees On-TVays,* her six-month-old delivery business.

Christner and her men in white chef hats and white jackets courier meals prepared by the folks at Andrew’s, Atlantic Cafe, Crystal Pagoda, Mario’s Chiquita. Mr. Peppe’s, and Chez Gerard, among others. Christner has kept the details to an easy minimum: you call the restaurant and place your order and then the restaurant calls her for pickup. The service is available from 6-9 p.m. seven days a week.

A filet mignon from Del Frisco’s sided by buttery mushroom caps came with an ample salad, crusty bread (a half-loaf), and it arrived hot and five minutes early. Credit cards and cash are accepted and there’s a $1 per entree ($3 minimum) delivery fee.

We regret to say that some restaurants haven’t yet caught on to the delivery game. But that doesn’t mean their menus can’t be considered mobile. Here are some restaurants that encourage takeout; Ba-Le for Vietnamese to go (try the pork cake sub sandwich-fried pork on fresh French bread); Vickery Feed Store for its chicken, fish, pork, and beef plates; Mama’s Daughters’ Diner for some of Mama’s fried chicken and from-scratch pies; The Dixie House for country cooking; Cafe Margaux and Margaux Natural for Cajun and Cajun lite; and Momo’s Pasta for any one of its twenty noodle concoctions.

And these notable restaurants will deliver: Nero’s Italian for heavenly pasta dishes; Dalt’s for burgers; Tony Roma’s for ribs, of course; Le Petit Watel, featuring French cuisine (the chicken Gwendoline and spinach salad were subtle and nice); Chelsea Corner for out-of-this-world curly cue fries and loaded burgers. (The first three restaurants offer city-wide delivery; the last two deliver within a limited area.)

Restaurants of the World is the global dining concept that is the brainchild of Cynthia and Michael Jacobson, catering pros for the past nine years. Twelve of the world’s finest and most famous restaurant recipes are replicated and delivered to your home with seventy-two hours notice. Can’t live without the barbecue shrimp in red sauce from Madrid’s Cabo Mayor? Need a dose of Paul Prudhomme’s New Orleans-style bouillabaisse to get you through the week? For lunch, these delights will set you back about $7; for dinner, it’ll cost around $25 to pretend that you’re wherever it is you feel like being.



YOUR SNAILS, SIR

Okay, you’ve just found out that your boss is in the neighborhood and due within the hour! Who ya gonna call?

Ice cream and shakes are delivered within a three-mile radius (and with a $7.50 minimum) from Ice Cream On The Rocks located in Lakewood.

With a $10 minimum. Jerry’s Country Smokehouse in Snider Plaza will send over ribs, beef, sausage, ham, and chicken as well as any of its sandwiches and side orders within a three-mile radius.

Fresh snails arrive, not at a snail’s pace, courtesy of The American Snail Corporation. There’s no minimum and delivery is free.

Need a scoop of Texas Red River Sturgeon caviar? It’s $7 for the delivery service provided by St. Petersburg Specialty Foods, Inc.

Sue Semos and her able helpers at The Village Bakery deliver birthday cakes (not to mention muffins, brownies, and cookies). It’s $15 for a nine-inch round cake, with a delivery fee pegged to the distance traveled.

