As the weather continues to be glorious here in New York, SeamlessWeb users are placing more and more pick up orders every week. Wouldn't you want to take advantage of a sunny day by skipping the line at your local deli and grabbing a table at Bryant Park, all without having to take out any cash from your wallet? Or maybe you would prefer to take an evening stroll and bring some Chinese food back to the comfort of your living room? Pick up ordering on SeamlessWeb allows you to do all these things and more!

SeamlessWeb now offers pick up in more than 200 locations across Murray Hill and Midtown, and we are adding on more restaurants as quickly as we can. We're really excited to see how well you all have responded to our new service and we would love to hear what you have to say about it.

If you have used the pick up service, please take this short survey and look for more pick up options in your neighborhood soon!

Let us count the ways:

1. You love us because you can order in East Harlem.
2. You love us because you can order in Los Angeles.
3. You love us because you can order from home.
4. You love us because we have vegetarian food.
5. You love us because we also have meat.
6. You love us because you don't have to talk on the phone!

As far as I can tell, that's a whole lotta love.

I would guess that if you have made it this far, you know what Facebook is. Furthermore, if you have come to this specific blog, you probably know that it's possible to order delivery and take out food online. Given this information, I sincerely hope that most of you have become fans of SeamlessWeb on Facebook, but if not, you simply must do so right away so that you have a chance to become a winner of a free iPod AND free food!

Now that we have all that taken care of, you might be interested to hear about how Facebook ads are changing. In the recent months, things have gotten to point where if you type certain words somewhere in your status or profile, you've got a good chance of seeing an ad for SeamlessWeb on the side of your screen. Try it out for yourself and see if pizza or chinese food gets you the right ads (if that doesn't work, just type "I Love SeamlessWeb" a few times instead). This is a great feature, but it still keeps some distance between users and advertisers. This is where Facebook Engagement Ads come in. Part of an increasingly interactive user experience, these ads can be commented on and shared with friends. This way, users will have a  more intimate and satisfying relationship with each brand that does a good job with this new technology. It's an exciting time in advertising and with landscape changing so rapidly, we look forward to getting closer to you, our users.

Any suggestions for what you would like to see either here or on our Facebook page? Let us know in the comments!

We've spent another week here at SeamlessWeb giving you even more great restaurants to order food from. Here's a sampling of some of our newest vendors:

• Good Health Cafe - 1435 1st Avenue NYC
• Food World - 20 East 46th Street NYC
• Soho Grill - 224 Lafayette Street NYC
• Toyama Sushi - 11 West 36th Street NYC
• Giuliano's - 88 Broad Street NYC

Bon appetit!

As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, the idea of online food delivery has been spreading around the world. In that post, we looked at India and China, while in this post, courtesy of the information in this article, we will discuss the United Arab Emirates (think Dubai), Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.

The good news in this region of the world is that there is an increasingly high level of internet penetration and that level is only getting higher. Furthermore, there are a number of savvy entrepreneurs who realize that online ordering is the wave of the future, so web sites such as otlob and brownbag are already up and running. The bad news is that people in this region of the world are still hesitant to spend money online. Whether it is due to natural conservative tendencies, a lack of trust in e-commerce platforms, or simply a lack of awareness about the online ordering options, people are not spending as much as they could or should.

What's interesting about this for SeamlessWeb is that we deal with some of the very same issues that these other web sites are facing around the world. We know that we have a great product that people should want to use (and that tons of people do use), but in some cases, we fall victim to the same afflictions that prevent people from using the other sites. Basically, some people are afraid of or not accustomed to ordering online or they have never heard of us.

We are confident, however, that this is going to change. So we look to you, our users and readers, to spread the word. Tell a friend about SeamlessWeb, ask for a t-shirt, or write a blog post about us because every effort makes a difference. Let us know if you have any more suggestions to improve the site and get more people ordering online!

Just about one month ago, a Los Angeles City Council committee voted to ban all new construction of fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles for one year. Now, in a similar manner, the San Jose City Council is proposing a comparable citywide moratorium, as a move toward healthier living spreads across the country (or at least up the Interstate in California).

