What We’re Ordering Out: Prosciutto-Packed Pizza and Fantastic Soul Food

Since COVID-19 isn’t going away any time soon and restaurants continue to stress alternative options to dining in, we’ll bring you each week a roundup of takeout dinners recently enjoyed by dining editor Timothy Malcolm. 

Coltivare

Jonesing for a pizza night? May I suggest the chicken, prosciutto, tomato, sage, and saba pizza from this Heights favorite? (May I also suggest adding a yard egg, which means a burst of velvety yellow yolk onto your ham?) You should also spring for the simple, but lovely tomato, basil, and mozzarella pie, whose sauce has the just right amount of sweetness. Ordering takeout is easy here; just call ahead, show up in front of the restaurant, and someone will come out to your car with a bag. Sure, you won’t get to enjoy the back garden, but the food is enough of a reminder that Coltivare is a terrific restaurant.

Becks Prime

I’ve had some badly smoked burgers in the past, but Becks Prime’s brand—presented in a pseudo-fast-food environment, no less—was impressive. Get the hickory-smoked burger, add simple accouterments like cheddar, pickles, and the in-house prime sauce. The sesame-seed bun was slightly too big for the sandwich, but not comically so. Also, you can order Becks Prime online and pick it up in a separate line. Pretty quick, pretty seamless.

Savoir

I’ve previously praised chef Micah Rideout’s gift for creating a menu that looks like a bunch of Chopped mystery basket creations. Well, he did it again. His summer pizza features pools of carrot butter over ricotta, mixed with a pistachio pesto, honey, and herbs like mint. It tastes like late summer or early fall, but it doesn’t matter … it’s mind-blowingly delicious. I also felt very satisfied by the scallops, cooked with squash succotash in a cheesy corn fondue. My kids even got a kiddie-menu grilled cheese that outweighed anything I could’ve cooked for them at lunchtime. For me, pickup was a breeze (I just had to walk there, and a bag was presented to me after I ordered online). Savoir remains one of my favorite restaurants. 

This Is It Soul Food

The popular Third Ward spot for oxtails, the kind of macaroni and cheese that leaves a golden syrup sliding slowly on your spoon, and oh my goodness those yams … if you’re looking for comfort food at the highest level, well, this is it. But more, This Is It has one of the best takeout operations I’ve experienced so far in the pandemic. Order online, and This Is It will text you when your order is a few minutes from finished. You’ll reply to get a code, which you’ll input on a touchscreen that gives you a code for a lockbox. Enter that, turn the key, and grab your takeout grub. It’s easy, contactless, and flawless.

Golden Bagels

Speaking of good pick-up operations, Golden Bagels does it pretty well. Order online or by phone, then swing by the joint, and head over to Golden’s patio service counter. Give your name, and chances are your order will be out in seconds. It’s that easy. As for my order, I had a bacon, egg, and cheddar sandwich on an onion bagel. Golden’s tidy and glossy bagels make for great breakfast sandwiches, and I suggest you grab one on a future weekend morning.