The American Snail Corp. 350-9185. ? August Moon. 15030 Preston, two other locations. 385-7227. ? The Bagel Chain. 5555 W. Lovers Lane. 350-2245. ? Ba-Le. 4812 Bryan, #102. 821-1880. ? Cafe Margaux. 3710 Rawlins. 520-1985. ? Checker’s Pizza. 5814 Lovers Lane, one other location. 526-7961. ? Chelsea Corner. 4830 McKinney. 521-8780. ? Chin Big Wong. 9243 Skillman, #104. 343-0545. ? Cowboy Chicken. 6868 Shady Brook Ln., one other location. 361-7747. ? Crescent City Cafe. 2730 Commerce. 745-1900. ? Crescent Gourmet. 400 Crescent Court, #150. 871-3223. ? Dallas Tortilla and Tamale Factory. 2717 N. Harwood, two other locations. 742-3888. ? Dalt’s. 3232 McKinney, #130, three other locations. 871-2945. ? The Dixie House. 3647 W. Northwest Hwy., four other locations. 353-0769. ? El Fenix. 6811 W. Northwest Hwy., eleven other locations. 363-5279.? Entrees On-Trays. 357-1806. ? Epicure, Inc. 2156 W. Northwest Hwy., #312. 556-0660. ? The Everyday Gourmet. 4446 Lovers Lane. 373-0325. ? Glazed Honey Hams. 1005 Preston Royal Plaza, two other locations. 363-9151. ? The Good Life Catering Company. 6340 Gaston. 821-3194 ? Hampton’s Seafood Restaurant. 8411 Preston. 739-3474. ? Ice Cream On The Rocks. 6433 Gaston. 826-6433. ? Irvine Ranch Farmers Market. 4010 N. MacArthur Blvd. 650-1200. ? Jerry’s Country Smokehouse. 6600 Snider Plaza. 692-5999. ? Kuby’s Sausage House. 6601 Snider Plaza, one other location. 363-2231. ? Le Petit Watel. 4503 Travis. 522-0365. ? Living Lite. 11106 N. Stemmons Fwy. 869-3636. ? Lombardi’s Expresso. 6135 Luther Ln. 361-6984. ? Macy’s. Galleria. 851-3344. ? A Maid With A Meal. 596-9187. ? Mama’s Daughters’ Diner. 2014 Irving Blvd. 742-TOGO. ? Margaux Natural. 3710 Rawlins. 520-1985. ? Marty’s. 3316 Oak Lawn. 526-1070. ? Massimo Da Milano Al Teatro. 2800 Routh St. 871-1900. ? Momo’s. 9191 Forest Ln. 234-6800. ? Momo’s Pasta. 3312 Knox. 521-3009. ? Neiman Marcus. NorthPark, two other locations. 363-8311. ? Nero’s Italian. 2104 Greenville. 826-NERO. ? The New Big Wong. 2121 Greenville. 821-4198. ? Omaha Steakshop. 10854 Preston, one other location. 368-7597. ? Pasta Plus. 225 Preston Royal East. 373-3999. ? Petaluma Bakery. 2515 McKinney. 871-BAKE. ? Piggie Pies. 3611 Greenville, one other location. 821-6465. ? Pizza Fresh. 5706 Mockingbird, three other locations. 823-8602. ? Pizzeria Una. 4002 Belt Line, one other location. 991-8181. ? Pollo Bueno. 3438 Samuell. 828-0645. ? Ralph’s Fine Foods. 6901 Snider Plaza. 368-0931. ? Restaurants of the World. 11106 N. Stemmons. 869-3636 ? St. Petersburg Specialty Foods, Inc. 4645 Westgrove. 250-0244. ? Scalini’s Pizza. 2021 Abrams. 821-8088. ? Simon David. 6770 Abrams, one other location. 340-1119. ? Taco Cabana. 3923 Lemmon, one other location. 522-3770. ? Tomraaso’s. 5365 Spring Valley. 991-4040. ? Tony Roma’s. 5000 Belt Line, two other locations. 661-2671. ? Touché. 2404 Cedar Springs. 855-0656. ? Two Pesos. 1827 Greenville, five other locations. 823-2092. ? Vickery Feed Store. 6306 Greenville, one other location. 363-9198. ? The Village Bakery. 65 Highland Park Village. 528-3100. ? Who’s Who. 6025 Royal. 739-7139. ? The Wok. 4218 Lemmon. 526-0401. ? Wok Express. 12125 Abrams. 680-2803 ? Wonderful World of Cooking. 6023 Sherry Ln., other locations. 750-0382.

Dinner At Your Doorstep



Mobile waiters from Entrees On-Trays will pick up orders from twenty restaurants and bring them home to those too tired to cook.

The Peripatetic Gourmet



Gourmet-to-go has never seen a better day. The ready-to-eat food market has shown the largest leap in sales in the past decade, adding one of the few boosts to an otherwise ailing restaurant industry. Nationally, four out of ten people choose takeout for dinner. One gripe: when will the takeout trade wake up to the fact that many working people can’t get to the store until way after 6 o’clock?



Full-Service

Wonderful World of Cooking. “We cook for you” is the shop’s motto, and we were happy to choose from the 102 food choices ready for a trip home at WWC, stationed right behind Preston Center on Sherry Lane (other locations are scattered throughout the area). Meatloaf, beef casserole, lasagna, and even a “dieter’s dish” of baked whitefish in an herb-dill sauce stuck to our ribs.

Soups are sold by the pint or quart and the entrée selections are grouped into five categories (chicken, beef-veal-pork, fish, diet, and quiche). Desserts (cobbler, cake, pie, and cookie choices) and homemade breads are also toothsome. Prices are very reasonable-we put together a meal for $9 (meatloaf, two veggies, and some Southern apple cobbler)-and the staff is quick and eager to please.

Who’s Who. This homey mom ’n’ pop stop in Preston Royal is the place for homemade soup. The chicken and the vegetable soups are tops. Made fresh every morning, they’re stocked with the good things in life-big hunks of white-meat chicken and fat noodles in the chicken soup; potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, onions, peas, corn, and squash in the vegetable. $1.75 gets you a hefty portion.



