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Duh: New Yorkers Really Love Their Takeout Food


By

Ben Yakas

Published Oct 16, 2011

Modified Oct 16, 2011


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By

Ben Yakas

Published Oct 16, 2011

Modified Oct 16, 2011


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The 2011 Zagat Survey were released last week, and there were plenty of good reasons to be interested in what it can tell you about NYers eating habits. But there was one bit of information we weren't terribly surprised about: New Yorkers frickin' love takeout.

City residents dine out or order in for 50 percent of their meals, according to the Post. The WSJ adds that those figures include the fact that 27 percent of respondents ate fewer meals at restaurants than they did six months ago, with an average of three meals out per week. Which means more people are eating takeout.

And it seems people vastly prefer old fashioned paper menus to any new-fangled social media apps. Eighty-one percent of the 41,604 people surveyed said they don’t use Facebook or Twitter to find new restaurants. Forty-one percent of people said they have 11 or more menus lying around, and only five percent said they used online menus—and 19 percent still pick up the phone and call a restaurant for their delivery order.

As was pointed out previously, Zagat surveyors skew older and richer than the general population—they are able to eat out three times a week on average. But seeing as how we're prone to getting Chinese delivery at least two times a week, we think it's fascinating New Yorkers’ favorite to-go cuisine is Italian (only six percent love Chinese as much as us). So don't forget to tip your delivery man well—soon enough, it may be mandatory.

Tagged

delivery

not science

Survey

takeout

zagat


Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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