We may be emerging from the confines of COVID, but there are still plenty of seniors (aged 50 and over) plus their caregivers and dependents that are still not ready to venture out to restaurants.
Age Well Senior Services and Meals on Wheels Orange County have come up with a solution: Senior Cuisine Delivered, an affordable and convenient way for older adults to enjoy a restaurant-quality meal at home.
Age Well offers the service to nearly two dozen South County cities (which includes Newport Beach, Newport Coast, Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach), while Meals on Wheels OC will serve residents in Central and North Orange County.
Senior Cuisine Delivered provides healthy, fresh entrees at $9.95 per meal, with no extra fees or delivery charges. Participants can choose two, four, or six-day meal plans featuring lunches and dinners.
South OC restaurants participating in Senior Cuisine Delivered include Asian Kitchen, Bagels & Brew, Blue Stone Kitchen, Famous Dave’s, Greenlife Fit Foods, Jewish Community Services, Jolanda’s Café & Catering, Metate Azul, Panera Bread, and Zest in a Bowl.
These are restaurants and caterers who have curated their menus to appeal to seniors who may desire anything from simple cuisine to more adventurous fare.
The concept is simple—go on the Senior Cuisine Delivered website, browse the restaurants and menus, select the one that best pleases your palate, and set up the meal plan that works for you.
Senior Cuisine Delivered offered to let me sample their service and see what I thought of the meals, so after examining the various menus, I settled on Zest in a Bowl. Their variety of cuisine – grain bowls, savory rice bowls, and salad bowls plus dishes like miso-glazed salmon and BBQ spare ribs – sounded perfect.
All told, Zest delivered eight different meals, some of which I used for dinner and others I took with me for lunch at my office.
Among the delectable dishes: garlic chicken wings, Mediterranean chicken, coconut shrimp with mango dipping sauce, chicken marsala, shrimp with kaffir lime bowl, Hawaiian BBQ spare ribs, and wine-braised wagyu beef. All entrees were accompanied by various sides, from herbed baby potatoes to roasted cauliflower or garlic broccoli.
All meals came in sturdy containers (which I have since reused several times) and proved to be substantial portions so I was suitably satisfied after consuming each meal.
All dishes and sides were perfectly prepared with a variety of flavors and spices that complimented each dish. I think there was one steak dish I did not care for, but then I’m not a big steak person so if I was to order on a regular basis, I’d have them skip the meat in favor of more seafood.
Seniors or their families and caregivers in South OC can peruse menus and enroll online at https://agewellseniorservices.org/senior-cuisine-delivered/. Right now, they are offering $20 off the first four weeks of meal deliveries.
