Lazy Eating in Lubbock

This is your guide to restaurants that deliver in Lubbock, as well as tips to quick and easy eating when you’re too busy — or maybe just too lazy.

Just finding time to go to the grocery store can sometimes seem like a strenuous task (especially on a Sunday). When your refrigerator is empty, you’re overloaded with homework, or a cold front has swept through Lubbock like it did this week, the last thing you need to worry about is what to do for dinner.

We know that the all-time champion of delivery food is pizza. The first thing you need to do is forget the big corporate pizza chains. Lubbock has a few great options for delicious, authentic Italian pizzas that Domino’s  doesn’t even compare to.

One Guy From Italy is a family-owned restaurant that has been a staple in Lubbock for decades. It offers a variety of traditional Italian dishes, but One Guy is best known for its amazing pizzas and calzones. There are two locations, one on 50th Street that offers the entire menu and will deliver any time of the day. The other is right across from campus on University Avenue, but this location serves up strictly pizza and calzones and only delivers after 5 p.m. The locations are ideal for delivering to students, covering apartments in North Overton, Tech Terrace and beyond.

In competition with One Guy for my favorite pizza in Lubbock is Orlando’s Italian Restaurant. It’s a tad more upscale than One Guy, and the prices reflect it, but the food is absolutely worth it. Orlando’s also has two locations in town, on 24th Street and Avenue Q (close to the North Overton area) and 70th Street and Indiana Avenue. Both will deliver basically anything from their lengthy menu, which includes pizza, Italian specialties, sandwiches, burgers, appetizers and more. Note: the green chile chicken pizza has the ability to change lives.

Green Chile Chicken Pizza from Orlando’s.

For more gourmet pizza, check out Stella’s. It is one of the best and most well-known Italian restaurants in Lubbock, and the restaurant is perfect for date night or a good meal when your parents visit. One of its biggest perks is that you can have it delivered. Like Orlando’s, your delivery options aren’t limited to pizza, and there is a ton of great, authentic Italian dishes to choose from. When it comes to pizza, you can try one of their specialities like the Mediterranean topped with roasted eggplant tapenade, artichokes, caramelized red onions, kalamata olives, and feta cheese, or you can create you own. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

The only feature that these restaurants lack, that the giant pizza chains don’t, is the option of online ordering. Believe me, I realize how inconvenient it can be to have to speak to a real person on the phone, not to mention the tedious task of reading a credit card number out loud. However, for pizza this good, it’s worth the effort. Plus, there are plenty of other ways to avoid a call-in delivery in Lubbock.

In countless movies and TV shows, people order in Chinese food from a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant and sit around eating straight out of one of the many white paper to-go boxes spread around the room. In reality, those places can be a little iffy sometimes. Mama Fu’s, with locations on Quaker Avenue near 19th Street and on 82nd Street, is a prime place for delicious Asian cuisine delivery. The Austin-based restaurant also conveniently offers online ordering from their website. However, Uncle Chien’s Chinese Restaurant delivers and has online ordering on GrubHub. See its reviews on Yelp.

Hub City Wings, located on 34th Street, has teamed up with GrubHub to make delivery possible. However, even though GrubHub is an online ordering-based company, Hub City only has the option for call-in orders. The minimum for a delivery order is $20, so unless you are really, really hungry, team up with a friend or roommate to order dinner. Another option for some quick and easy wings is Wingstop. It doesn’t deliver, but there is an option on the company’s website to online order pick-up food. Note: there are a few different locations in Lubbock, so double check to make sure you’re picking up from the right place, and yes, I say this from experience.

Photo by John Herschell.

Jimmy John’s, the king of delivery, has gotten this whole thing down to an art with “freaky fast” service. One of the most convenient features the sandwich company offers is its app. All you have to do is download the app, make an account, place your order, and enjoy a Turkey Tom only 10 minutes later. You also get the option to save credit card numbers to your account, (sorry, mom) so you don’t have to type in your information every time, which really is a huge time saver.

JJ isn’t the first to come up with the idea of an ordering app. Jason’s Deli, located on South Loop 289, also has an app to order your delivery food. In this case, look to Jason’s Deli when you want some healthier delivery. The menu includes all kinds of sandwiches, soups, baked potatoes, salads and more. Yes, Jason’s Deli will deliver to the Texas Tech area, but there is a $20 minimum. Apparently you can order Schlotzky’s on Snapfinger.com and have it delivered.

According to Snapfinger, River Smiths, J & M Bar B Q, Lite Bite, Doubledaves Pizzaworks, and Quiznos Classic Subs all deliver.

Though it’s not delivery, Chipotle has an app to order from as well. The lines at Chipotle can range from ridiculous to extremely ridiculous, so a trick is to place your order for pick up via the app and skip the line altogether. Go straight up to the cashier and pay for your food — it’s that easy.

While on the topic of long waits, you can also skip the lines at Torchy’s Tacos by calling and and walking straight to the pick-up line.

You can also place orders for pick up via the Panda Express website or app. The app also allows group ordering across multiple devices, and the orders can be paid together or separately. If you order online right now, you can receive a free entree using the “NoLine” promo code. Taco Bell started this new trend of fast-food ordering via an app.

Courtesy of Sarah Self-Walbrick.

Perhaps the most exciting news for delivery seekers has finally come. Starbucks announced last month that it will be offering nationwide delivery services starting next year. The delivery option will be available to loyalty customers and can be ordered and paid for using an app. This announcement is heaven-sent for every non-morning person and java addict out there. My question is, how are on earth are we supposed to wait an entire year!?

Does anyone else have any tips or tricks?