Is takeout dying? The middle ground between the cost of eating out and cooking is disappearing

My house used to have Thai Tuesday.

We’d order takeout from our favorite local spot, happily trading time at the stove and a sink full of dishes for curries and noodles that arrived hot and delicious. At a little more than $10 a plate, it felt like a splurge — but a manageable one. An easy-to-rationalize indulgence on a random weeknight when everyone was tired and hungry, and no one wanted to talk about quinoa.

Thirteen-dollar meals times four people adds up to nearly $60 for a family's fast-food burgers and fries.