Takeout 2.0: Blue Hen Spiedies meal for one, as it came out of the bag
On March 26 we wrote about Takeout 2.0—the new phenomenon in which fine dining restaurants were shifting to takeout to stay in business during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, many of the restrictions are easing. In my home town of Saratoga Springs, NY outdoor dining is now allowed with safety measures and restaurants will open their doors to diners next week if all goes well. Some of the most innovative takeout meals will probably be discontinued, which is fine with me because they’re not a sustainable economic model.
Several of my favorite takeout 2.0 experiences have been through the Adelphi Hotel group of restaurants—the Salt & Char steakhouse, fine dining at The Blue Hen and upscale sushi at Morrissey’s. A three-course meal at one of these places in normal times would easily run $50-75 per person, but they’ve been selling a rotating menu of takeout specials for $15 and $20 for a three-course meal.
As plated, with some cole slaw from home and additional spiedies sauce
Last night Blue Hen offered this for $15: SWEET POTATO TOTS with chili honey · PORK SPIEDIES on a butter-toasted hoagie roll · KEY LIME TARTS. Being a big fan of spiedies, a grilled specialty of the city of Binghamton NY which we’ve investigated in the past, I could not pass it up. The bun could not have been better but the spiedies as I anticipated were not juicy enough; fortunately I had some State Fair Spiedies Sauce left over from earlier experiments to correct the saucing.
Blue Hen was really on a roll the week of Memorial day, offering · SPRING “PANZANELLA” with asparagus, onions, favas, jalapeño cornbread · SMOKED BRISKET with texas style bbq sauce · MIXED BERRY VOUL-AU-VENTS on Monday May 25 followed by FRIED CALAMARI with green curry remoulade · HERB ROASTED HALF CHICKEN with crushed & crispy potatoes · CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH CUPCAKES on May 26. Each of these meals is accompanied by a sommelier recommendation that generally costs far more than the food itself. Salt & Char tends to stick closer to its protein base, but last week diners were tempted by Arugula, Radish, Tangerine Salad • “Fish & Chips” fried cod, crispy artichokes, truffle potato chips, caper aioli • Blueberry Peach Cobbler at $15.
I haven’t talked to the kitchen about the strategy behind these menus, but my guess it’s a way to keep the cooks involved at a time when their income has taken a hit. It’s been a great ride. In a couple of weeks, COVID permitting, I’ll be in San Francisco. There, restaurants can’t open for outdoor dining till July 15 so I’ve been investigating the fine dining scene along with verifying that my favorite places like Wing Lee Dim Sum and King’s Thai Cuisine are open for takeout with their regular menu. (They are.) Even with limitations, many of the fine dining places have menus butting up against $100 per person and sell out well in advance. But I’ll go out of my way to get the tasting menu at Benu, which is operating as a test kitchen for a Korean restaurant to open in the Mission in the near future.
Currently (through June 15) Benu is offering Soy-Braised Cornish Hen with Sweet Potato, Mushroom, Peppers; Chicken and Fresh Ginseng Soup, Chonggak Kimchi; Short Grain Rice Cooked in Chicken Broth and Drippings; Squid and Cucumber Salad with Chojang Sauce; Stuffed Summer Squash Jeon; Strawberry Roll Cake with Lightly Whipped Cream all for $46 per person.
I’ll be renting a car to avoid public transportation, so will swing by and pick up my meal on the way from the airport. Already getting hungry.
