Let’s Dish review
Tuesday’s post reminded me that I had never written about Let’s Dish after actually going there (as opposed to the theoretical discussion back here). Overall, I’d say the experience was less than I hoped for, but the food was better than I expected.
The experience:
Putting the meals together was ok, but less social than I had hoped. I think it’s mostly an issue of time. I did the 12-dinner package, which costs a lot less per meal than the 8-meal package, but doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for schmoozing. They want you in and out in 2 hours, and after leaving time for the orientation, putting your meals away and washing your hands between stations, and checking out, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of extra time. If I do it again, I’d like to split the 12-meal package with a friend, and then we could talk while we assembled.
They have the process very well thought-out, with the appropriate measuring cup or spoon for each ingredient right there, and the staff replenishing ingredients and wiping down counters every time you turned around. The ergonomics weren’t great for me — I’m 5′ even, and often found myself straining to reach things.
The process was less sensual than cooking ordinarily is. You don’t actually cook anything on site, so there’s no good smells coming out. And everything is prechopped, so you’re mostly just scooping things into plastic bags and then squeezing the ingredients together.
The food:
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the food. Of the 10 or 11 dishes that we’ve tried, only one of them was really disappointing — the Chow Mein dish was just soggy. With hindsight, I should have known that stir-frying frozen vegetables was unlikely to have good results. I found one of the sauces for the steaks unbearably salty, but my husband liked it, and it wasn’t incorporated into the dish, so it was easy enough for me to eat the meat without it. Everything else has been tasty and easy to prepare. And the grilled salmon was excellent — that’s a dish I probably wouldn’t have had the confidence to try from a cookbook, but will make again (although probably with a different marinade).
Is it gourmet coooking? No. Is it anything that we couldn’t assemble ourselves in advance? No. But has it improved the quality and variety of what we actually eat on a day to day basis? Yes. We’ve had a lot fewer meals of spaghetti and jarred sauce. Will I go back? Probably, especially if I can get someone to split a session with me.
July 7th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
How do you think it will impact your total food budget (or grocery budget or whatever you call it)? I would worry that I’d go spend $200 at Let’s Dish and still spend hundreds of dollars at the grocery store for breakfasts, packed lunches, snacks, desserts, cleaning supplies, etc.
July 8th, 2006 at 7:40 am
One of my couldn’t-be-easier dinners is a broiler chicken, pepper it and salt it fairly heavily with adobo, put it in the oven with red potatoes at 350. 4 minutes prep. An hour and a half later (whenever you can put a fork in the potatoes easily) it’s done. Hundreds of chickens later my number two son still marches gleefully around the house, announcing ‘It’s Chicken!’ whenever this is dinner. If I’m really ambitious, I replace the adobo with blendered garlic, rosemary, olive oil, lemon juice. This takes prep time up to about ten minutes. The kids don’t care about the difference, my wife and I like it a little better.
We eat fairly late, as my wife gets home about 730, so oven meals are a big part of our repertoire – while it’s cooking I can enforce homework, etc.
July 8th, 2006 at 11:17 am
Thanks for the review. I’ve been curious about the taste and quality of the meals. And while the cost is high, I remind myself that it’s 12 meals, and we’d probably have leftovers, too, since there are just 2 1/2 of us.
July 8th, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Thanks, Elizabeth, it’s good to see a review! I’ve been thinking of checking out Let’s Dish.
Dave, where do you get the adobo?
July 9th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Genevieve, any Latin market will have it. It’s basically juiced-up garlic salt, and if your regular rounds don’t include a Latin place, garlic salt is nearly as good.
July 9th, 2006 at 7:37 pm
I invited a friend and her husband over for lunch once and we cooked a week’s worth of meals together. She and I chose recipes over email and then split up who would be responsible for buying which recipe’s worth of food. They came over, we cooked for a few hours, ate lunch, and divided our meals. It was nice because it was a very social activity and I tried some recipes that I probably wouldn’t have chosen on my own. I think I ended up with about 6 days worth of lunch and dinners. I wonder if you could do some sort of Let’s Dish style potluck, where you would invite over a few people and each person brings the fixings for making three freezer meals. That way you’d get the social aspect, each person is only responsible for a few things and everyone gets a lot of variety.