These fast food bans have their heart in the right place, trying to address the growing obesity epidemic, among other problems, but I do not believe that they are attacking these problems in the right way. Fast food restaurants are an extremely broad group, providing a wide variety of dining options for people who do not always have the time, money, or interest in eating a sit-down meal. They have a legitimate place in the market. A long-term version of this ban would have adverse effects by limiting peoples' dining options and also preventing the organic growth of healthier alternative fast food restaurants (as demand increased).

At SeamlessWeb, we partner with many "fast food" restaurants that are devoted to healthy living and eating (e.g. The Pump Energy Food and Energy Kitchen), and they are some of our most successful vendors, proving that there is a market for these restaurants if they are just given an opportunity!

Last month we launched a new Facebook page and with it, we began a contest in which 5 lucky Fans of the SeamlessWeb page would each win a new iPhone.

As it turns out, there were some snags in the iPhone plan (namely that you can't buy an iPhone without activating it on the spot, which we cannot do for our winners), but that has not deterred us, as we are offering our winners iPod Nanos and free SeamlessWeb food discounts (of comparable value). This way the winners won't even be tempted to order over the phone. On that note, we are happy to announce our first 2 winners, Lori Farber and Robert George. Congratulations and thanks for being Fans of SeamlessWeb!

There are still 3 prizes remaining so be sure to become a Fan of the page and put your name in contention for the great prizes that await the winners!

Every person has a favorite local delivery place, be it for pizza, Chinese food, or any other type of meal. This is all well and good, but what happens when people move? They can find new restaurants in their new neighborhoods or new cities (checking out SeamlessWeb is a good start for this by the way...), or they can hope that their local place decides to get creative.

For fans of Mineo's Pizza House, a Pittsburgh-based pizza joint, this is exactly what happened. Realizing the love that his customers had for Mineo's pizza, owner Giovanni Mineo came up with an innovative idea and decided to start shipping pizzas everywhere! Using FedEx, Mineo's ships half-baked, frozen pizzas overnight to anywhere in the world, and Pittsburgh natives (and pizza lovers) from California to Florida and beyond are loving it.

Wanna test out Mineo's for yourself? Try it out here. Let us know in the comments if you'd like to see restaurants like this on SeamlessWeb.

It's been another exciting week here, so enjoy the weekend and order from some of our newest vendors across the country:

• Panificio - 175 Avenue B NYC
• Sophie's Cuban Cuisine - 141 Fulton St. NYC
• Roc (Dinner) - 190 Duane St. NYC
• Chaat Cafe Express - 50 Post St. SAN FRAN
• Mikado Sushi - 952 South Broadway LOS ANGELES
  
• Gino's East - 633 N. Wells St. CHICAGO
  

• Date Announced for 2008 Vendy Awards [Midtown Lunch]
• Twittering of Restaurant Reviews Becoming More Common [Jaunted]
• Interns Needed at Serious Eats [Serious Eats]
• New iPhone Dining Application [Gothamist]
  

Just in: new street team photos!

No one likes to wait in line, especially not at a fast food restaurant such as Burger King or McDonald's. The expectation is one of speed and efficiency in all phases of the meal. This is why the most forward-thinking of these restaurants have turned to technology and information to increase customer satisfaction.

One example of this is the use of business intelligence software. This article about technology in New Zealand shows how fast food restaurants are analyzing their practices more closely and really crunching the numbers in order to cut costs, increase revenue, and improve the customer experience. These are large-scale businesses, but this kind of analysis can be useful for any restaurant willing to make the effort.

The article concludes with a brief discussion of the advantages of online services to both companies and consumers in the form of customer satisfaction and environmental benefits. Remember how true this is next time you order from a perfectly up-to-date online menu (no messy kitchen menu drawers here) on SeamlessWeb!

Good news readers. Remember those totally cool t-shirts we gave away in April? Jealous of all your friends who have been sporting this hip summer attire for months? Here's your chance to join them and show off your love for all things Seamless. Just be one of the first 50 people to e-mail us at MySeamlessWeb@seamlessweb.com and a t-shirt will be yours!

Please include your mailing address and the t-shirt size you would like in your e-mail. Thanks.

Update (8/14): People are snatching these t-shirts up quickly, but we still have some left in this batch, so e-mail us right away and you should still get one!

