If turning to food for comfort is wrong, then I don't care much to be right.

And right now, amidst a global pandemic, with no return to the office, an outing with friends, or anything requiring fitted clothing anywhere in sight, I’m going to take all the comfort I can get. Quarantine has nothing on my collection of leggings and oversized sweatshirts. I’ve been shopping for a stay at home order for what feels like my entire life.

Few things (CBD, Bravo TV, online shopping and sleep) can heal a crying heart like a carb-loaded meal, a carton of ice cream or tequila. Send me a DM if you need suggestions on any of the mentioned alternatives but for the sake of this post, we’ll keep it to calorie intake only.

And guess what- just like you need them, your local restaurants need you too. Has anyone else had that daunting thought of, “Which of my favorite restaurants could I have eaten at for the last time and I just don’t know it yet?” Unfortunately, that’s a scary but very real possibility. So eat up while elastic waists are the norm, and if your favorite isn’t open for takeout, call/email/Facebook message to ask if they’re selling gift cards or have any other options to support.

Check out these favorites:

Ledger Restaurant, Salem, MA:

We’ll keep the write-up of their weekend Hip Hop brunches for a time when we can all appreciate it, but in the meantime check out their “Ledger Basket” marketplace. Sharing a daily flyer online, Ledger is offering not only cooked meals for takeout but raw and cold ingredients to cook at home, basic dairy and baked fresh bread, marinated meats and even desserts! They’re also offering TP for $2.50/roll and other household items while supplies last. Perhaps the very best trend right now, in my opinion, they are selling cocktail mixes to-go, too. Shane’s brunch fav is No Sleep til Brooklyn.

Pushcart Restaurant, Saugus, MA:

What is better than a chicken cutlet? Anything? I’ll wait. What about curbside chicken parm to take home and furiously eat in the privacy and comfort of your own home (and sweatpants). I always have to think twice about what I’m going to wear going out to dinner at the Pushcart because if it’s anything too tight then I will literally be unbuttoning before I even get to the cannolis. Saugus is centrally located to many of you, so next time you need a night off from cooking and are looking for a hearty homecooked meal, please consider supporting my favorite family-owned Italian restaurant on the North Shore! Just give the Pushcart a call to order ahead and my sweet little Joie will bring your hot food right out to your car for you.

Lone Star Taco, Cambridge and Allston, MA, and Deep Ellum, Allston, MA:

Anyone else seeing the resurgence of Taco Tuesday during the quarantine? Is it the added spice, or the tequila? I’m not sure but they’re certainly better together. Not only are these two restaurants known for their artisanal food and crafty cocktails (BOTH available for takeout btw!) but they are even more-so known for their close-knit family of employees. Someone told me at the beginning of this to pay close attention to the companies that take care of their own throughout a crisis, and to remember them when it’s finally behind us. Well that sentiment couldn’t ring truer here, and the Lone Star/Deep Ellum crew is definitely one to appreciate during and after COVID-19. When the quarantine first hit, this company of just over 100 employees made the hard decision to close their Deep Ellum location, but made the easier decision to instead use what food they had to make meals for their staff and to send home raw ingredients to feed their families too. Tip money made through the first two weeks was pooled together and split evenly across all employees, with an extra kick back to BOH workers that wouldn’t be able to collect unemployment benefits. Both Lone Star Taco locations and the now-reopened Deep Ellum are offering a variety of takeout options (to-go Brunch anyone?) so please give this FAMILY a call. Make sure to order your street tacos with a margarita or cocktail mix on the side and throw some extra cash in the tip jar while you’re at it. Craft beer from a handful of favorite local breweries and wine(!) are also available to-go. Gift cards can be ordered online if you aren’t in the area.

Flip the Bird, Beverly, MA:

I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to FLIP THE BIRD to anyone or anything harder than I do to the Coronavirus right now. This cleverly named hot spot will celebrate their one year anniversary next week and before the stay at home advisory went into effect in March, they had never even listed a phone number to call ahead because they are THAT cool. Now, obviously joining the times, they are offering online ordering via a flashy new website and I’m not sure how long their phone number will remain public (or even hooked up) but save it to your contacts while you can. Starting as a small lunch café on Rantoul Street and then in the Cummings Center, they offered their “OG” fried chicken sandwich on Fridays only and with a line wrapping the industrial park (probably), they ultimately decided to take this hit and open a restaurant in downtown Beverly dedicated to it. Offering several chicken sandwich styles and sauces, ribs and other sides, Flip the Bird was always jam packed (before social distancing) and is continuing to feed the masses via takeout- but wear a mask or you won’t be let in! Their truffle ketchup is the best ever known to a french fry, and it takes ten minutes to make one of their homemade milkshakes but it’s worth every bit of the wait... even if the girl behind the counter might hate you because she will break a sweat scooping and mixing it.

Kowloon, Saugus, MA:

Have you seen the line going alongside Rt 1 north lately? The right answer is no, of course you haven’t, because you’ve stayed home. But if you were on an essential trip out of the house and happened to pass by, it’s just the kids lined up for their Scorpion Bowl and Mai Tai mix. Just add (a few) alcohol(s), and it’s like you’re right there kicking it back with Andy Wong himself. Get some Saugus wings and fried rice while you’re at it.

And for my Beverly friends, the answer is YES, Acapulcos HOLDS UP when ordering it to-go. Also available on Uber eats, we were ordering it delivery to our house (in Salem!) more times than I’m willing to admit, long before this virus was ever even a rumbling in Donny’s ear… which was a very long time ago.

Eat up my friends! It’s bulking season, continued.