There’s a general consensus that leftover takeout food isn’t always the most attractive option for the next day’s lunch or dinner. But there are lots of great ways to make your leftover meal last and taste just as good—if not better—than on the day you ordered it. We asked local chefs and restauranteurs for some of their tried and true tips for making the most out of takeout food, including how long different foods keep and how certain tricky foods should be reheated for the best result. Since we’re all going to be stuck at home for a while, we want to be sure you’ll look forward to eating takeout leftovers long after you’ve made that initial order.
Reheating
When it comes to reheating food, The Kitchen’s consulting chef Bobby McFarland says that the best way to reheat a dish is to cook it the way it was originally prepared. For example, pizza should be reheated in the oven (at 425 degrees, according to Jon Garrison of Lilly’s Pizza) and stir-frys and pasta should go in a hot pan with oil or butter. McFarland suggests reheating deep-fried foods such as fried chicken, wings or French fries in a hot oven at around 425 degrees to crisp them back up. Wet or soft dishes—such as soup—can easily be reheated in the microwave, but Melanie Dunia, an executive chef at Empire Eats, likes to put leftover soup in a pot on the stove with a little extra water or broth to prevent any ingredients from drying out.
Southern Mac from Relish Craft Kitchen & Bourbon Bar
When it comes to mac and cheese, Sharon May, owner of Relish—a restaurant celebrated for its delectable mac and cheese skillets—says that big portions of mac and cheese should go in the oven to ensure the mac and cheese is heated evenly without any need to stir; small portions taste just as good reheated in the microwave. Mac and cheese, and pizza, are great leftovers because they can last up to seven days in the fridge and freeze well.
Burgers and other sandwiches are some of the most tricky foods to reheat, given their combination of cold and hot ingredients. Keep them around for up to three days before tossing. McFarland advises taking the burger apart, removing any cold ingredients such as lettuce or tomato, and heating the bun and burger side by side in the oven. You can also try May’s trick of reheating the bun in a sandwich bag in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, which steams the bun and makes it moist again. Rice can also be tough to reheat as it tends to get brittle when it’s left in the fridge. McFarland likes to make his leftover rice into fried rice, which makes a good base for other leftover foods such as sautéed vegetables and chicken.
Sacre Bleu Burger from Mandolin
While leftover seafood might not sound like the most appetizing option, chef Oscar Diaz of The Cortez assures that it can still be good. But only keep raw seafood, such as ceviche, for one to two days in the fridge as fish begins to denature and become mealy; cooked seafood can last three to four days. Diaz’s preferred method for reheating cooked seafood is in a toaster oven on low, or covered in a regular oven. Separate any cold toppings or base ingredients and reheat any sauces in a sauté pan.
Get Creative
You don’t always have to re-prepare leftovers the same way you got them. Turn a plain steak into a hearty steak and eggs breakfast or chop it up for a sandwich. Pork, chicken and other meats also make great fillings for sandwiches, says McFarland. Get creative with cheese, bread and any other ingredients you have on hand in your fridge or pantry. Diaz likes to repurpose leftover seafood in dishes such as stir fry, stew, soup or in an omelette. When preparing seafood in this way, add it in at the last minute to avoid losing texture. Chef Eric Montagne of Locals Oyster Bar likes to get creative with his seafood leftovers. He recommends turning leftover fish into a fish salad or mixing it with bread crumbs and seasonings to make fish cakes.
Keep, Freeze or Toss?
A general rule of thumb when it comes to leftovers is to keep them in the fridge for three to seven days, depending on the food (meats are on the three-day end, while most vegetable and pasta dishes can last up to seven days). If there are any signs of mold, no matter how many days have passed, definitely toss. Most foods can also be frozen, usually either in covered, glass storage containers or in sealed ziplock bags with all air removed. A good tip is to cut things like pizza or bread into individual portions first and seal separately.
The Five Point and South of the Border from Lilly’s Pizza
Re-Prep Your Takeout
PIZZA Bake at 425 degrees for five to 10 minutes or until heated through.
MAC AND CHEESE Bake large portions in a lightly oiled or buttered baking dish at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. For small portions, microwave in a microwave-safe bowl with a splash of milk, covered loosely with plastic wrap, for about one minute.
FRIED FOOD (fried chicken, French fries, etc.) Bake at at least 425—and up to 500 degrees—for about five to 10 minutes, checking every two minutes, until golden and crispy.
BURGERS Let burger come to room temperature, then separate patty from bun and condiments. Bake the patty on a metal rack at 400 degrees for two to three minutes on each side. Optional: Heat the bun in a sandwich bag in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, then place in the oven when flipping the patty. Reassemble the burger.
