by Ian Curtis, staff reporter

While the Coronavirus shutdowns have hardly left any business unscathed, restaurants have been some of the hardest hit. In order to keep their doors open and profits flowing, many places have switched to takeout only or are heavily relying on takeout revenue amidst widespread forced closures of in-person dining.

From my extensive eating experience, I can tell you that not all takeout systems are created equal. Some places have adapted better than others.

I have developed a tiered system to help you in your journey of restaurant discovery. Because alphabetic systems seem professional, let’s call them Tier A, Tier B, and Tier C.

Tier A

Let’s begin with Tier A. These are the cream of the crop, the A-list, and the sharpest tools in the shed when it comes to College Station takeout food.

I’ve found three places that seem to stand above the rest: Blue Baker, Mad Taco, and Panera Bread. While these restaurants admittedly have the advantage of already having pre-Covid online ordering, they have perfected their systems. Having been to pickup food from the whole trio, I was impressed by not only how little contact I had with the staff, but also how seemingly every employee was wearing a mask, even before it was required.

Additionally, all three businesses are selling individual ingredients and groceries for a reasonable price along with their meals. That truly does set them apart.

Tier B

As we move down the ladder, we arrive at Tier B. While it may not be composed of the elite of the takeout world, Tier B is nothing to scoff at. This tier is the home to many of the restaurants I have tried. Nothing is wrong with these places at all. They have good systems, although the ones mentioned here are call-in only. Occasionally you might spot a minor error and such, but these businesses as a whole have handled the pandemic well. They just haven’t set themselves apart from the rest of the pack by offering a wide range of groceries, or having a seamless ordering system worthy of Tier A inclusion. Tier B members include TX Burger and Cooper’s Bar-B-Que.

Tier C

It is true that Tier C is the worst of the three, and there is only one member: McAllister’s.

But let me say this: I went to this restaurant one time, in the early stages of this pandemic. The food was excellent, the order was correct, the problem was getting the meal itself. While curbside pickup was advertised on the website, we had to wait for several minutes. And then several more minutes. And then we finally just decided to walk in. The scene that greeted us was sad. Clearly the staff were doing the best they could with what they had to work with, but they simply couldn’t handle curbside on top of all the other responsibilities they were tasked with due to this situation. Zero fault should be placed on those workers, and the blame should instead be placed on miscommunication between what was on the website and what was actually able to be done on the ground.

For all I know, McAllister’s may have fixed all of their issues in the weeks since this I’ve been there. Maybe they’re even worthy of Tier A inclusion. I can’t tell, because I have not been since this happened, be it for better or for worse.

But like I’ve said before, all of this is solely based on my experience. Yours may differ. Who knows if the information will even stay the same in our ever-changing world? It may have changed since this article was published, and your personal tastes may also differ. Maybe you’re the person who loves to call in an order instead of doing it over the internet. Suit yourself. I can only tell you what I have seen, and what I believe.

And on that note I now return you to whatever it is you’ve been entertaining yourself with during this quarantine. I hope you can put my little tidbits of information to good use, and may you find good food in these trying times.