Too busy? Too tired? Too hungry to move? Let someone else fetch your food. Two national food delivery services launch this week on Oahu:
>> Postmates: The San Francisco-based delivery fleet started service Tuesday, adding Honolulu to the 250-plus cities that it serves. Postmates claims it makes 2.5 million deliveries a month to 100,000 members, serving 250,000 merchants.
Go to Postmates.com or download the Postmates app on Apple or Android phones. Plug in your address and the type of food you’re looking for. “Pasta,” for example, turns up choices from the upscale Arancino at the Kahala to Pizza Hut, with delivery times estimated.
Also at the site, view a video made by former Miss Hawaii USA Emma Wo of her favorite eating spots.
New customers get a $100 delivery credit through Dec. 14. Average delivery time is 35 minutes or less; usual delivery fee is $3.99. A subscription service, Postmates Unlimited, at $9.99 per month, provides free delivery for purchases of $20 or more.
The initial service area is Honolulu proper, Waikiki, Manoa, Kahala, Kaneohe and Kailua.
>> UberEATS: Also launched in San Francisco, by the ride-share giant Uber, the delivery service debuts at 10 a.m. today.
Same concept as Postmates: Download the UberEATS app or go to ubereats.com to join the service already offered in nearly 200 cities in 29 countries. You’ll be able to view menus and order. A “booking fee” of $5.99 is charged per order.
More than 100 Oahu restaurants are signed up so far, including Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, Buho Cantina, Kakaako Kitchen and Da Hawaiian Poke Co. Delivery times average 35 minutes.
The service area so far covers Honolulu and Waikiki, as far east as Hawaii Kai, as far west as Kapolei, and to Waimanalo, Kaneohe and Kailua.
Those interested in becoming delivery drivers, go to uber.com/deliver.
— Betty Shimabukuro, Star-Advertiser
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Remember how your mother told you to think of all the starving kids in India and clean your plate? Turns out the issue of food waste isn’t relegated to Mom’s dinner table; it’s a global issue.
The Doris Duke Theatre is screening an important film about the issue: “Wasted! The Story of Food Waste,” which features chefs such as Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali, and sheds light on how these luminaries transform humble ingredients into amazing cuisines that contribute to a more secure food system. It shares the small ways we all can help as well.
The film screens Sunday, Tuesday and Nov. 22. On Sunday a panel from the local food community will participate in a post-screening discussion. Panelists: chef Ed Kenney, Ku‘ulei Williams of Aloha Harvest, Mike O’Keefe of the city’s Department of Environmental Services and farmer Shin Ho of Ho Farms. It will be moderated by Jennifer Milholen of Kokua Hawai‘i Foundation.
Admission is $12, $10 museum members; for Sunday’s film and discussion, it’s $15 and $12. Call 532-6097.
— Joleen Oshiro, Star-Advertiser
FRUITCAKE FANS WANTED
Do you love fruitcake?
Stand proud.
We’re looking for a few fruitcake die-hards to tell us of their (probably) secret passion and help us explain why the maligned fruitcake deserves its place among holiday traditions.
Email us at crave@staradvertiser.com or call writer Pat Gee, 529-4749.