SEAFOOD (un-fried) Cover with foil and bake on a rimmed pan at 275 degrees for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 125 to 130 degrees.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Raleigh Magazine April Takeout Special
If you order takeout from one of these locally-owned Raleigh restaurants you’ll get a free copy of our April issue in your to-go bag!
In the digital age we live in, we use technology for everything from turning the lights on in our houses to getting home from work in the least amount of traffic. While much of the time technology can seem like a distraction, when it’s used well, tech can actually help us live savvier day-to-day lives. Here are some apps that will help make you smarter.
Like CliffsNotes for non-college students, this app summarizes more than 3,000 nonfiction books into easily digestible, 15 minute summaries. Subjects include psychology, science, economics, religion and many others.
Be smarter about how and where you recycle with Earth 911’s recycling app, which allows users to look up 350 different recyclable materials and find local drop-off locations for them.
There’s no time like the present to learn a new language, a process that boosts cognitive power whether or not you ever achieve fluency. Duolingo guides users through reading, writing, listening and speaking exercises in 13 different languages.
Close out your social media apps and pull up a TED Talk instead to learn from inspirational leaders, thinkers and innovators speaking on interesting topics you may—or may not—know much about.
Do you need to know that a dolphin sleeps with one eye open? Not really, but a little extra random knowledge won’t hurt you. Every day, DailyBrain delivers a random fact you probably didn’t know before.
Be smart with your finances using the Mint app, which analyzes your income and purchasing habits to make sure you’re not spending more than you make. Create a budget, then track what you’re buying throughout the month in different categories such as bills, groceries and food.
In a shark eats shark world, Jason Gillikin, the CEO and executive producer of the local podcast production company Earfluence, says he hopes to be a “rising tide lifting all boats” for the Triangle’s startup community.
Through podcasting, Gillikin discovered that when one company in the Triangle succeeds, the whole community benefits. In an effort to give entrepreneurs a more prominent voice, Gillikin launched the Startup Stage Podcast in February with the goal of connecting startup entrepreneurs with investors, specifically women and African American entrepreneurs who are historically underrepresented in business.
According to Forbes, in 2018, companies women founded received only 2.2 percent of all venture capital dollars. Only 1 percent of venture-backed founders were African American. “That disparity—and making a change—is important to several of the venture capital firms in the Triangle area,” Gillikin says. “So, in addition to bringing the startup community together, we wanted to make sure we brought in entrepreneurs—and investors—from all backgrounds to boost the ecosystem of underrepresented entrepreneurship.”
Gillikin’s Startup Stage Podcast began with 11 entrepreneurs who pitched their ideas, which the producers narrowed down to eight individuals who will have the chance to share their startups with four local venture capitalists and angel investors—Robbie Hardy, Keith Daniel, Donald Thompson and Timothy McLoughlin—over the course of eight episodes that will air in April.
Startup Stage Investors: Donald Thompson (Walk West), Robbie Hardy (xElle Ventures), Keith Daniel (Resilient Ventures), and Tim McLoughlin (Cofounders Capital) | Photo by Fancy This Photography
By the end of the episodes, some of the entrepreneurs will clinch investment bids, but, Gillikin explains, there’s a due diligence period in which the investors have time to decide whether or not they actually want to move forward with the deal. In May, the due diligence period ends with a live podcast episode that Sharon Delaney McCloud, a former news anchor and Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, will host. As in the show “Shark Tank,” interested investors will make a deal with prospective entrepreneurs and give them capital for their startup during this podcast episode. Some entrepreneurs may be turned away, but others might have multiple investors fighting over them and, in the end, leave with a hefty check to put toward starting their businesses.
“It’s a privilege to be a small part of this startup community,” Gillikin says. “And to share these stories and get the Triangle excited about what’s going on in their backyard.”
Build-your-own salad concepts are booming, with colorful veggies, warm grains and fake meat trending now.
Blistered roasted red peppers. Bright pink pickled onions. Crunchy pumpkin seeds. Velvety butternut squash hummus. The rainbow of ingredients available at Happy + Hale are just one of the things that make the business’s salads so attractive; another is the option to build your own salad with as many—or as few—of the ingredients as you please for a creation that fits your preferred flavor profile and is mindful of any diet restrictions, food allergies or intolerances.
Opened in June of 2014 in downtown’s City Plaza, Happy + Hale was one of the first restaurants to offer build-your-own salads in the area. Tyler Helikson, Happy + Hale’s co-founder and CEO, was inspired to launch the concept after visiting similar eateries in Los Angeles and New York City. Helikson saw plenty of people in Raleigh who wanted to eat healthily on the go, but one of the only takeout salad options available at the time was the subpar grocery store salad bar.
