It’s evening. You’re tired and hungry. The refrigerator is as barren as a desert. The stove beckons as invitingly as the north face of Mount Everest. Just do it: Pick up the phone. Take a walk. All right, get in the car. It’s time for takeout.

We asked 10 Portlanders which takeout dishes around town get their mouths watering and their soul singing with the pleasures of not cooking. Tell us what does the job for you at facebook.com/portlandmonthly to win an edible prize.

Dante Cunningham

Forward for the Portland Trail Blazers

I usually go to P.F. Chang’s. I’m there a lot. I go for pan-fried shrimp dumplings with crispy honey-glazed shrimp. And then after the game, sometimes it’s just Applebee’s. Hmm, I might head that way right now.

Janie Hibler

Cookbook Author

Their crust is perfect: not too thin, not too thick. Our usual is the Real Deal with extra sausage and fresh tomatoes. When it gets here, if I have it on hand, I top the pie with fresh arugula seasoned with a little bit of sea salt and lemon juice. That’s a great secret I learned from Nostrana.

Kaie Wellman

Publisher of Eat.Shop Guides

It’s a bit of a mix between Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines. My husband, child, and I always get one of two things: the pork spareribs in clay pot or the duck with taro root. And then we always have to get the salt-and-pepper calamari. Unfortunately, I can’t eat walnuts, but the word on the street…Sandy Boulevard, that is…is that the glazed walnut and shrimp in special creamy sauce is mind-bogglingly delicious.

Westin Glass

Drummer for the Thermals

They’re up there in the top five Ethiopian restaurants I’ve experienced, and by far the most affordable. We did more tours last year than I can count, and I made it my personal tradition to go to Dalo’s for my first meal every time we got home. I always get the same thing—the large vegetarian combo—it’s delicious, healthy, and cheaper than cooking a meal for myself. Awesome!

Emily Crumpacker

Director of Event and Catering Sales, Portland Art Museum

You can take in any dish, no matter how fancy, and they’ll fill it with one of their casseroles. The Chicken Artichoke is fabulous. If you don’t want to open the door for your guests with a bead of sweat on your upper lip, it’s nice to still be able to say: “Yeah, that’s my casserole … dish!”

Sarah Hart

Owner of Alma Chocolate

The corn, balsamic onion, and smoked mozzarella pizza and the beet salad (which is just greens, roasted beets, blue cheese, and walnuts) is just huge and satisfying. The owners have the cutest baby (always an incentive to stop by). Their chocolate chip cookies are a-ma-zing.

Naomi Pomeroy

Chef at Beast

I get a rotisserie chicken every evening. Maybe get some tortillas and salsa and do Mexican rotisserie chicken, or some rice and some broccoli and do Asian rotisserie chicken. It’s perfect with a side of steamed broccoli with Best Foods mayo on it. It’s a goddamn roasted chicken! 

Bette Sinclair

B. Sinclair Public Relations

I like to entertain, but sometimes I need a little help from my friends. This soup is an irresistibly tasty main course that I enhance with a can of high-quality cannellini beans, mushrooms, black beans, fennel seeds, white pepper, chile flakes, and a generous dusting of parmesan cheese on top. It’s a winter one-dish meal that gets raves from my guests.

Drew Carney

KGW reporter

I eat their burritos out of a foil wrapper usually, but it sure feels like a full meal when I’m done. I’d say the last two bites are extras. The taste is terrific—the beef is so flavorful and juicy, and the corn salsa is the best salsa of any kind, anywhere.

Johnna Wells

Auctioneer, Benefit Auctions 360

This little dive bar–looking place on SE Belmont Street is my all-time favorite place for takeout. There are other good Thai restaurants in Portland, but this is by far the safest bet in town. My usual is number 91: pad Thai with shrimp, medium spicy. The gal who runs it knows me on sight and always tries to convince me to get the drunken noodles instead. I never do—the pad Thai is just too good.