Restaurants: Pandemic pivots that ought to be permanent

The pandemic has changed how we dine out—maybe forever and maybe for the best, said Monica Burton in Eater.com. While no one wants to see the challenges of the past 14 months sustained, some of the restaurant industry’s innovative responses are worth keeping.

Takeout cocktails: Having an expertly crafted Manhattan delivered to one’s door was a new experience for many of us last spring. “It was also, unsurprisingly, delightful.” The cities and states that loosened alcohol regulations to allow such sales should make the changes permanent. Restaurants still need the revenue boost.

Expanded outdoor dining: With government blessing, many restaurants set up tables on streets and traffic lanes closed to vehicles last summer. Surely, some of that real estate doesn’t have to be given back to trucks and cars.

Meal kits: A twist on takeout, kits offered patrons a way to cook or assemble restaurantquality meals at home, and there’s no reason for the practice to end.

High-end takeout: Many fine restaurants offered takeout food for the first time, said

Tom Sietsema in The Washington Post, and turned out to be good at it. Chefs not only learned what dishes travel well, they offered pleasant extras such as handwritten notes, free desserts—even suggested music playlists.

Mutual respect: Sure, it’s a quality that’s hard to measure, but “customers have been showing it—and restaurant workers have been enjoying it—as never before.” Let’s all keep it up. When I think today of “first responders,” restaurant workers are right behind doctors and other medical workers who devote themselves to our well-being.