Helikson’s first attempt to fill the hole in Raleigh’s takeout salad market was a juice and salad delivery service, based downtown, which he started in August of 2013 with his friend and Happy + Hale co-owner Matt Whitley. Customers would order off the website and Helikson would deliver their food and drinks to them by golf cart. As the business grew in popularity, the partners opened their first brick-and-mortar space in the heart of Raleigh, followed by locations in North Hills, Durham and Greenville, South Carolina.
Now, the trend has caught on and the Triangle is full of similar concepts that offer the same health-conscious, customizable salads and bowls, including CAVA, Diced, Chopt and Grabbagreen. Helikson believes the trend is due to a growing group of educated consumers who are more aware of what they’re eating and want access to fresh and healthy foods that will fuel them in a more nutritious way. “As people get more knowledgeable about what they’re putting in their bodies, customization becomes more popular,” Helikson says. “Access, general awareness and how food impacts health makes customizing [more favorable].”
Through the years, Helikson has seen trends come and go within the customizable salad market. One trend that seems here to stay is warm grain bowls, which became popular over the last decade. Helikson says people were drawn to warm bowls because they made them feel fuller than a cold salad of lettuce and uncooked vegetables would. “In order for people to feel they received proper value for a meal, hot food is critical,” says Helikson. In line with the gluten-free fad, grains such as quinoa, rice and farro became popular, along with roasted vegetables such as sweet potatoes, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The warm bowl trend persists today with an even greater array of cooked grains, proteins and toppings to satiate conscientious customers who crave a hot, healthy meal.
This year, Helikson expects plant-based proteins to reign over the customizable salad scene. Already, we’ve seen the Impossible Burger make its way into fast food joints and restaurants including Burger King, the Cheesecake Factory and Qdoba. Last year, Just Salad did away with all the beef options on its menu, replacing grilled steak with Beyond Beef meatballs. And, last month, Happy + Hale debuted two plant-based menu items—a warm bulgogi bowl also made with Beyond Beef meatballs and a riff on the classic Caesar salad topped with baked buffalo cauliflower.
Helikson says the bowls were the result of a desire to produce a creative, plant-based and craveable meal that would be filling enough to deliver on value. This, he says, is what more customizable salad concepts will work to achieve in 2020. “Consumers are on the go now and they expect high quality food on-the-go,” Helikson says. “If you’re doing anything less than that, it’s hard to keep up.”
Even though there’s a shutdown, many of the 30+ breweries on the Raleigh Beer Trail 2020 are still open for online orders and curbside pickup…and you can still get your Raleigh Beer Trail passport stamped for visiting!
Sour beers are a less hoppy, more funky-tasting category of brew that have been making their mark in and around Raleigh. Below, you’ll find a short overview of some of the many sours you can find at breweries and restaurants—we look forward to getting out and about and drinking them all again!—encompassing a range of tart and tasty flavors that even the casual beer drinker can appreciate. You can find some of these sours at local grocery stores including Whole Foods, Lowes Foods and Wegmans and at national bottle shops such as Total Wine. Keep an eye out for curbside takeout and delivery programs at these stores, as well as at local restaurants, bottle shops and bars that might still be open to sell you a six-pack—to go, of course—or a bottle or two.
Rosette Rosé-Inspired Ale* and Piglette Grisette* by Brewery Bhavana
If rosé and beer had a baby, Brewery Bhavana’s Rosette would be their delightful-tasting offspring. The rosé-inspired ale is bubbly, floral and fruity, just like your favorite bottle of sparkling. Meanwhile, the Piglette Grisette has a clean, subtle sour taste that doesn’t stray too far from a light beer.
Wounds That Cannot Heal and Ascent of the Blessed at Burial Beer Co.
Within the plant-filled Burial Beer Co. at Transfer Company, you’ll find a variety of tasty sour beers featuring dark names. The Wounds That Cannot Heal sour mostly takes on the flavor of a golden ale with a hint of citrus, while the Ascent of the Blessed sour carries fruity notes of wine.
R&D Passionfruit Gose*
R&D’s Passionfruit Gose is great for those just getting into sours. It has a mild fruitiness that’s crisp and delightful—perfect for easy sipping.
Cranberry Gose by Clouds Brewing
This punchy pink gose is known as a kettle sour, a style of sour that’s brewed in a stainless-steel kettle to produce an exceptionally tart taste. Clouds’ refreshing cranberry version is both fruity and tangy.
Necromancy by Wye Hill
One sip of Wye Hill’s Necromancy tiki sour and you’ll be transported to a sandy beach on a tropical island somewhere far away. The unique small batch sour beer gets its tropical flavors from fruit juices and rum-infused spices such as allspice, clove and star anise, resulting in a tart and fruity taste that’s almost too good to be true.
Total Protonic Reversal by Trophy Brewing Company
This dry-hopped Norwegian raw ale is the first sour to come out of Trophy’s new sour beer program at its Morgan Street location. The beer is light and refreshing, with just a hint of sour and herb notes.
