One of my first jobs when I was a kid was working as a delivery driver for a local pizza chain. Back then pizza was about the only food that you could get delivered in St. Louis; even the local Chinese restaurants didn’t make deliveries like they do in some other cities. When I got the job I had just bought my first car; a large white 1964 Pontiac Bonneville that I called the whale. I think that it must have gotten about 8 miles to a gallon of gasoline. I remember thinking that this would be a fun job, mainly because I would get to cruise around the neighborhood without any adult supervision. It was a warm muggy night in July when I started the job and was given my first pizza to deliver. They gave me directions before I left the restaurant, but I still had trouble finding the street. It was after dark and the streets in the old neighborhood were rather dimly lit. This was before the advent of cell phones, so I had to stop at a phone booth and call back to the restaurant to get further directions. I finally found the street about twenty minutes later and then began the arduous search for the right number. The only problem was that none of the houses had numbers on them! I stopped the car and knocked on one of the doorsâÂ?¦ nobody came. I knocked on another doorâÂ?¦ nothing. I finally got someone to answer at the third house. They told me that the house I was looking for was about two blocks away. By the time I found the right address, almost an hour had elapsed. The surly looking gentleman who answered the door opened the pizza box and stuck his finger into the pie. “Cold!” he muttered. “I don’t want it.” I had to return to the restaurant with the cold pizza still in hand. The rest of the night was pretty much the same. I didn’t go back the next day.
Now it seems that you can get just about any type of food delivered hot and fresh in the St. Louis area, here are a few of the best:
To Your Doorstep, located across the street from Soulard Farmer’s Market on Broadway, offers patrons a choice of gourmet dishes or a line of home-cooked foods. You can order healthy entrees like grille chicken calzones, vegetable pan burgers, and mushroom chili. They also offer reduced-carb and vegetarian dishes as well as a menu for the kids. They also feature unique items like chicken enchiladas and lamb kabobs. All of the dishes are oven and microwave ready and can be served in about 20 minutes.
EatPlan is a food delivery service located across the river in Belleville, Illinois. They have a full line of healthy American style cooking and cater to businessmen who are strapped for time and senior citizens who just aren’t able to cook.
If you can’t find anything that you like at any of the above establishments, then check out 569-Dine Dining Express. Yep, you guessed it; the phone number is the first part of their name. 569-Dine offers delivery from over 40 of St. Louis’ finest restaurants to hotels, businesses, and residences. Normal delivery time is about 45 minutes. The meals are delivered in special insulated delivery bags to insure that they are hot and fresh. The restaurants featured range from Pizza to Chinese, Tai, American, and Italian.
