Aspiring Maven, Foodie, and Shutterbug

( plus Restaurant Delivery Services Too!) [ Updated 2/2017] The proliferation and competition of meal delivery services has really made it a golden age for savvy consumers.  It's a simple idea - deliver ingredients and seasonings, all perfectly portioned, and pair them with easy-to-make recipes -- that has taken fire in recent years. It's easy to understand why.  With most families strapped for time, the idea of an affordable and convenient way to solve the meal time problem is something that appeals to almost everyone. But which meal service is the best?  Which offers the most value?  Which are the easiest to make? Most importantly, which ones taste the best? To answer these questions for my own family, I signed up for the most popular meal delivery services out there and attempted to find which we liked best. A few caveats: One, my opinions are obviously subjective but after trying more than a handful of meal services, I quickly learned what I liked....

People often ask me why I write so many reviews and try so many restaurants.  One reason is that I like variety.  Trying different cuisines is a fun way to keep things interesting and novel. A more important reason may be the idea of discovery.  Akin to a child tasting ice cream for the first time or a young adult hearing their very first concert, the discovery of something new and special is always thrilling and exciting. What's perhaps as important is that these discoveries are most usually fortuitous happenstance - lucky finds that have become some of my most memorable meals - and that without all the sampling of restaurants they would never have been found.  In my short time chronicling my restaurant adventures (whether writing or taking photographs), I've only been lucky enough to feel like I've stumbled upon something truly special three times and each has been memorable. The first was Alexander's Steakhouse (Cupertino).  My parents ...