Maine Dinner Store
January 22nd, 2009This post has very little to do with technology, but I wanted to share my experience with a broader audience.
There’s a new business in Brewer, Maine, that aims to simplify the family dinner. When my daughter started eating table food at predictable times, around 18 months or so, we instituted family dinner at the table. With two working parents, the priority was that we were all eating at the table, and that was more important than what was on the table. Not that we eat terribly, but convenience is pretty key — frozen tortellini, with frozen meatballs, with frozen sauce (I make my own in bulk every few months and freeze into separate portions –so much better than the jarred stuff!), or frozen stuffed chicken breasts, for instance — and it can get boring eating the same things every week. I’m not a foodie, and not exactly a cook, but cooking a main entree for two adults and one toddler almost always ends up resulting in tossed leftovers at some point. And should I even mention the dishes?
Enter the dinner store. There are franchises that operate on the same concept, like Super Suppers, or Dream Dinners, but the dinner store is locally owned and operated. They offer a variety of meals, many available in a meatless version, and change their menu monthly. The prices are unbelievably reasonable: $3.75/serving, and if you buy 12 or more meals at once, that drops to $3.35/serving. If you want them to prepare it for you, it’s $3.95/serving. That includes a (starchy) side, long grain or brown rice, mashed red potatoes, or rice pilaf, for instance. They’ve been open less than two months, but have recently received some press. WABI did a news story (with video) and the Bangor Daily News recently published an article about the business.
Last night was my maiden voyage. A week ago, I went to their website (www.mainedinnerstore.com) and created a login, signed in, chose a prep time (they offer several 2 hour windows through the week) and picked my meals and sides. Those were added to the cart, and I checked out using Paypal. I’d signed up for a 7-9 slot, and when I arrived, I was the only one prepping that night, but while I was there, several people stopped in to pick up pre-made meals. I was a little early, so the owner offered me a drink (I went for hot cocoa, but they have tea and coffee, too!) and took a seat while they prepared my station.
The prep stations all have a mini-fridge, mixing utensils, spices, and oils, as well as a great, clean work surface and nice overhead lighting. The staff sets up your workstation with the ingredients for the meals you’ve chosen, and gives you a customized binder of recipes. Start at meal 1, and keep on going. The food is fresh, the meat and veggies have already been cut and portioned, and the customer’s job is to add the spices, and do any coatings/stuffings, and package it back up to eat. It’s simple, but it WORKS.
I prepared my seven meals in about an hour. I left the dirty dishes behind, and all of my meals were bagged into large zipper storage bags, labeled, and with the cooking instructions inside. In my freezer, I now have seven dinners that I don’t even have to think about, made with quality meat (beef tenderloin! boneless, skinless chicken breasts!) and fresh veggies. My hour of time & $52.50 have been well spent, and I’m already planning to go back again.
The only con I can think of is the use of plastic bags. If you’re a re-user, this isn’t as big a deal (I will definitely re-use them) but each meal generally uses 2-3 zipper bags, and the outer bag is just to hold the inner bags of ingredients, and the printed cooking instructions, so they are the easiest to reuse. I will also bring my own reusable grocery bag next time, to carry my dinners home. They have boxes available, and I used one, but it would just save a box for another use (and keep it from my own seemingly unending cardboard pile) and make it easier to carry.
The pros:
The spices! They are colorful, and fragrant, and not that odd shade of gray that all of mine have become since receiving them as a wedding gift…. almost six years ago. (I should probably fix that.)
The recipes! The variety of meats, meatless options, and interesting flavors is going to be great to mix up our weeknight dinners.
The prices! No, really, the prices. A commercially produced bag dinner at Hannaford is generally $6 or more, and filled with preservatives and long named ingredients. The two serving meal from the dinner store is $7.50, with ingredients like “paprika” and “beef.” A similar meal from a franchised company is almost twice the cost, and doesn’t offer a side. The minimum order is six, two-serving meals, which comes out to $45. And if you’re wondering “but, how can they make money?” it’s all related to volume, almost like an old-fashioned food co-op, only they are making a profit while I am paying about what I would for the groceries to make the meals (and not throwing away 1/3 of whatever I cook because we don’t have a large family and can never seem to finish a family-sized meal.)
Who is it good for? Well, certainly people like me — small family, two working parents, who want good family meals without sacrificing time with the actual family to make them. Singles, who could easily get dinner and lunch out of the 2 serving meal. A gift certificate to the dinner store would also make an unbelievably great gift for new parents, or families struggling with an illness or death in the family. They also offer the option of opening to a private party — what a great idea for a baby shower, or birthday for the person who doesn’t need more things!
I am really excited to see next month’s menu and reserve my next appointment — and next time, I’m bringing friends.
Here’s my haul: Orange-Hazelnut Chicken, Jambalaya, Sesame Beef, Meditarranean Chicken, Cranberry-Apple Stuffed Pork Chops, Herb coated Beef Tenderloin, Sweet Potato Burritos — all with sides of rice or potato, for $52.50.
