Why Is Delivery A Thing?

05/13/21 • 30 min

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When you really think about it, delivering food from restaurants to homes is kind of strange. Nothing about the process saves money and it doesn't make the food taste any better! And yet, platforms like DoorDash and Grubhub doubled their revenue during the pandemic. So, what's the history of this weird system? Welcome to the latest season of Dish City, where we unwrap the past, present and future of delivery. Read a transcript of this episode at dishcity.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @dishcity. Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity. Email us your favorite delivery order at [email protected].

Previous Episode

Introducing Dish City’s Delivery Season

On a new season of Dish City, hosts Patrick Fort and Ruth Tam discover how food delivery became normal in America and ponder if it actually benefits restaurants, couriers and diners during the pandemic.

Next Episode

How American Chinese Food Became Delivery Food

On a cold November night in 1976, a New York City restaurateur named Misa Chang started sliding delivery menus under her neighbors’ doors for her Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. Chang wasn’t the first to offer delivery, but when delivery gained traction in U.S. cities, Chinese restaurants were often the first to do it. As dishes like chop suey and General Tso's chicken became part of American food culture, Americans’ feelings toward the Chinese Americans who made the food (and delivered it) remained stuck in the past. And now, as demand for delivery increases, many American Chinese restaurants are closing. Is delivery the key to survival?

Read a transcript of this episode at dishcity.org.

Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

Email us your favorite delivery order at [email protected].