We've never met a delivery man we don't like. It's totally Pavlovian. The sound of the doorbell signifies that dinner has arrived — and now it's time to eat. Of course, Lena Dunham knows what we're talking about. In a recent
New Yorker
essay titled, "Deliverance," Dunham gives us a personal account of her preference for takeout over home cooking.
You see, growing up in Manhattan, the Girls creator connected the doorbell with mealtime, too. She starts the piece with a humorous anecdote from when she was just four, "I am playing in a corner when the buzzer rings (another guest has arrived) and I cry out, 'Dinner’s here!'" Instead, it's just her mom's friend (and, perhaps, a clue that the kitchen was likely underused). Dunham goes on to explain exactly why NYC delivery is so desirable: "There is something so comforting, so magical, about the meal simply arriving, already smelling like itself, laid out like a road map to satisfaction. I want dinner to be perfect every single day." Indeed, when you know exactly how a dish will taste (because you've ordered it every night for the past week) it's not likely you'll be disappointed.
When a family friend, known for her home cooking passed away, though, Dunham's view on eating takeout changed — or at least she takes time to reconsider it. Her mother focuses more on cooking, her sister makes large, indecipherable dishes that could "feed an army," and Lena, well, enjoys it all. You can read the entire touching account in the November 4 issue of
The New Yorker
.
Photo: Courtesy of Miu Miu.