Dish City

"Quick sign up! Flexible hours! Be your own boss!"

The perks of gig work are well-known, but do they actually reflect the reality of drivers working for food delivery apps? Patrick and Ruth try driving for DoorDash to find out. Plus, they interview three drivers in D.C., Seattle, and Denton, Texas, to see how gig workers are fighting for better working conditions.

Read a transcript of this episode at dishcity.org.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @dishcity.

Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

Email us your favorite delivery order at [email protected].

DoorDash started a decade after its competitors, but now controls half of the food delivery market in the U.S. What can we learn from the very first order its founders delivered? And how did all these third-party platforms reshape the way we think of food delivery? Ruth and Patrick explore the origins of DoorDash and examine whether the "magic wand" it built for restaurateurs is working.

Note: This episode has been updated to reflect DoorDash and Uber Eats' current policy regarding listing restaurants on their platforms.

Read a transcript of this episode at dishcity.org.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @dishcity.

Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

Email us your favorite delivery order at [email protected].

In the '60s, delivering pizzas meant wrapping hot pies in a blanket or driving them to customers over open flames. With those humble (and, uh, life-threatening) beginnings, how did we get to the quick and easy delivery everyone knows and loves today? From heatproof bags to rotating ovens, Patrick Fort and Ruth Tam investigate how 'big pizza' changed the delivery game forever.

Read a transcript of this episode at dishcity.org.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @dishcity.

Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

Email us your favorite delivery order at [email protected].

On a cold November night in 1976, a New York City restaurateur named Misa Chang started sliding delivery menus under her neighbors’ doors for her Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. Chang wasn’t the first to offer delivery, but when delivery gained traction in U.S. cities, Chinese restaurants were often the first to do it. As dishes like chop suey and General Tso's chicken became part of American food culture, Americans’ feelings toward the Chinese Americans who made the food (and delivered it) remained stuck in the past. And now, as demand for delivery increases, many American Chinese restaurants are closing. Is delivery the key to survival?

Read a transcript of this episode at dishcity.org.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @dishcity.

Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

Email us your favorite delivery order at [email protected].

When you really think about it, delivering food from restaurants to homes is kind of strange. Nothing about the process saves money and it doesn't make the food taste any better! And yet, platforms like DoorDash and Grubhub doubled their revenue during the pandemic. So, what's the history of this weird system? Welcome to the latest season of Dish City, where we unwrap the past, present and future of delivery. Read a transcript of this episode at dishcity.org. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @dishcity. Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity. Email us your favorite delivery order at [email protected].

On a new season of Dish City, hosts Patrick Fort and Ruth Tam discover how food delivery became normal in America and ponder if it actually benefits restaurants, couriers and diners during the pandemic.

Most people who contract coronavirus recover, but we still don't know much about the lingering side effects – including the loss of taste and smell. Patrick talks with a local foodie who survived the virus but hasn't fully regained his ability to taste and smell.

We're taking a break, but send us your thoughts and ideas for episodes here: [email protected]

Twitter: @dishcity

Instagram: @dishcity

Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

Theme music by Daniel Peterschmidt

As Game of Thrones nerds can tell you, "winter is coming" is more than a seasonal weather forecast –it's a warning. With that in mind, what are local restaurants with outdoor dining doing to prepare for the harshest season? And, given the limits in federal and local coronavirus financial relief, what do they actually have control over? Ruth and Patrick follow a restaurant and brewery owner's preparations –and their state of mind– as we count the days towards the cold.

[email protected]

Twitter: @dishcity

Instagram: @dishcity

Support the show at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

What does the future hold for restaurants? To predict what a restaurant in 2022 will look like, Patrick and Ruth time travel to see what lessons we can learn from previous pandemics. 

[email protected]

Twitter: @dishcity

Instagram: @dishcity

Leave us a tip at wamu.org/supportdishcity.

Now that fall is here, Patrick is enjoying his cozy flannel shirts and crisp pumpkin beers. But for Ruth, entering this season is bittersweet. Cultural holidays like the Mid-Autumn Festival are normally comforting this time of year. But for Asians who observe this harvest celebration, there's no easy way to safely gather and eat traditional mooncakes during a pandemic. To get some perspective on family food traditions and what they offer us this season, Ruth turns to D.C. resident Suzanne Nuyen, the creator of Vietnamese food blog, Bun Bo Bae.

Suzanne's blog Bun Bo Bae: bunbobae.com

[email protected]

Twitter: @dishcity

Instagram: @dishcity

Dish City is made possible by listeners like you! Donate at wamu.org/supportdishcity.