Every six weeks, Amazon sends me six boxes of Carr’s Rosemary Crackers. I order them online, because I can’t find them locally and because they’re delicious with chèvre, raspberry jam or anything at all, really.
This shamelessly bourgeois behavior might become the norm. In a recent New York Times article by Stephanie Strom, food writer Michael Ruhlman predicted that most of what we find in the middle of an average supermarket—the “cereal, canned soups, detergents and Ziploc bags”—could someday disappear as people become used to the idea of buying that stuff online. In their place, supermarkets might make more room for fresh produce, baked goods and prepared meals.
But that’s a long way off. For now—and considering temperatures will soon routinely exceed triple digits—perhaps it’s not a bad idea to try a few of these delivery services, most of which have associated mobile apps you can use in air-conditioned comfort.
On the grocery front, I favor Amazon’s Prime Now (primenow.amazon.com), which delivers everything from bananas to LaCroix to video games free to Amazon Prime customers (though a tip is suggested). Google Express (google.com/express) follows a similar free-delivery model for paid members ($10 a month, or $95 annually) but allows users to shop individual stores like Whole Foods, Target and Walgreens. You can also sign up for grocery delivery from Vons (shop.vons.com), Winder Farms (winderfarms.com) and Smith’s (smithsfoodanddrug.com), though the latter’s “ClickList” app requires you to pick up your bagged groceries curbside at the store.
Meal delivery is an even more crowded field. I’m a big fan of Postmates (postmates.com), which can deliver food from any restaurant in the Valley. (Watch those delivery rates, though—I’ve seen them run as low as $4 and as high as $11, and that’s before tip.) Friends tell me UberEATs (ubereats.com) delivers even faster than Postmates, though I’ve yet to try it … or DoorDash (doordash.com), or Grubhub (grubhub.com). And I’ve only just learned about PikFly (pikfly.com), which only delivers booze. I’ll try that one soon, fortified with a good baseline of crackers.
