URBAN COCINA – Albuquerque, New Mexico
if you believe the idea for delivery food started with Domino’s Pizza and its promise of 30-minute delivery or free, you’d be sadly mistaken. Nor did take-out originate with Chinese restaurants in California and their wire-handled white paper buckets. Both delivery and take-out food predate the fruited plain by several centuries. Take-out had its genesis back in ancient Rome with the creation of the thermopolium, essentially a street kitchen. The thermopolium provided the only opportunity to purchase ready-to-eat food for citizens who couldn’t afford a kitchen of their own. Hot food was stored in big clay pots inserted in a counter and likely served in a manner similar to modern fast foods. On the other side of the globe and…