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The inside track on grocery delivery in the Philly area | Let’s Eat

Also: A restaurant whose owner will FaceTime you while you eat. And wait till you see what quarantined Pennsylvanians are drinking.

Giordano Garden Groceries of South Philadelphia, normally a wholesaler to restaurants, has shifted its focus to direct-to-consumer markets during the pandemic lockdown, and is preparing cartons of fresh food for delivery to individuals.
Giordano Garden Groceries of South Philadelphia, normally a wholesaler to restaurants, has shifted its focus to direct-to-consumer markets during the pandemic lockdown, and is preparing cartons of fresh food for delivery to individuals.Read moreTYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

We have a full cart of food info for you this week to solve some of your most vexing problems: how to get groceries to your front door, how to buy the right kitchen tools, and how to make a great cup of coffee. On the lighter side: We visit (virtually) a restaurant whose owner will FaceTime you while you eat. Also, wait till you see what quarantined Pennsylvanians are drinking.

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Be safe out there.

– Michael Klein

A guide to grocery delivery in the Philly region

  1. You need groceries but want to avoid a supermarket trip. It’s not easy to get a delivery slot. Staff writer Grace Dickinson found plenty of great sources for produce, dairy, meat/seafood/protein alternatives, pantry items, and coffee in the Philadelphia area. Some are even guaranteeing next-day delivery.

  2. By necessity, some wholesalers that traditionally serve local restaurants have pivoted to serving consumers. The result: great quality and fair prices.

To market, to market in the days of coronavirus

  1. You shop for food almost every day, and then comes a stay-at-home order. Food editor Jamila Robinson, cooking for one, knew that she had to reexamine her shopping habits.

  2. How critic Craig LaBan and his family have been doing it: occasional store visits while also riding the roller-coaster of online shopping and deliveries.

We show you how to ...

  1. Make a better cup of coffee: You may not be able to stop into a cafe nowadays. Staff writer Grace Dickinson shares a barista’s tips.

  2. Equip your kitchen properly: With the right tools, anything is possible. Chef/cooking instructor Tiffani Rozier tells us that it’s less about spending a lot of money, and more about investing it in the right places.

Booze news you can use: What are we drinking in quarantine?

  1. Those little bottles of Fireball, jugs of Tito’s vodka, and marked-down moscatos. A look at Pennsylvania’s top-selling wines and spirits for March, as society began to social distance from the coronavirus, shows that value is important. Quality? In some cases, yes.

  2. How to get beer and booze while bypassing the Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores.

  3. The LCB reinstituted its Special Order system, a boon for wine lovers.

Inside the city’s food box giveaway

  1. About 72,000 boxes of groceries were given away by the city and two of its largest food banks, Philabundance and Share Food Program. How do they do this? “It’s a lot of moving parts,” said city official Joanna Otero-Cruz.

  2. A recent food box contained a bag of egg noodles; two pounds of yellow split peas and dried navy beans; a bottle of orange juice; two boxes of scalloped potatoes; two cans each of chunk light tuna, green peas, collard greens, sweet potatoes in light syrup, and sliced Bartlett pears; a quart of shelf-stable milk, What to make? Staff writer Jenn Ladd asked five chefs.

Get a virtual dining experience

When the coronavirus stay-at-home order hit and restaurants were relegated to serving takeout only, Ara Ishkhanian, owner of Apricot Stone in Northern Liberties, lost the one thing he loved best about his business: seeing the people. Now he does it from his dining room by FaceTime, as staff writer Stephanie Farr writes. Just hit him up from home while you dine.

Notes from the food industry

The restaurant industry here and everywhere is approaching a crossroads. Eight in 10 workers have been furloughed or laid off. Meanwhile, restaurateurs are pleading for the possibility of getting forgivable federal loans through a coronavirus economic rescue package. Some have shifted to takeout and delivery, hoping that someday their bars and dining rooms will reopen. Others fear that they will be forced to shutter.

Quick Bites: More restaurants are shifting to takeout and delivery

More sit-down restaurants are reopening, but only for takeout and delivery. Among the newcomers are Giuseppe & Sons, Double Knot, and Sampan, which are offering $5 specials to restaurant workers.

Which reminds me: We’re continuously updating our list of restaurants open for pickup and delivery in the Philadelphia region. Email your tips.