August 24th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
I tried Let’s Dish for the first time right before I had surgery and was going to be on crutches for a week. I did the 8 dish plan and they had a free dish with our town’s festival button! A couple of friends of mine had been telling me how wonderful it was and I just couldn’t see how spending $130 on food was going to be that great. Until I tried it. I was encouraged by both of my friends to split the meals into 2 for our family of 3 and the guide at the store reaffirmed these thoughts, but added if it goes in a crock pot, keep it as one. I did this and walked out with 16 meals which have at this point fed us for 2 weeks and we still have at least 8 meals in the freezer yet and have only eaten out 2 times. My hubby loves it, he’s able to make dinner in a matter of 30 minutes (usually baking time) and have everything done at once! We invited a neighbor over for one of the meals that I had halved and had enough to feed him, and still have 2 days of leftovers for my husband’s lunch. I have found that my grocery budget even after I account for the cost of the meals is still about $40 less than it usually runs and we are eating healthier and more appropriate quantities. It also all fit into the freezer portion of our refrigerator so it’s compact as well!
Definitely worth a try. Or stop by a store and sometimes they let you dish for less if you are a first timer!
April 5th, 2007 at 8:37 am
I know this is a really old post — but you should give Mix It Up a try. I’ve found the food far superior and the customer service is fabulous. I never feel like they “want me out of there”. In addition you don’t have to split anything — you can simply come in and make 1/2 size portions.
I’ve found it to be great on my grocery budget. I don’t buy nearly the same amount of meat I used to at the grocery store.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Wow, Adobo seasoning, lots of it and salt and salty spices – Heaven help the person with high blood pressure or somone who might develop it from that salty chicken. This, to me, sounds like a much healthier alternative than a salty meal. Have you ever looked at the ingredients in Adobo seasoning???
July 11th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I work for Let’s Dish and I wanted to comment on two things in particular. First of all, there was a comment about us wanting you in and out in two hours, not leaving a lot of time to “schmooze”. It is not LD policy to make anyone feel rushed. You are not required to leave in two hours, ESPECIALLY if you are dishing 12 meals. If a particular store makes you feel that you HAVE to be done in two hours, I would suggest you contact corporate about that. It’s not extremely fair of you to state that as fact when that was simply your experience. Secondly, someone mentioned that the food was expensive. Really?! Being able to feed 6 people for $20-$24 is unheard of. You can’t go out for fast food and eat for that!
July 12th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Oh come on, it’s my blog, of course it’s my personal experience. And it was the last session of the evening, and the employees wanted to clean up and go home. I’m sure it’s less rushed if you go mid-day.
On the cost, it’s cheaper than going out to eat or ordering pizzas, but more expensive than cooking from scratch. Whether it saves you money depends on your usual cooking habits. I’ve gone back once or twice since, splitting the 12 meals with a friend. Now that we have a stand-alone freezer, I might do a 12 meal session on my own again. Maybe next month when the boys are out of town, I’ll stock up for the start of the school year.
January 7th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I’m not so sure that it’s appropriate for a Let’s Dish employee to get so irritated by the comments made here. I see a great mix of pro’s and con’s… that’s kind of the point Robby- so chill out!
Anyway, my best girlfriend and I shared 4 meals. We had lots of fun. It took us the full 2 hours to make 4 meals and we never really felt rushed. We gossiped and drank our own wine. It was a lovely time. I’m a full-time executive, full-time grad student, very social 30 something, and extremely active in my community. It was wonderful to take a break with a girlfriend and still feel productive. Plus, my husband and I have been enjoying the meals for a while. I thought that the 4 halves of meal would only last for 4 dinners, but honestly, we have left over for both of our lunches (I usually add a green salad to every meal). I really only went to Let’s Dish because my husband and I got a gift certificate for our anniversary. I would definitely go back and probably split 8 meals… I will say that the January menu lacks 8 meals that I would actually want… and that might be my only complaint. However, the chicken casablanca from December menu was fabulous and I look forward to finding something on the menu that rivals it.
February 16th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Wow it is great to be able to get some info on let’s dish. But I am not sure it is appropriate for someone who thinks they are so important (career, grad school etc.) to feel that, just because a let’s dish employee is trying to clear up a misconception, you have the right to dress her down for her comments! I realize that you feel much more important than a food service employee, but that doesn’t give you the right to be rude!! Chill out your big important self Laura!!!!
May 8th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Listen Marianne, I don’t look down on food service employees just because they are not intelligent and don’t have money. I just happen to be superior to most people I meet.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:04 am
I’m with you Laura. Don’t let these petty losers bring you down. Oops, there goes my crackberry, probly the CEO looking for advice again – what a pain!
May 9th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Thanks, you ladies have really opened my eyes. I will never step outside my station again, please forgive me. Actually I’m thinking of killing myself.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Good grief. Where are you all coming from to read this old post and flame each other? I try to have a hands-off approach on the comments, but I’m about to start deleting…
May 9th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Tell me about it, I was so upset I went home and accidentally kicked my ‘Schnauz-a-poo’