answer.'s chicken parms getting ready for pickup
Families must be really busy in Sylvan Park. Like, too busy to get food on the table sometimes. And I get it — we all have days when we. just. can’t. Fortunately, answer. and Miel feel your pain and offer excellent alternatives to all the peopling involved in shopping for groceries and the decision paralysis that can come from browsing the NYT Cooking bottomless online cookbook.
Almost since they first opened nearly nine years ago, the kitchen at answer. has been a lifesaver for busy families thanks to their weekly Wednesday “Hump Day” Suppers and Sunday Suppers, which are sized to feed four hungry diners or available in half portions for couples.
Menus come out a few days in advance, and orders must be placed via email to victoria@answerrestaurant.com by 2 p.m. on Saturday for Wednesday afternoon pickups, and by 2 p.m. Wednesday for Sunday Supper. The menus vary weekly, usually with a seasonal twist, and the meals are packed and chilled, delivered to your waiting car in the alley. Easy reheating instructions are included.
Pricing can vary a little bit from week to week, but it’s always reasonable — especially considering they do 90 percent of the work. answer. also offers special iterations of their carryout suppers for almost every holiday, including Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Super Bowl Sunday. It’s like getting a catered meal for just two to four people — a feat not many caterers would be willing to undertake.
While the convivial happy hour vibe at answer. makes it a popular spot for neighbors to catch up after work, the fact that it’s four minutes from both Interstate 40 and 440 makes it an extremely convenient to just make a culinary pit stop on the way home.
Similarly, Miel has started to offer Weekend Supper Pickups of some of the same dishes they serve in their upscale restaurant. While the plating isn’t as elegant, the food is every bit as good as it is in Miel’s dining room, and simple instructions for finishing the dishes at home can make you look like an expert chef.
A recent pork ragout supper that I took home included a knob of herb butter to drop into the dish while it was reheating. Would I have ever thought of that? Heck no. Did it make the dish transcendent? Hell yes!
The kitchen claims that the $75 suppers are sized for two to three diners, but we got four meals out of it by adding the leftover ragout to a plate of pasta after all the polenta cakes were gone.
The ordering process is simple. You can find out the weekend menu, reserve your pickup time using Tock and pay in advance through the website. At your appointed time, just arrive and tell them your name. The next thing you know you’re on the way home like the hero you are!
As an example, here’s what’s on the Miel menu for this weekend, Miel's own words:
Cassoulet — The Classic Slow-Cooked French Stew
Duck Sausage + Duck Leg Confit + White Beans
Lemon vinaigrette salad with mixed greens, butternut squash, pistachio
During the winter they’re leaning into slow-cooked comfort food for these suppers, and I’m here for it! Here are some other upcoming menus (exact dates TBD):
Coq au Vin
Red wine braised Springer Mountain chicken thighs, Henosis mushrooms, cipollini onions, pommes puree, beef lardons.
Frisee salad, cara cara orange, chevre, dijon vinaigrette
Braised Short Rib
Savory potato puree, tomato demi glace
Brown butter roasted squash, Marcona almonds
Duck Leg Confit
Butter beans, wilted greens, orange velouté.
Squash Bisque
Slow-cooked Pork Shoulder
Braised greens, fresh mozzarella
Kale salad, minced and massaged, golden raisins, pine nuts, orange
Fisherman’s Pie
Shrimp, crab, octopus, mussels, chowder topped with whipped potatoes
Lemon vinaigrette salad; mixed greens, butternut squash, pistachio
Finally, if you want to enjoy Valentine’s Day in the privacy of your own home, Miel is offering a more elevated version of their normal carryout supper with a $200 dinner for two featuring a special amuse bouche, cauliflower bisque, halibut en papilotte and a citrus tart for dessert. Reservations for that deal are already up on the Tock site, so make your plans ASAP.
