ToGo626 delivery service: No more waiting in line at Szechuan Impression!

Of the many, many food delivery services that launched this year, there was perhaps none more exciting than ToGo626, which started up a few months ago. Exciting, at least, for those of us who have always wished for a service that would deliver food from restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley (hence 626, which is the area code there), because that’s exactly what ToGo626 does: It is to SGV eateries as Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki was to the bakery. Except for the broomstick, anyway.

ToGo626 delivers from quite a few terrific spots in the San Gabriel Valley: there’s 101 Noodle Express, say, for all your sudden beef roll cravings. Should you desire a plate of Hainan chicken rice delivered to your office for lunch, you can order it from Savoy. Or if you want some fine Sichuan food and don’t want to wait in line (or pay someone to wait in line for you), your ToGo626 delivery options include Lucky Noodle King, Chengdu Taste, Szechuan Impression and Fang’s Kitchen.

For its infinitely useful services, ToGo626 charges a delivery fee, which for a limited time is $2.99 for the first three miles, then $0.99 per mile for up to 20 miles (after 20 miles, it’s $1.49 per mile). There’s no minimum order, so if you really, really just wanted boba from Class 302, you could have just that.

For research purposes, of course, we decided to give ToGo626 a go. The website’s ordering process was simple: We plugged in our address, picked from a list of restaurants available for delivery (we chose Szechuan Impression), added a few dishes to our cart and put in our payment information. You can add a tip before you submit your order, or tip the driver in cash when she or he arrives.

About 45 minutes later, our fried rice, Classic Potato Strips on Street Corner and Leg-Crossingly Yum Beef Soup arrived. Everything was still hot; improbably, even the potatoes retained a crisp. And it really needs not be said, but the dishes themselves were fantastic, with plenty left over for breakfast.

We’d surely order from ToGo626 on most any night again. Like, say, on New Year’s Day, as ToGo626 (and much of the San Gabriel Valley) will be open for business per usual. Happy, happy new year, indeed.