Popular Oregon District restaurant serving at-home meal kits

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

With more families opting to eat at home during the pandemic, one Dayton restaurant is serving up meal kits to prepare at home that offer the best of both worlds.

Lily’s Dayton meal kits cost $22 each and include two hearty portions that will easily feed two people, according to Emily Mendenhall, Lily’s Dayton owner. People can order online at https://www.lilysdayton.com/meal-kits.

Lily’s just announced an “easy peasy, extra tasty” shepherd’s pie as its next meal kit.

“Additionally, we heard our vegetarian friends, so we have either the brisket shepherd’s pie with hearty stew, jalapeño mashed potatoes, white cheddar and crusty baguette, as well as a winter vegetable shepherd’s pie also with jalapeño mashed potatoes, white cheddar, and toasty bread,” Lily’s announced to its Facebook Monday.

The chefs at Lily’s did all the heavy lifting, so customers only need to purchase by Wednesday and select your pick up between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday. Purchases can be made at https://www.lilysdayton.com/meal-kits.

We keep saying “it’s Pie Week here at Lily’s” because for this week’s semi-homemade meal, we are going to set you up...

Posted by Lily's Dayton on Monday, November 2, 2020

The restaurant’s first kit was a pappardelle pasta nest in pumpkin alfredo with Ohio cider glazed pulled pork, brown butter sautéed squash, fried sage, and pecorino cheese.

The plan is to change the meal kit offering at least once a month, but most likely twice a month. Two meal kits are in the works for November.

“We’re kind of feeling out,” Mendenhall said. “We want to make sure we have like a really good recipe that’s been tested.”

When putting together the meal kit, people at home will follow along with Lily’s Chef Don through a video. Mendenhall said it was a lot of fun putting together the first video.

“One thing I think that our executive chef likes is that kind of being a teacher aspect of being a chef, and being able to do that for customers,” Mendenhall said. … “Like yeah, I’ve made brown butter before but it’s still cool you’re hearing how to do it from a chef.”

If dining-in, the meal would cost $16, but people can prepare the pasta at home with chef-written tips and video instructions for $11 per person instead.

“I think it’s a cool thing for folks who are at home to be doing something different,” Mendenhall said. “Biggest of all is it’s a play on all the meal kits out there that I think are pretty popular. This way, they can have that meal kit experience and be supporting a local business and the community.”

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