Goldbelly Might Hold the Key to Meal Kit Success

Today, a lot has changed in the meal kit business

I grew up going to Katz’s deli on the lower East side of Manhattan. To this day I can picture a huge salami with a sign that suggested you buy one and send it to a friend or loved one in the Army to make their day just a bit better. Perhaps as I think back, Katz’s might just have invented meal kits.

Today a lot has changed in that business and there are thousands of foods that you can order for home delivery. I came across a great column in the New Yorker by Hanna Goldfield who wrote about a new food start up Goldbelly who specializes in more interesting, exotic and hard to get foods – many from high end restaurants in New York City.

She had already used Goldbelly to send gifts from Russ & Daughters (specifically, the “New York Brunch” package, which comes with Nova, bagels, cream cheese, babka, and a pound of coffee) to far-off friends. And then she decided as she holed up during the pandemic to start experimenting for herself.

Among Goldbelly’s offerings are boxes of a dozen Mexican-style popsicles, or paletas, packed in dry ice, from La Newyorkina, a pushcart turned Greenwich Village shop.

Raoul’s, a bistro and celebrity magnet in SoHo that opened in 1975 and is best known, foodwise, for its burger au poivre: a brisket-blend patty encrusted in lightly crushed peppercorns, topped with a wedge of triple-cream Saint André cheese and a handful of salad (watercress, sliced cornichons, and red onion, dressed in vinaigrette), sandwiched in a challah bun, and served with a velvety au-poivre sauce.

For dessert, she ordered pints from Malai, a Southeast Asian-inspired ice-cream shop in Cobble Hill, which dry ice had kept so deep-frozen in transit , the set of four seasonal flavors included buttery star anise and spiced peanut crunch, the latter featuring chikki (a brittle made with ghee and jaggery) and a gentle dose of cayenne.

The list goes on and on, and kudos to Goldbelly to make eating at home just a bit more exciting – prices range from $10 to $249.