Dine in or delivery?

Illustration By Mark Stivers

Because I review restaurants, people tend to assume that every night I’m out at some swanky hot spot eating prosciutto and arugula something-or-other. Not so. I love going out, and I also love cooking, but there are nights when the cupboard is nearly bare, and all I want to do is put on my pajamas and exert no effort whatsoever, not even calling a delivery person. And so it comes to pass that on occasion I find myself pulling out a frozen pizza—especially since I tried Trader Joe’s (or rather, Trader Giotto’s, as they’re goofily branded) frozen pizzas. The Margherita variety, with a crisp, almost-charred crust, is actually darned tasty. It also has two key advantages for the exhausted or lazy: It bakes directly on the oven rack, which means no dishes, and it is ready in nine minutes. After it’s out of the oven, you can jazz up the plain cheese topping by adding, say, prosciutto and arugula. Swanky.