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Tags: delivery | dining | take-away

I miss having lunch delivered to me on a rainy Sunday spent in bed watching movies after a crazy Saturday night.

I love going out to eat as well as cooking at home, but there are times I don't want to eat in a loud, crowded restaurant and am just too lazy to make my own damn meal.But getting take-out in Prague isn't all that easy - or so I thought. It's not the concept that some restaurants are averse to, it's just purchasing the containers needed to put the food in.

I see locals everyday walking the streets eating sandwiches, so I know they understand the concept, and if I weren't a vegetarian, I'd be eating cold cut sandwiches with the best of them.

If you look hard enough, you can actually get a wide variety of take-out and delivery in this town. Of course, your results will vary drastically if you do or don't speak Czech.The only restaurant I know of that serves Thai food is Orange Moon and they are happy to pack it to go for you. If you are a serious Thai fan, you may be slightly disappointed, but once you're here long enough, it's greatly appreciated.

Indian food travels great in a container so I checked out Cafe Bombay and they too will pack it up for you for no additional charge, and if you don't mind paying the cab fare, they'll send it right over to your house. Encouraging. With this inspiration I decided to call Bazaar Mediterrane and see what they would do. They hung up on me immediately. Ok, fine, there are other places.

Jewel of India will box it up at no additional charge and they have a delivery service. However, they ask that you call the service rather than them. Peking, my favorite Chinese joint, will pack it to go, but not deliver it. But China Restaurant will. I think we're making progress.

Moving on to pizza. Casa Mia will put it in a box for an extra 10 Kč, but not deliver it. Cicala doesn't deliver, and doesn't have take-out unless you bring them your own plate. This was by far the sweetest attempt at co-operation I found. I may have to bring them a plate from my house just for the experience.

Don Giovanni started out helpful, but then turned rude and hung up on me as well. Pizza Coloseum will make it to go without charging you for the box, but has no delivery. Pizza West delivers to your door for an extra 100Kc.

Expensive considering most pizzas are only about 70-90 Kč to start with. Pizza Grosseto, my favorite, doesn't deliver, but you can get that wonderful box for a mere 19Kc. And finally: Pizza Hut. Besides Domino's in the States, it's the grand daddy of pizza delivery. And they do deliver, but only if you're within 5 minutes of their restaurant, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Things are changing, though. With http://www.rozvozjidel.cz you can order from one of their partner restaurants and they'll deliver it to you for a fee, with a minimum order of 300 Kč and a maximum delivery fee of 340 Kč. Ah, the price of luxury. Well worth it considering the restaurants include Chez Marcel and Radost FX. Rozvozjidel will also deliver sodas, juice and Pilsner Urquell - something I could never get back home.

Compared to New York City, where you can have anything delivered at pretty much any hour, Prague is still behind. But compared to Los Angeles, a city known for its car culture, I'd say Prague is in the running for its selection and availability of delivery. Cau-Cau.