SOUPS, SALADS, AND SANDWICHES

Everyday Gourmet. The menu changes daily at this takeout/eat-in establishment, so when you fall for the pork loin or crab cakes, beware that it will be a while before they appear again, We opted for an unusual one-person pizza (sun-dried tomatoes, shrimp, and goat cheese) and a serving of the all-white-meat chicken salad.

The Bagel Chain. Three rules of thumb: first, eat one of their fresh, chewy bagels (we devoured an onion and a garlic) while you decide on which bagel sandwich to carry out. Then ponder the fourteen fixings, ranging from chopped liver to whitefish salad (we chose the pastrami, lean and stacked high). Finally, enjoy “Joltin” Joe Levy, the man who packs it all up to go.

Crescent City Cafe. Hit this New Orleans outpost on a late-night run; its entire menu is up for grabs. It’s amusing just to bop in, watch the crowd, and swig down a Dixie beer while you wait for your muffaletta. This Cajun sandwich (the quarter size is plenty for two), with layers of ham, genoa salami, mozzarella, provolone, Swiss cheese, and an olive salad dressing, is served hot and goes well with a cup of seafood gumbo. Both these treats can be had for six dollars.

Crescent Gourmet. The law of averages says that one of these days, the Crescent Gourmet is bound to whip up something we’re not fond of. But over the last year, we’ve tasted our share of sandwiches and salads and have yet to be disappointed. It’s hard to narrow down our list of favorites, but absolute musts in the sandwich category are the rare roast beef and the smoked breast of turkey. As for the salads, we’d lay our lives down for the chicken with cilantro pesto, the Oriental fusilli, and the spinach shells with pepperoni and Parmesan cheese. There’s a 10 percent charge for delivery within five miles of the Crescent; they’ll go farther out for a higher percentage of the tab.

Petaluma Bakery. The sandwiches are great, but the eye-catchers here are the salads-unusual combos like bay shrimp, saffron rice, and sweet pea salad with lemon mint dressing. Or try the grilled chicken and black bean with red onion tomato salsa. They’ve also got incredible blueberry muffins and the best fruit cheese tart we’ve ever sampled, with a thin ribbon of chocolate running between the creamy filling and the pastry crust. They’ll load up the van and bring it all to you, including their recently introduced breakfast fare.

Touché. The smoked turkey sandwich on an onion roll (with avocado, jack cheese, sprouts, and very sweet mayonnaise) and the baked ham (lettuce, tomato, provolone, and honey mustard) are knockouts and reasonably priced. For under five dollars, each comes with your choice of pasta, fruit, or potato salad.



PRIMARILY PASTA

Pasta Plus. You want leftovers, we got leftovers. It took us two days to finish the small meat lasagna! ($5.30) Thick, doughy noodles, big hunks of meat, and a nice tomato-based sauce made up a hearty casserole that will feed the neighborhood.

Tommaso’s Fresh Pasta. Yikes! Company was due the day we dashed in, so we took the chicken’s way out: pick the dish that looks the prettiest and sounds the best. The winner? The rotolo. an inch-and-a-half-wide cheese (Fontina, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan) and spinach-filled noodle covered with a rich cream and mushroom sauce (a combination of cream, butter, mushrooms, peas, wine, and spices). $3.95 got us two ample slices and the accompanying sauce.

Lombardi’s Expresso. A varying array of pasta salads dripping with olive oil is always available at this busy Preston Center eatery. But when sandwiches are in the offing, the grilled chicken on piadina bread is a sure bet. It’s made up of fat slices of chicken, lettuce, tomato, a little mayo, and a splash of vinaigrette. The piadina bread (offered by the loaf as well) has Parmesan baked into it and is out of this world.

Massimo Da Milano Al Teatro. We took home a little bit of everything at the Quadrangle branch of the original Massimo’s located on Lovers Lane. A serving of lasagna, a slice of rosemary-focaccia bread, and a fresh fruit parfait made for a memorable meal. But it wasn’t an easy choice.



MEAT AND SEAFOOD MARKETS

Beef is certainly a staple at the Omaha Steakshop, but we found nice cuts of pork, veal, poultry, lamb, and seafood as well. Some of the selections are preprepared- stuffed pork chops (four for $15), veal cordon bleu (six for $32), chicken kiev (six for $32), crown roast of lamb (three pounds for $49), and flounder primavera (six for $28). Everything is packaged singly so that you cook only the portion needed. (They also throw in a cookbook to tell you what to do with what you’ve just bought.)

Rounding out the meal, Omaha Steakshop stocks a handful of ready-to-use beef and seafood sauces and six types of cheesecake. It’s $7.50 for delivery anywhere in Dallas and Fort Worth and it’s free for orders totaling $100 or more.

