SJM_DEPT_Dining_0620_FINAL_Dept 6 / 9 / 20 4 : 02 PM Page 1 Haddonfield’s Bruce Mercog is a devoted foodie who loves everything about the fine dining experience , from the food to the D I N I N G ambiance , and regularly eats at the region’s top restaurants . Despite the restrictions cur - rently in place , he’s remained loyal to his D favorite spots and has continued to patronize them during the crisis . And while he’d much rather be sitting in a white tablecloth restau - rant at a candlelit table across from his wife , he’s experienced few hiccups thus far . A Change “ Most of the transactions are done online prior to getting the food , as far as putting it on my debit card , ” Mercog says . “ Some restaurants are still accepting cash though but it is done with gloves and behind to the Menu plexiglass shields . “ I have been satisfied with the service of FINE DINING RESTAURANTS ADAPT TO A NEW the restaurants even if they only offer limited WORLD OF TAKEOUT AND DELIVERY by Sydney Kerelo menus because I’m only going to order what I want . I also think that it helps with the fresh - ness ; limiting the menu is probably better . ” Lisa Alvarez and her family reside in Cherry Hill and have been ordering from multiple restaurants in the area to not only help keep them in business but to also enjoy one of life’s pleasures they’ve missed the most . “ We love to go out to eat . We typically will go out to eat on Fridays and Saturdays , so recently we’ve been trying to order from the places that we like , because we obviously want them to still be in business when this is all said and done , ” she says . “ It’s difficult because some of the stuff we were ordering was flash fried and so it was a little bit soggy once you got it home . I think it probably depends on what you order and unfortunately the one time we ordered we didn’t necessarily take that into considera - tion , ” says Alvarez . “ The quality of everything hen Gov . Phil Murphy signed an executive order in mid - March was really good though , in terms of what I announcing that all non - essential businesses would close due expected it to be if we had been on site . ” to the coronavirus pandemic , it sent shockwaves throughout W After spending so much time in her own the dining industry . Those closures caused a major rift in the lives of many kitchen , Megan Hollingworth was ready for a restaurant owners and had ripple effects on their employees . To stay afloat , many change . “ After three months , you get really restaurants began offering takeout service — in some cases for the first time ever — bored of cooking your own food , ” the Had - and were left to determine how to best deliver the taste of fine dining in a donfield resident says . “ And it’s nice to have packaged container . options , and here in town we’ve got lots of Eateries across South Jersey have been utilizing food delivery apps and offering good spots . ” curbside pickup and no - contact purchases as they try to adhere to the new opera - Hollingworth was thrilled to get out and tional guidelines . Monsoon Indian Cuisine in Mount Laurel was one place that visit her favorite Mexican restaurant nearby needed to make the necessary adjustments to continue to be able to serve their and found the experience rather painless . customers . Owner Ray Thind says that includes having his employees wear masks , “ It was very clean and they offer curbside gloves , face coverings and hats . And to further limit exposure , customers are not pickup , which makes it a really easy thing to allowed in the restaurant whatsoever and instead are instructed to call and place an do . We’ve had really great experiences there . ” order after which they will be given a time window for pickup . Dominique DiCriscio , of Cherry Hill , has Having a good system in place is one thing , but Thind says there are still many had similar positive experiences and has other challenges he is forced to contend with , including trying to accommodate a always felt that safety and cleanliness were a large number of orders that come in all at once . “ It’s a little bit frustrating for the cus - high priority at each of the several restau - tomers because what happens is that a whole day’s worth of business you’re doing rants she’s visited in and out of town . She’s between 5 and 7 p.m . , ” he says . “ Everybody seems to come at the same time and I also noticed how restaurants and chefs have cannot make that many orders [ at once ] . Sometimes they have to wait a little bit but been coming up with creative offerings to patrons have been very , very good . They’ve been very patient and they understand . ” attract diners . SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume17 issue 3 SouthJerseyMagazine.com 48 |