I don’t know about you, but my life seems to always be in a rush these days. It seems to get worse in the Spring and Fall, when there are a million activities happening in the Triangle. That’s why I always appreciate a time saver.

jn1

I recently heard about a new app called “MyTakeouts.” Co-Founder and Chapel Hill resident Ani Patwardhan explained that the app helps you to speed up the process of ordering takeout meals. The developer team just launched the app on March 28. It is initially featuring six local restaurants: Al’s Burger Shack, Mint, Raaga, Sutton’s, La Hacienda, and Cinco de Mayo. Many more restaurants will be added in the next several weeks.

jn3jn4546515b365d775594d9f968c48233fb9

Without the app, you would have to look each place up on the Internet, or find their phone numbers, place an order by phone and try to figure out what they might have on special. However, with the app, everything is right there. You can peruse the various menus, see what is on special, look for a restaurant nearby your current location and just pick out what you want. You can text any special instructions, such as if you want something gluten-free or vegan, and the order goes directly to the kitchen of the restaurant of your choice.

Most orders will be ready in 15 minutes, which is 15 more minutes you can use to do whatever else is keeping you busy, such as picking up your kids from soccer. I realized how handy this would have been the other day, when I needed to pick up lunch for my husband and I, then run back to our house, and then run up to Southern Village to meet a friend at La Vita Dolce. It took me about 15 minutes to drive to a restaurant, about 5-10 minutes to stand in line and pick something from the menu, then I had to wait another 20 minutes for the food to be prepared, and then drive another 15 minutes to meet my husband. I could have saved at least 20-30 minutes if I had this app!

jn9

Some restaurants will have delivery as an option, though none of the six current restaurants are offering it yet. I can already imagine many UNC students getting excited about that option. Think of all the extra time you might have to study (or party) instead of having to walk to a restaurant and back to the dorm?

Also, if the kitchen is getting backed up or if they have run out of an item, they can just text you to let you know the status of your order, or tell you to pick something else out.

MyTakeouts is exclusively in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area for the time being. If all goes well, they will expand to other parts of the Triangle. So let your favorite restaurant know about the app and encourage them to join in!