The whole ham at Glazed Honey Hams is the perfect upscale cold cut. Drizzled with a mouth-watering honey glaze, the ham is precut in spirals around the bone so that whole slices peel off one at a time. At $3.79 a pound, it’s quite a bargain.

Hampton’s Seafood Restaurant. Some days the red snapper, shrimp, and swordfish are show stoppers; other days salmon, grouper, and crab take center stage. Prices can be steep depending upon the season, but two prepared salads-crab and shrimp-are always around if you can’t make up your mind.

SUMMA CUM LENTIL. . .



standing alone in this field of many is The Good Lite Catering Company. Creative, innovative, and bold, the cuisine here takes gourmet-to-go to a higher realm.

Very little at Good Life could be considered standard fare. Christine Carbone. the chef-in-residence, spends early morning hours in the kitchen amid her collection of more than 400 cookbooks. She brews super soups (birds-of-the-feather dumpling, curried chicken mushroom, and tomato vegetable with pasta are a few results) and excellent salads – red lentil, lemon pasta, Cajun tuna, hoisin chicken, and sixteen other tossed varieties.

Good Life’s repertoire includes two kinds of tortas (huge, crusty domes filled with pasta, herbed ricotta cheese, white balsamella sauce, tomato sauce, and meatballs), frittatas (like a quiche without a crust), and five quiche selections, served either by the slice or whole. Next, there’s an imaginative selection of sandwiches and sweets like good old Tapioca pudding, espresso hazelnut pie, peachy vanilla bars, and scrumptious carrot cake.

All of these work well for a lunch or dinner break, but don’t overlook Carbone’s packaged-to-go-made-just-for-dinner foods. There are fresh (one is featured weekly) and frozen dinners, ready for popping in the oven (she recommends a conventional cooker). Garlic-crusted leg of lamb, baked soft-shell crab Parmesan, sweet Vermont ravioli stuffed with mushrooms and covered in pine nut sauce, smoked chicken and com chowder in corn husks, and more are ready tor pickup, and the menu changes daily.

LIVING RITE



Trying to trim down? We’ve told you about breads and stuffed binds, brownies and fruit pies, slabs of red meat and pasta salads loaded oodles of noodles and oils and . enough already. Luckily for dieters, our search tor great takeout and delivered food also led us to Living Lite: The Fine Art of Dining Smart, the latest offering from caterers Cynthia and Michael Jacobson.

Individual breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods are cooked, then vacuum-sealed to extend shelf life and to ensure freshness (foods will keep in the fridge for about ten days or can be frozen for later use). To prepare the pouches, just microwave (max time is just under three minutes) or bake in the oven from five to fifteen minutes.

Following the guidelines established by the American Heart Association and working with dietitians at area hospitals, the team put together a menu of “heart healthy” meals. Each entree is high in protein and complex carbohydrates and is prepared with all-natural herbs and seasonings (very little salt is used) and without fatty oils, preservatives, or additives. Says Michael Jacobson, who’s lost forty pounds by sticking with the program, “Our entrees fill you up but aren’t loaded with calories.’ And we agree. The orange chicken, marinated flank steak with new potatoes, and stir-fried beef with vegetables left us feeling quite full.

Breakfast offerings ($1.50-$2.50) include live kinds of muffins (our favorites were the zucchini and coco banana), pancakes, high-fiber fruit breads, and French toast. Lunch choices ($3.50-$7) include smoked turkey with rosemary, sesame chicken, tarragon salmon salad, and spinach and seafood bisque. For dinner ($5-$15), there’s Thai shrimp, garlic veal with pasta, lamb with mustard hollandaise, stuffed artichoke hearts, wine-poached breasts of chicken, roast tenderloin with bearnaise, chicken-fried steak (yes, with cream gravy), and almost ninety other selections.

The chefs include calorie counts on each package (three meals in the weight-loss program total about 1,000 calories). They’ll deliver to just about anywhere, including Rockwall. Lewisviile, Euless, and as far away as Granbury. However, any menu item may be picked up at their office.

A Store-House of Ideas



Refusing to be left out in the fight for the dinner dollar, grocery stores are scrambling to beef up their delis, bakeries, and to-go dinner displays in order to catch the shopper’s eye. And department stores are getting into the takeout and delivery game as well.



Dining A La Carts

We’ve pushed the carts in five of Dallas’s state-of-the-art grocery stores, picking at the produce bins and waiting for our numbers to be called at the meat counters. We’ve lingered over linguini and scouted out salad bars. Each offers something the other misses, but all have an extra edge over the small-scale gourmet-to-go operations: they stay open later and offer one-stop convenience.

