Takeout at the Table

Some days, the thought of going to the grocery store is simply too much. The day has been filled with things to do, or perhaps it has been happily spent by the pool, and cooking is no longer going to happen.

Those are the evenings when we stop at a favorite neighborhood restaurant and bring home something already prepared. Sometimes it is the comfort food we have been craving; other times, it is something fresh and nourishing that restores exactly the kind of energy the day has taken.

We have one rule in our household: takeout never stays in its container.

Even when we are tired, the food is transferred to serving dishes or plated on porcelain. Napkins are placed on the table, proper flatware is used, and the plastic utensils remain in the bag. It takes only a few minutes, but it completely changes the meal.

Food tastes different to me when it is eaten from a plate rather than a plastic container. Perhaps the flavor has not changed, but the experience has. The meal becomes something we sit down for rather than something we consume between everything else.

Takeout may be picked up quickly, but it does not have to be eaten that way. Setting the table creates a pause. It honors the food as thoughtfully as if we had prepared it ourselves—and gives us a moment to slow down together.