Funny that several people said they would only get eggplant at a restaurant - pho is something I would only get at a restaurant, and only from a place where I know they're spending the hours it takes to make the broth correctly.

Why not from a grocery store? Because I don't believe mass-produced would be the same as the old man adding his 100 ingredients in a small, dingy kitchen.
Why not make at home? Because the cost of the ingredients to make a large batch, that would have to be frozen, far outweighs the cost of getting two bowls of pho for our dinner.

We recently tried a small family run Vietnamese restaurant nearby...just bahn mi for lunch, but they were excellent. They serve pho and also buncha Hanoi, which is something new to me but looked interesting. That will be first on our list next time we're in the mood for pho takeout.

Ooh nice about eggplant! I’m using your tip / info... cheers!
and agreed about restaurants - I’m aware about restaurants even during the years of eating there and getting carryout throughout the years.
Life analogy - I was Star Alliance Gold for a decade. I surrendered all status and now I’ll never be able to enter a LH SEN lounge; at best, I can enter UC (RCC) or maybe LH Business lounge, if lucky.

I agree about pho and Asian noodle soups in general. There are stunningly fantastic places within a mile from home with great Asian noodle soups where the restaurant knows to keep the noodle content separate from the soup and other ingredients for carryout. Considering that I used to frequent these places over a couple times a week, I’m just in a mega lifestyle shift. I can’t believe this myself. Anyway I am curious about the Costco pho.

You are concerned about the few calories in a couple TBS (at most) of oyster sauce (9 calories per tbs) yet you eat dessert every night, lots of grilled cheese, pasta, pizza, sausage, croissants, bread etc.

“unneeded calories” - there are a couple of other things wrong with oyster sauce, which is why I don’t consume it. I’m perfectly happy with only adding Sriracha sauce with the garden and jalapeńos. I quit with the bean sprouts after reading the Lucky Peach interview with Turtle Tower owner (Sf) about North Vietnamese style pho. Basically he said that the bean sprouts cool down the pho too quickly, which is why northern Vietnamese pho (and at Turtle Tower) is not served with bean sprouts. I actually think they’re only served with jalapeńos and, of course, the sauces on the table.

Meatballs (sautéed 3-4 minutes per side, covered, per LapLap - big yay)
fresh spaghetti with Rao’s marinara (Costco)
fusilli with cheese
Caesar salad (new best recipe)
raw vegetables

Agreed. Personally I can't see the point of take out from a restaurant at all. 95% of the time I, or Mrs LHRSFO, will cook. If not, we simply buy a ready meal from the local supermarket. I really cannot understand why anyone would ever get a take out from a restaurant, although I know they do - there's one house opposite which gets two UberEats a day. More money than sense in my book.

We don't get takeout often, but I think there are three reasons - first, if you're on the go and don't have time to cook. This will be the case for us tomorrow. Second, if you get something that you can't easily or affordably make at home. An example of this: My wife doesn't like lamb. When we want Indian food, I like the opportunity to order lamb. So, we could make two dishes at home, or we could simply order takeout. Much easier, and probably cheaper once you add everything up. Third, and this won't apply to everyone - when you really want to go out to your favorite restaurant but its -5 F in Chicago! Tip your delivery person well then!

I'd say we have takeout maybe twice per month. Usually one lunch and one dinner. We go to a restaurant about once per week now, much less than pre-COVID.

I occasionally order from DoorDash or opt for take-out, usually when I don't have time to cook, although the weekend before Cobaka passed, I ordered food because I could spend more time with her.

When I order, it's usually something I don't cook or stock supplies to cook.

My wife, who is ill from Cancer, does not like to cook anymore except for simple things like scrambled eggs, steamed veggies, or anything she can microwave. I usually work 10-12 hours per day and don't want to end up cooking/cleaning when I get home after 8 pm, so we end up getting takeout for dinner 6-7 days a week. We try to get healthy things and know they costs are a little bit higher than if we cook ourselves, but it is what makes her happy. You know a happy wife makes for a happy life, and we can afford to do it, so we just eat takeout. She also has a friend who does meals for a living, so she will order the Filipino food from her which has portions large enough for 2-3 meals for her or 2 meals for me if her friend cooks what I like. She eats little amounts at a time such as one Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich would be two different meals for her, so in the long run it really doesn't cost that much more than if we cooked ourselves.

Now to get back on topic, last night we had

Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich for my wife with a bottle of Ensure Vanilla protein drink
Left over Salad from Olive Garden that I added cheese and bacon bits along with Ranch Dressing instead of their classic dressing for me
1/2 of a Wendy's double stack plain with a half scoop of kibble for Bayani

I made a simplified oyakodon last night. Chicken stock, soy & mirin simmered, add thinly sliced chicken breast and sliced scallions, bring back to a simmer, add a few beaten eggs, let them set and serve over rice. When I was growing up my mom used to make katsu donburi with a recipe she got from our Japanese expat neighbors -- much more time consuming and authentic but this was still delicious and took only about 20 minutes, since we already had cooked rice.

Sorry to hear about your wife’s cancer.

Is the Filipino food less salty, lately? I always preferred ranch dressing at Olive Garden over the Italian dressing. Wendy’s was always my go to drive-thru 10-15 years ago. Then a Chick-fil-a opened across the street, and Wendy’s usually loses that race.

I’m excited that 20 minutes was all it took! Fun. I know about your Zurashi (sp?) rice cooker, which is extra bonus. I’m curious to try this dish. Maybe. I do love donburi.

Ditto - I knew it from a previous post, plus I know and recall the origin of the beautiful Teddybear99 name :-)

Zojirushi.

This is the version we did last night: Japanese Chicken-Scallion Rice Bowl Recipe | EatingWell

Serious Eats has a version that's a little better (uses dashi/hondashi): https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...wl-recipe.html

After a keto lunch of buffalo wings and salad, I gave into a cheat dinner of pan pizza and a few glasses of Rosso di Montalcino.

Oh well, 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

teddybear99 , I am like the others who am sorry to hear about your wife's cancer diagnosis and hope for the best.

The last week has been little cooking as my folks have not wanted to eat a dinner lately. Monday night, they wanted Chili Dogs; Tuesday they ate crab salad which they received during their food pantry visit; last night, they ate microwave burritos they got at Walmart while shopping, and tonight was leftover Popeye's which me and an old college friend brought home as they are renting him a room as he took his severance plus unemployment pay from Illinois and decided to move.