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UberEATS In Chicago: For The Limited And Uninspired

By Margaret Paulson in Food on Apr 28, 2015 10:45PM

Chicago Uber riders were greeted with an announcement in their inbox this morning that their next meal could arrive via the friendly face of an Uber driver. Today, the ever-popular rideshare provider announced its new service, UberEATS, that delivers on-demand lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays in the Loop and River North.

According to its site:

“UberEATS delivers the best of Chicago right when you want it. Our curated menu features dishes from the local spots you love. And the ones you’ve always wanted to try. It’s the same cashless payment as an Uber ride. So just tap the app, meet your driver outside, and enjoy.”

UberEATS' “from tap to table in minutes” slogan is no joke - on their site, they guarantee meals in ten minutes or less. We’re highly skeptical, although WBEZ tested it out and app errors aside, the delivery time was under ten minutes. Still, at that rate it seems likely that the dedicated drivers are just cruising around with that day's pre-selected meal options in their cars waiting for someone to order, and that doesn’t feel very special or sound very appetizing.

UberEATS was also made available in NYC today and was piloted in Los Angeles and Barcelona, Spain. For their inaugural Chicago meal, they offered both a salad and torta option from Rick Bayless’ Xoco. Wednesday’s offering is a hearty salad from Freshii and a lonely looking pulled pork sandwich from County Barbeque, while Thursday’s offerings are the saddest and dullest-looking ever: A Santa Fe Salad (with chicken, but it isn’t visible in the photo) from Bountiful Eatery for a ridiculous $12 and a Carne Asada Cemita from Cemitas Puebla, which is pretty basic as far as sandwiches go and not even our favorite option from the awesome eatery.

One positive? There’s no surge pricing. UberEATS meals cost $9 - $12 with a $3 per delivery, every time, no matter the number of meals you order.

So who’s this service for? It’s very obviously for busy business people with some money to spend and working or living in the area bounded by Congress Parkway, Oak Street, 90/94/Union and the lake. But it’s also for the people who don’t care much about what they eat with such a limited menu. And never check out new places on the weekend but still want to have some semblance of knowing the “in” spots and being able to tell their social circles they tried them. (Editor's Note: Margaret is being nice here, because the way we see it Freshii is nowhere near a trendy "it" spot. Uber might have scored with Xoco but GrubHub currently offers Big Star, Dove's Yusho, The Roost and Analogue, to name a few, so step up your "it" factor, Uber.) Harsh? Maybe. The biggest upside we see to UberEATS is that it seriously limits your options, which can be good in a world of overabundant choices if you're into that kind of restriction.

Final verdict (for now): It's kind of cool, but it’s also kind of lazy. Go for a stroll and grab a (cheaper) sandwich or salad— for your health and the environment. Unless we see a wider delivery area or more inspired options, we'll stick to other delivery options or simply take a walk.