rivka | (no subject)

Two years ago, when I first discovered Let's Dish,

minnehaha B. commented that he doubted that it could be a sustainable business. I went back tonight, for the first time in a year and a half, and am happy to report that they're still going strong.

A little too strong, actually. The biggest change since I was last there was that I repeatedly had to wait for a station to open up. Understandable when I was down to my last dish; not so understandable when I still had five recipes to choose from.

Other changes: There are now two sets of directions at each station - one for people making the full-size dish, and one for people splitting into two smaller portions. I don't have trouble dividing fractions on the fly, but it's easy to make mistakes when you're rushing, so the half-size instructions are nice. They've started selling more freezer-ready stuff on the side - side dishes, desserts, and even meals prepared-by-them. And when I went to get my stuff out of the freezer at the end, a nice young man leapt forward to take my checklist (preprinted by them with what I'd ordered) and check each item off, "to make sure you've got everything." Or, presumably, to make sure that I wasn't leaving with anything I hadn't ordered. Maybe they've had problems.

I am sooooo exhausted. But it's awfully nice to have a full freezer.

Here's what I made:

French farmhouse chicken with green beans.
Jerk chicken with pineapple salsa.
Risotto-style chicken and asparagus.
Sesame apricot chicken with rice.
Asian panko salmon.
Fajita steak with chile-lime dressing.
Mexican pork wraps.
Pork chops with three cheese potatoes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't get to go on the Let's Dish outings for the household, but for anyone who's considering them, I've got to *highly* recommend the food.

It also tends to store pretty well for left-overs (though with 5 adults in the house, plus regular guests, we don't usually end up with tons of left-overs.)

We do sometimes have to play with the spicing: the ones here tailor the spicing to Minnesota, we think, so the housemates who normally do the making usually double the spices, except with peppers. But that's easy to do with they way things work.

I'm going to have to try them the next time I'm across the river in NJ.

I've been going every month since month 7 of my pregnancy. I lost the will to cook and it hasn't come back yet, so Let's Dish is keeping us well-fed. I'm signed up for three of the same dishes this month (the salmon, pork chops and fajitas) plus the beef and apple stew.

Their service is great, we even used their "Dish and Dash" where for an extra $25 they make the meals for you to be picked up at a set time. It was fantastic when Boo came early and we couldn't get to our scheduled session time.

Huh, there must be local variation in menus. Beef and apple stew wasn't an option here - that sounds delicious.

I'll let you know how it is. :) There is local variation in the menu - all the franchise stores have the option of using the corporate menus, but they don't have to. There are other differences - corporate stores don't have the directions for making 1/2 entrees (or at least, they didn't as of three weeks ago).

I'm pulling for Let's Dish to survive. I'm biased, of course. It's a Minnesota company started by two women, and I worked there part-time for six months in 2005. I know how hard they work to keep everything clean and the food quality high. Make and take places have sprung up all over and the market is getting a bit saturated - I hope Let's Dish manages to stick around.

My brother-in-law is a fledgling cook and for Christmas my parents got him a gift certificate for Let's Dish (in Mankato, MN, I think, so they're spreading!) so he could get out and learn about other recipes and options and the like. I don't know if he kept going after using his gift certificate, but I do seem to recall that he liked the meals and the learning experience!

He really enjoys making new recipes, and since my sister and I were raised in a more typical meat-and-potatoes home and about two years ago he was doing well if he didn't burn oatmeal, Let's Dish allowed him to try a few things he might now have been willing to do on his own. He now puts out quite a spread for family holidays and even though he doesn't eat many vegetables, he has learned a lot of new ways of preparing them so that those of us who do get more than reheated frozen corn.

I keep waiting for someone to open a franchise in La Crosse, WI, so I can try it out! I think our nearest is in Rochester, which isn't too far (about an hour and a half), but we aren't up there all that regularly.