Both Simon David locations showcase some scrumptious-looking entrées ready for home consumption with a little zap from your microwave. Tried and true favorites like lasagna and beef enchiladas are always available and specials change daily (when we visited it was pork loin on a bed of rice). The presentation of the dishes is A-plus (edible flowers nestled on the sides), the portions are generous, and Simon David rarely misses on taste. For dessert, the bakery sells its pies in individual Pyrex dishes, the sort that make it easy to impress company with your “hard work ” Prices range from $8.50-$9.95 for everything from Key lime to chocolate pecan. Simon David delivers for a $10 fee.

Irvine Ranch Farmers Market boasts an exquisite produce selection (baby artichokes, onion sprouts, gargantuan Mediterranean squash), a juice and berry stand (don’t leave without buying a jug of the fresh-squeezed orange juice), ready-for-the-grill shish kebabs, and a deli selection featuring no less than thirty-five salads, hot entrees, and sandwiches.

At forty-five, Marty’s is still the gourmet grocery mart to the stars. One of the oldest specialty shops in Texas, Marty’s stocks an impressive array of 7,000 items, ranging from seafood mousses and Italian crisp breads to carrot pasta flour and artichoke salad. Marty’s means freshly made patés, cheeses and smoked meats without number, and gourmet-to-go presented with true flair. The takeout entrees (duck breast with green pepper com, pork loin with Creole sauce, seafood crêpes with scallops and shrimp, for example) are prepackaged in individual containers, ready for oven or microwave. All come with serving instructions as well as wine, liqueur, and coffee suggestions. The menu changes daily and they’ll deliver with a $25 minimum.

If Marty’s is king to the cool crowd, Ralph’s Fine Foods in Snider Plaza is a return to the Old World. It’s small, but they feature a large percentage of locally made goods (from Hans Mueller sausages to Dr Pepper in glass bottles) and that noble standby, King Ranch casserole, from the store’s “heat and eat section.” The people at Ralph’s are helpful, friendly, and, like Marty’s and Simon David, they deliver. Orders must be placed no later than noon (9 a.m. on Wednesday) for sameday delivery.

In the same shopping strip just down from Ralph’s is Dallas’s landmark cultural melting pot, Kuby’s Sausage House, with its German-flavored imports, bread lover’s bakery, and the city’s premier deli counter. Besides its famed sausage selection. Ruby’s has ready-to-go fresh dinner entrées (Knish. blintzes, smoked pork chops), and a full line of frozen dinner foods (individual chicken cordon bleu and kiev were the specials when we were there).



Thai Salrd And Mousse Walkin’-And Charge It!

So you’ve been shopping, and they’ve been waiting patiently at home. Even department stores don’t disappoint the non-cook (and you can charge dinner on your store account).

Macy’s earns points for its Louisiana crab cakes; one-person Greek pizzas (onion rings, tomato slices, and chunks of feta cheese); chicken salad with its hunks of white meat, onion, and celery in a creamy mayo base; and Thai salad, a fine toss of spiked sesame oil, noodles, mushrooms, carrot slivers, green onions, and shrimp. Plus there are fresh meats, sausages, cheeses, fish, paté, and mousses as well as fresh and frozen pasta dishes. And the store has a la Madeleine outpost located adjacent to the deli counter.

Neiman Marcus offers several different to-go options. First, there’s the At Your Doorstep program, offered at NorthPark. Order filet mignon (six for $45). crown roasts of pork (nine-and-a-half pounds for $50). white chocolate mousse (two for $50). chicken étouffee from K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen ($71 for a meal to feed eight). Peking ducklings (two four-pounders for $43), pumpkin, cranberry orange, strawberry pecan, and lemon pecan breads (all four for $23), or twenty-eight other food items. They’ll be delivered within seventy-two hours.

Also at NM’s NorthPark store, The Zodiac Room specializes in box lunches, fresh trays (sandwiches and salads delivered on a wicker tray with a rose as its centerpiece), and reheat and eat dinners, available for takeout and delivery. The Fresh Market, The Charcuterie, and The Mermaid Bar are other takeout choices, with each hot and cold menu item prepared to order and packaged to go. Each restaurant counter features a wide variety of soups, sandwiches, and salads as well as fresh-baked pies, breads, and cakes. And, in the Prestonwood Neiman’s, At the Woods offers the same soup, salad, and sandwich fare to go and the chef will do custom orders from the menu as well.

Last, at NM To Go in the downtown store, you can choose between the posted menu for the day. box lunches, and party trays (sandwiches and desserts to feed as many as you need), executive trays (soup, salad, sandwich, dessert, and beverage), and hospitality trays (soup, three salads, assorted finger sandwiches, dessert, and a fragrance sample, delivered on a wicker tray with a rose). All are prepared for takeout or delivery.



