Takeout Civil War

Takeout — Fast, easy, and only worth an hour’s work (or even less). Takeout food has been a staple of lazy Americans all throughout, benefiting off the vast cultural diversity that being an American has to offer. Much of takeout fashion has been stagnant, usually centering around Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Greek, Middle Eastern, and Thai, just to name a few. Though, there was one place to try to combine them all, to a debatable amount of success.

This place is called Wonder, the solution to all the times your group of friends couldn’t agree on one place to order from. Wonder offers foods from all of the cuisines mentioned above, mixing it into a “shitstorm of a confusing menu”, according to Three-star Michelin chef Herrieto Baglitivio. Despite the confusing list of food options, they’re bringing in all kinds of customers — from the ones who can’t decide on what to eat, to the penny pinchers looking for the best deal. They’ve cut off the middle man by offering no delivery fees, straight from their restaurants, while showcasing the costs of each meal from each of their menus (yes, they have multiple.)

What they don’t realize, however, is that most people already have a favorite takeout spot to order from. Even if someone were to try out Wonder for just one time, if it doesn’t taste better than their usual takeout spot, why would they change? To alter a habit that has been built over time, one needs a sufficient enough reason to switch from something like Uber Eats or Grubhub to Wonder specifically. 

One might argue that Wonder does what delivery apps do, without having to choose from different places, but how many meals can Wonder really replicate to be just as good as the individual, hole-in-the-wall spots that we know, gatekeep, and love? This idea is echoed with various college kids around the world, like from Trevor Skeritt from Purchase College, “Yeah dude, nothing beats the General Tso’s (he pronounced it as General Tee-soo’s) around the corner. Mr. Huang (surprisingly said correctly) even drops in an eggroll or two for free, just because!”

Ultimately, the choice lies upon the order, right at their fingertips (quite literally). Whether you enjoy a specific takeout spot, choose from a select few, or just generally do not want to cook, takeout food has been a staple of American culture. Though places like Wonder offer an amazingly large and diverse menu, it could just be a tech bro’s crazy, yet unpractical idea. Remember, too many cooks in the kitchen could ruin a meal, but so can be said when you mix too many kinds of kitchens into one.