Amid the holiday feasting, Grubhub unveiled its annual “Year In Food” report, showing what we all feasted on throughout this year of delivery.
One of the most notable highlights was the collision of the delivery trend and plant-based restaurant options. The fastest growing delivered item by far was cauliflower pizza; it grew in popularity by 650 percent. Right behind it were a slew of other plant-based menu items from Brussels sprouts with 622 percent growth; Portobello empanadas with 601 percent growth; black bean and sweet potato tacos with 514 percent growth. The fastest growing non plant-based item was miso pork ramen, which surged ahead by 415 percent as the No. 5 grower and the first with animal protein.
Grubhub broke delivery tidbit down by state. The most late-night order growth was seen in Washington. D.C., the healthiest order growth was in California and the highest increase in caffeinated drinks was seen in Oregon. Texas laid claim to the highest surge of desserts delivered. In Minnesota, where Food On Demand is headquartered, the editors helped make beef ramen the fastest growing dish.
In other fun delivery data, the most expensive single item delivered was some black caviar that cost $285 for 30 grams. The largest non-catering order was 300 tacos for a Halloween party (sounds like an awesome party) and the smallest order was a single packet of hot sauce—which we hope also went to that taco party.
This year, Grubhub also unveiled “Best of Grubhub” list to call out a few of the most popular restaurant delivery programs across the country and their most popular, go-to delivery items:
- Burgers: Calibur in San Francisco is a local favorite known for their classic burger and homemade Calibur sauce (and don’t miss the Tallow Fries).
- Pizza: a New York City staple, Joe’s Pizza (Greenwich Village Institution) takes it home for this delivery favorite.
- Chicken wings: KyoChon in Los Angeles has been said to “more than compensate in addictive flavor” with a top dish being the restaurant’s honey wings. Tacos: E Bar Tex Mex in Dallas is known for their tacos, especially “Jorge’s Tacos” featuring a set of four (diner’s choice!)
- Poke: a dish known for its customization, SeaSweets Poke in Portland (Oregon) is the top spot for poke with the Ahi Shoyu Poke Bowl being a favorite.
- Pad Thai: Circles Thai in Philadelphia comes in as the number one spot for this delivery essential.
- Meatballs: diners love the Homemade Meatballs from DiPasquale’s Italian Marketplace in Baltimore, with the restaurant’s menu warning diners to “be prepared” for how large the meatball sub is!
And it wouldn’t be the holidays without bringing some attention to the company’s charity efforts. In 2019, diners rounded up to a massive $10 million in donations to support primarily the food-security charity, No Kid Hungry. Those funds also supported women’s leadership programs operated by the James Beard Foundation and the New York City focused college prep program NYC Kids RISE.
Take a look at the video announcing the Year In Review below and check out the Taste of Grubhub site to see what was most popular in your state.