Running Hot And Cold

Will there ever be a container that doesn’t leak, doesn’t fall apart, and does what it’s supposed to do- keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold? After some shopping around, our answer is yes to all of the above.

The Hot Collar. Used by- you guessed it-those clever caterers Cynthia and Michael Jacobson, the hot collar fits snugly around food carriers to provide an extra layer of protection. The collar is made of high-density styrofoam and is used on all the hot food items they ship out. This amazing gizmo, their tests show, allows a temperature loss of a mere two degrees an hour.

The Black Box. This elegant, icy wonder keeps salads, cold soups, and more adventurous offerings like poached salmon with chilled dill sauce cold as ice for up to three hours. Used by the Towne Club, caterers to the downtown crowd, the sturdy container is actually two containers in one: the bottom half is covered with a layer of crushed ice with a second sheet of sturdy black plastic (which protects the food from getting soggy) sectioned into neat little dividers to keep the food in place.

Sous vide. Perfected by the French, the last word in convenience is sous vide. In this boil-in-a-bag method of cooking, raw or partially prepared foods are placed in a specially designed pouch that is then vacuum-sealed and cooked in a low-temperature, high-humidity oven. When ready to use (the pouches can stay in the fridge for up to seven days), simply drop into a pot of boiling water for the amount of time indicated on each pouch.

Sous vide creations by chefs Christoph Nostitz and Daniel Lemaire, owners of Epicure, Inc., can be found already boiled and ready for takeout at both Simon David locations or you can contact Epicure and have them deliver. There are twelve soup choices (the tortilla soup is excellent), seven poultry selections (our favorite was the boneless quail stuffed with wild rice and bacon), twelve meals in the beef, veal, and lamb category, and six seafood selections (don’t miss the fresh salmon and cabbage with apple-smoked bacon and mussel tarragon sauce).

Summa Cum Kebabs …



Hailed by Time magazine as “possibly the world’s most glorious supermarket,” Irvine Ranch Farmers Market in Las Colinas takes the laurels hands down tor its gourmet offerings-from fresh produce to hot entrees – and they even have an in-store la Madeleine with the actual baking done on the premises.

From Scrub To Grub: Maids With A Meal



Enza Brower and Rike Ryan are the maids with the meals. “We don’t skimp and we don’t cut corners. We aren’t ladies without con-sciences-we’d feel bad,” says Brower, who started her unusual business after spending seven years selling cosmetics at Neiman Marcus.

“When I was at Neiman’s, I kept hearing horror stories about my customers’ maids. Nobody seemed to be pleased with the quality of the work they were receiving. I knew I could offer them much more,” Brower says.

Brower and Ryan pride themselves on being meticulous, catching every nook and cranny. No fingerprint or smudged window is missed when this team sweeps through. Says Brower, “When I have a bad day or am frustrated, that just means that I scrub a little harder.”

Once the home is in order, the two proceed to the kitchen to prepare a from-scratch meal for four. They supply the food, and the dishes need only a quick heat-through when the customer is ready to dine. Although they’ll whip up just about anything, they specialize in two basic menu plans: Italian and German. Since Brower was born in Italy, she takes the helm when one of the four Italian dishes (lasagna, stuffed shells, gnocchi, and eggplant Parmesan) is requested. Side dishes of garlic bread, a tossed salad, and a dessert (usually homemade puddings and Italian cream puffs) are included with the meal.

And if it’s German food, then it must be Ryan’s turn. Originally from Munich. Ryan grew up eating her four specialties-rouladen. jaeger-schnitzel, sauerbraten, and chicken international. With the German fare, shell prepare spaetzle. knoedel, or potatoes, a fresh vegetable dish (whatever is in season) or salad, and a dessert.

To finish the job, they’ll set the table and bring in fresh flowers. For the works, it’s approximately $85 for homes and $55 for apartments. If you’re interested in the meal alone, its a surprising $40 for four.

Beyond the Burger



According to the Texas Restaurant Association, despite the tempting gourmet treats described herein, we still resort to fast food some 40 percent of the time. Pizza reigns as the delivered dinner of choice, with Chinese, chicken, and Mexican not far behind.



Pizza

Picking up the phone and ordering a pizza is probably the easiest solution to the day’s dinner dilemma. But whether it’s pepperoni and peppers, mushrooms and mozzarella, or any of the other countless combinations, it’s gotta be hot and quick. Here are our top picks.



