Dine In 2Nite, Tampa, FL

Do you love freshly prepared, delicious, nutritious and creative cuisine but find yourself settling for fast food, takeout or sandwiches during the week because you're just too tired to grocery shop, cook and clean the kitchen after work?   Or, worse yet, throwing food away because it's so difficult to use it before its shelf life is over when you're only cooking for one or two?  Meet your new Fairy Godmother.

Dine In 2Nite (currently only available in the Carrollwood area) is a subscription-based home delivery gourmet meal service.  On weeknights, subscribers may elect either three or five deliveries per week at the flat cost of $10 per meal (no extra tip, tax or delivery charge).  Dinners are delivered within a time frame of the customer's choosing, still hot and protected in a reusable/returnable insulated bag.  Hellloooo, my beautiful friend...you're as pretty as a Dooney & Bourke (at least at 6:30 on a Monday evening)!

I was a little skeptical at first, semi-expecting something along the lines of a Banquet frozen dinner...but I couldn't have been more wrong.  Everything we've tried has been delicious.  Only fresh meats and veggies are used and a multi-national spin is put on the weekly menu.   If you're a "meat and potatoes" person, you might want to stick to Boston Market.  While the variety of flavors is far from "outre" and still retains a lot of mainstream appeal, you should probably have a fairly adventurous palate as you will receive whatever they're going on a given day (no menu options are available).

Food arrives individually portioned in plastic, lidded tubs (I like to recycle ours and use them as Redneck Tupperware).  Behold the tender, southern-inspired and falling off the bone Maple Glazed Ribs with fresh, sweet buttered corn and a truly amazing old fashioned creamy-yet-tangy potato salad studded with capers (be still my heart!).

While I don't generally think of tilapia as being one of the most exciting pescetarian offerings on the planet, Dine In 2Nite's Coconut Tilapia with apricot dipping sauce, almond rice and a trio of sauteed peppers made me rethink that stance.  It was really, REALLY good.

Sweet and Sticky Chicken was presented in the form of a fat, sweet, marinated chicken quarter served with broccoli florets and sweet potato fries.  Moist and flavorful!

While we've disliked nothing so far, UD's and my veryfavorite (and yes, we actually agreed...such a rare occurrence) meal to date was the Argentinean Style Beef (tender, marinated sliced flank steak topped with chimichurri and served with grilled zucchini and buttered chili-spiced corn).

Of course, there's nothing to stop one from donning an apron, dabbing a little flour on one's brow and plating these beauties.  "Oh, Darling...you're so good to me.  I just felt the need to rush home from work and prepare you the lovely home cooked meal you so richly deserve.  I hope you like Paprikash (I made the dumplings from scratch)...

...or my delicious Mustard Chicken.  I hand-coated this chicken breast in sweet mustard and crusted it with crispy fried onions before baking.  I also roasted potatoes and sauteed some green beans.  I am so exhausted from trying to balance work with taking good care of you.  Did I mention I found a great deal on a trip to Tuscany?"

Be sure to bury the menu card in the very depths of the trash can (better yet, burn it) if you choose to leverage this ploy.

Hopefully, Tampa Bay will have greater access to this service as the company expands because Dine In 2Nite is a wonderful, affordable dinner option for working food-lovers.  Two thumbs up...these guys are amazing!

Dine In 2Nite