The more observant of you have noticed that I, Mr. Rich, have started contributing to the SeamlessWeb Blog (don't worry, Matt is still here too).  The less observant of you just read the first sentence and then scrolled down to check the last few posts. A couple of initial orders of business:

• I want to make this blog your destination for information and updates on the world of SeamlessWeb and of takeout and delivery food in general. As with our site, we expect the best ideas to come from our users/readers, so please email me your thoughts on how we can make this page better and more useful. What can we do to give you more insight into SeamlessWeb? Thanks!

• On a quick programming note, please notice the del.i.cio.us bookmarks in the sidebar. This is where we will be posting links to relevant articles going forward.

SeamlessWeb is all over the blogosphere these days. People with all sorts of interests are discovering that SeamlessWeb is the BEST way to order delivery (and now take out) food from your home or office. And they are telling all their friends:

• Marketing experts love us!
• Basketball fans and baseball men just can't get enough.
• Menu drawers are being eliminated.
  
• Food bloggers are discovering new options and spreading the love.
• SeamlessWeb is Kosher
• Yuppies are eating too
  
• Even Crain's understands that ordering food online is the only way to roll.

Thanks for the love everyone!

India: Inspired by SeamlessWeb.com, four IIT-Delhi students and alumni have started a site called Foodiebay.com, listing more than 1200 restaurants across a variety of cuisines and neighborhoods. You cannot yet order food for delivery on the site, but you can do just about everything else.

China: Pizza delivery has simply taken off in China. A relatively new concept in the country, it has been expanding rapidly as Chinese workers have become busier and the Chinese public has become more consumer-oriented. The main forces in the market (Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's) are very familiar to American diners, and once they establish a delivery culture, there's no telling how large the market could become in the world's most populous nation.

Have any other information about the growth of the delivery and take out markets around the world? Let us know in the comments section!

Update (8/25): Find out more about Foodiebay here.

Until recently, most restaurants would have answered the question in the title of this post with a resounding "No." Breakfast was considered an afterthought, a niche market for a small selection of dedicated vendors. These days, however, things are different. Breakfast has taken on a new importance, becoming one of the key growth areas for many fast-food chains. By offering convenience, speed, and low prices, these chains have seen demand rise quickly to the point that McDonald's now calls its breakfast business the company's "fastest growing segment."

Given this level of competition and the number of new players in the breakfast market, Denny's, a longtime breakfast specialist, has decided to revamp its own offerings. The focus of the changes is a take out program called B-FST 2GO, which provides customers with food in special Denny's Dome packaging. This new proprietary packaging keeps all food hot and fresh for up to thirty minutes, encouraging more people to purchase Denny's signature Grand Slam breakfast and take it with them. Denny's has come up with an innovative solution to a common problem and seen an increase in orders because of it! As people continue to look for new ways to save money, we are sure to see more creative methods of food delivery and packaging.

In the comments section, let us know what kind of innovations you might like to see from SeamlessWeb partner restaurants and let us know if you have started ordering breakfast more frequently too!

Have you ever ordered delivery food and wished that it were cooked just a little closer to your specifications? Do you ever pick up food from your local favorite restaurant and hope that it doesn't get cold on the walk home? These are definitely common concerns that need innovative solutions. This is why the premium Asian restaurant XO has started the service XO to GO in London.

Offering a wide variety of dishes from the XO menu, XO to GO delivers them (or offers them for take away) in special sealed packages, each with specific instructions on how to cook it properly. This way you get the high quality ingredients and preparation that come with restaurant food, but you get to eat it exactly the way you want it in the comfort of your own home or office. Check out this review of the experience at Londonist and let us know what you think of this idea in the comments section!

• Metro Marche - 625 8th Ave. NYC
  
• Chai Yo - 1331 Polk St. SAN FRAN
  
• Mezza Luna - 1140 19th St NW WASHINGTON
  
• Laut - 15 East 17th St. NYC
  
• Alex Pizza & Grill - 1252 Washington St BOSTON
  
• Darbar - 1412 Polk St. SAN FRAN
  

Saw this over on Eater.  Blast from the past... Burger Time