The Best:

Lakewood newcomer Scalini’s Pizza is a happy find. Arriving on time and in tight tiers of tinfoil, the hand-rolled pizza of choice was topped with Italian salami and mushrooms. If your taste buds yearn for adventure, try the zucchini, eggplant, shrimp, jalapeno, or artichoke pizzas. We fed four by ordering the medium ($7.95). Scalini’s will also deliver beer (they even stock Moretti, the official Italian brew) and wine (twelve kinds) to the wet portions of its delivery area, which extends from White Rock Lake to Lovers Lane.



The Messiest:

Piggie Pies on Lower Greenville promised a Canadian bacon and mushroom pie within thirty minutes; in twenty they were knocking on the door. Hot? Yes, and they really lay on the cheese. A Piggie Pie is thick and gooey, so grab a fork, a stack of napkins, and prepare for a pigout. $11.50 for a large (the only other size is small, which is enough to feed three).



The Fastest:

At 8:43 p.m. we called in our pepperoni pizza order. At 8:55 p.m., the Checker’s pizzaman (from the Lovers Lane store) was ringing our bell-a zippy twelve minutes. Although Checker’s can be stingy on the pepperoni wheels, the price almost makes up for it: $9.30 for a twelve-inch pizza and two Cokes.



Worth the Trip:

The pizza at Pizzeria Uno made a trek from the fringes of downtown to its Addison location a meaningful experience. Cradled in a spicy tomato sauce were huge mounds of sausage, extra fresh, large mushroom slices, and rings of white onion. For this, we’d gladly hit the Tollway again. Four hungry folks can fill up on the large ($16.50).

Depending on the ingredients you want, pizzas at Momo’s in North Dallas range from $5.85 to $7.85 for the one-size-fits-all they serve. The twelve-incher we tried had a little bit of everything: ’ bell pepper, onion, mozzarella, tomato, and percmo-romano, an Italian cheese recalling a robust Parmesan. The crust was thin but doughy, and, like all good Italian food, the leftovers were even better the next day.

The best thing about Pizza Fresh is that since you cook your own pizza, you’re in . complete control when it comes to temperature. We tried a whole-wheat crust with Canadian bacon, fresh, sliced tomatoes, and artichokes; our $10.65 creation had a smooth blend of cheese, toppings, and crust. Have your pie delivered or pick it up at one of the four locations.

Chicken

A good bird is a rare find. With cholesterol counts weighing heavy on the psyche, America has grown tired of the fried-chicken routine. These days we’re dining on the roasted bird, hold the grease. After many an outing, we weeded out the average roosts and came up with these chicks to recommend:

On a budget: for the past two years, Andy Kwon and Raymundo Ruiz have ruled the roost at Polio Bueno, and they cook their birds the slow way. (Says Kwon, “You just can’t hurry a chicken. It’s a lot of trouble, but if it’s not ready, it’s not ready.”) Whole chickens are marinated in spices for twenty-four hours and then left to turn slowly in a rotisserie pit for another two-and-a-half. The tender result comes with two accompanying sauces for dipping-honey glaze and barbecue. Try both, but first try the chicken all by itself- juicy and flavorful, white and plump. It’s sold by the quarter ($1.79), half ($3.58), or whole ($6.99). Monday through Saturday they’re ready for pickup by 11 a.m. and on Sunday by noon.

For the boss: The Good Life Catering Company stuffs its masterpiece with an incredible bread mixture spiked with cream cheese, zucchini, and chopped eggs. The spicy chicken with its pinches of oregano, Parmesan, and basil is wrapped in rolls of tinfoil and secured in a sturdy cardboard box. The chickens range from two pounds to eight pounds and are priced at $4.35 per pound. Another Good Life must-taste is the Tuscan chicken, an Eighties version of a centuries-old recipe. Sautéed in butter and garlic, the bird is stuffed with carrot cubes, mushrooms, and onions. The chicken comes encased in a dome of rustic Italian bread, which does a dandy job at soaking up the fowl’s natural juices. The Tuscan is $8.25 a pound; give at least two day’s notice, since the bread alone takes eight hours to rise.

To inspire leftovers: the best way to devour a Simon David chicken is via the sandwich route. The moist, buttery bird with its slightly smoky flavor needs just a little jazzing up, so bring on a bun, a little mayo, a juicy tomato, some lettuce, and voilà! You might need to pluck up a couple because the chickens are small-but so is the price ($3.79 per bird).

For tailgate picnics: Cowboy Chicken is a Dallas institution. The naturally smoked chicken is tender and tasty and the meat falls right off the bone. A half-chicken order (S3.99) yields four pieces; the whole chicken, which, not surprisingly, yields two of everything, is $7.39.

For the ride to Grandma’s: the roasted chicken ($6.25 a pound) at Marty’s is flavored with herbs-rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and garlic-so it smells wonderful and tastes just as good.

