GrubHub Shares Chicago's Favorite Delivery Orders
By Lisa White in Food on Jan 9, 2015 4:20PM
Although something simmering atop a warm stove this time of year might be an added bonus to heating up your apartment, after a day trudging through the bitter cold we have no desire to cook when we finally arrive home. Many Chicagoans reach for the takeout menus or grab their computer and order a piping hot meal through GrubHub instead.
DNAinfo Chicago spoke to the Chicago-based online food-ordering service about some of the items Chicagoans bought the most of last year, as well as some of the trendiest items that are moving on up our delivery orders.
No surprise to anyone who frequently orders food for delivery, pizza and Asian food topped the list. Here's the list of the most-ordered items in Chicago on GrubHub last year:
1. cheese pizza
2. crab rangoon
3. pad Thai
4. french fries
5. egg rolls
6. pot stickers
7. wings
8. mozzarella sticks
9. orange chicken
10. fried rice
After dining on both fried rice and crab rangoon earlier this week while hiding away from the frigid temps, we're obviously not surprised with classic American-Chinese takeout staples making a strong showing. And we love pizza but we're bemused that cheese was the top pick. Chicago seems like a sausage loving town, or at least that is the topping you'll usually find on our pies (thin crust only, please). Most of this list is a no-brainer, full of failsafes when ordering from unfamiliar places and add-ons that many tack to an existing order, like french fries or mozzarella sticks.
What's a little more interesting is the data from GrubHub regarding the food items that saw the biggest increase in orders last year compared to the 2013. Their "trendiest" items, according to DNAinfo Chicago. Topping that list is cornbread, with a whopping 1,015 percent increase in orders between 2013 and 2014. Since Southern food has become a pretty popular trend, the one-two punch of an increase in cornbread followed by an increase in collard greens (at 564 percent) makes sense. You likely are craving comfort when ordering takeout or delivery and Southern cuisine is something we always find incredibly comforting.
The list also shows an increase in a variety of tacos, something we personally have never found transports well, but to each their own. The most befuddling item on the list? Fried ice cream. Because nothing says delicious like a partially melted pile of ice cream in a styrofoam container brought to your door. That said, if anyone actually knows of a really successful delivery fried ice cream in the area, let us know. For science.
Check out the rest of the trendy items over on DNAinfo Chicago.