Chinese

There are now as many Chinese food restaurants in Dallas as there are churches. Well, almost. With acceptable Oriental on many a corner, it takes some work to cull the great from the good. Here are our top five:

August Moon delivers within a five-mile radius of its location on Preston Road at Belt Line, and our order arrived within the thirty-minute time frame promised. We dined on moo-shi chicken (four crepes included for the $8.50 price) and steamed dumplings, all of which were admirably prepared. Packaged in typical Chinese food tins, the meal stayed hot (not just warm), even though we let it sit for nearly an hour while sampling Tsing-Tao. the Chinese beer of choice.

Most Chinese places won’t deliver soup (no doubt because of the many spills in the delivery van’s front seat). But Oak Lawn, rejoice: The Wok will. We started out with minced chicken and corn soup (enough for two), and for an entree opted for the Vegetarian Delight, a combo of crunchy veggies in a tasty buttery sauce, all of which came to us for nine bucks. They usually take twenty minutes to deliver.

Tucked away in a tiny pocket of northeast Dallas is Chin Big Wong, a Chinese hot spot-literally. The dishes we ordered did a numbing number on our mouths. From a dizzying menu of 150 choices (we counted) we chose shrimp with garlic sauce, a nice assortment of mid-size shrimp with vegetables tossed about in a spicy sauce, and beef Szechwan style, which inspired new definitions of hot. The beef was tender, the vegetables crisp, the sweat enjoyable.

The Wok Express (a North Dallas favorite), according to the Wok Express, is the home of “delicious Chinese food.” We took home a crisp, freshly fried beef egg roll (two for $1.29) and some of the best garlic chicken we’ve tasted. Entrees are served with fried rice, an egg roll or soup, and a fortune cookie. Prices range from $3.29 to $4.59 with lunch specials running as low as $2.09. Call ahead and it will be ready and waiting. But don’t expect the Wok Express to express the meal.

At The New Big Wong on Lower Greenville, service is fast, selection is vast, and daily specials are a good bet. Hot and sour soup was a lot on the hot side; spring rolls were flavorful if a tad greasy. Of three entrees, our favorite was a daily special of sesame chicken that was chock full of sesame seeds. We also tried beef with garlic sauce, which had tender chunks of beef and lots of garlic, and chicken with hot pepper sauce, which was blazing. Dinner for three, $23.

Mexican

A basic premise of Mexican food is that it doesn’t take to traveling. An upside-down chalupa, tamales that have broken apart, and enchiladas that have congealed in a corner of the container do not an appealing meal make. Herewith, we offer three solutions to the problem of Mobile Mex.

With today’s exchange rate, “two pesos” is stretching things a bit, but for just under four dollars each, we toted home the chicken fajita plate and the cheese enchilada dinner at Two Pesos on Lower Greenville, and both were good. We liked the beans and rice but we loved the guacamole, a nice green mound of the real stuff. A hot sauce-cilantro-jalapeno bar allows you to take home all the extras you want with your order. The packaging is sturdy and the meal survived the ride intact.

At the funky-looking, very pink Taco Cabana, the fare and packaging are much the same. The tacos al carbon still sizzled, the taco salad was more than ample for two, and the standard Tex-Mex enchilada platter (which includes lots of rice and beans) was a great bargain for the $3.23. They, too, made the grade for the guacamole-but skip the bland cheese queso and lackluster chips.

Some couch potatoes don’t cotton to drive-ins, so here’s the real thing. Delivery service Entrees On-TVays brings the goods right from four of Dallas’s finest Mexican restaurants: Mario & Alberto, Enchiladas, Mariano’s, and Mario’s Chiquita. From M&As. we called in carne asada (great), chicken fajitas (skimpy), and a combination cheese enchilada plate (lukewarm). It’s not quite like being there, but when you’re desperate, it does the trick.

A dozen tamales and a pint of chile con carne go a long way, especially dumped in Pyrex, topped with cheese and green onions, and heated. El Fenix on Northwest Highway will provide same for $8, but you’ll need to know exactly what to ask for or they’ll insist that you order off the menu. No, you don’t want the dinner plate (at $4.95 per person)- just the dozen tamales and a container of chile.

At Dallas Tortilla and Tamaie Factory, we loaded up on twelve corn-husked beef tamales for $3.50. They’re made fresh each morning, so our order was moist, tender, and hot. Three other varieties are available-pork, pork jalapeno, and beef jalapeno. Muy bueno!

Mobile Mex



Taco Cabana, a multicolored mecca for mobile Mexican food, sends you home with hefty portions at lightweight prices. Service is never at a standstill, thanks to the double drive-through lanes. The tacos al carbon pack a sizzle all the way to your door, and tie guacamole is the greatest.