The delights of delivery are well known to most New Yorkers. Mu-shu pork, groceries, dry cleaning, even illegal dried plants intended for smoking can be made to appear with only a phone call. But what about a tailor, a singing chicken, or a cardboard box full of warm cookies? All possible (turn the page to see how). Our favorite is MaxDelivery (maxdelivery.com), a gourmet bodega that can bring to your door, in an hour or less, a cornucopia: curry powder, NyQuil, wine, Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcakes, and all the items pictured here. You can also order DVDs, from G-rated fare to the adult variety. There’s a $10 minimum order and a $2.95 delivery fee. It’s a relatively new service, so the delivery zone is still modest: only addresses below 34th Street on the West Side and below 26th Street on the East Side. There are plans to expand north in 2008.
Wardrobe Fixes
For last-minute clothing repairs, try Bhambi’s Custom Tailors, which can make house calls for same-day repairs ($25 to $35 minimum order; 14 E. 60th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-935-5379).
Veggies for Subscribers
Order home-delivery service from Urban Organic for a weekly drop-off of seasonal produce (onetime $25 membership fee, packages from $24.99, $2 delivery fee outside Manhattan or Brooklyn; urbanorganic.net).
Cookie Monster’s Speed Dial
Insomnia Cookies delivers tasty, fresh-baked peanut-butter-chip, oatmeal-raisin, or double-chocolate-chunk treats to NYU and its environs between 8 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. Quarts of milk are also available (90 cents per cookie, $6 minimum order; 877-632-6654).
Bubbles on Demand
For effervescent cocktails or drinking straight, call Walter Backerman for seltzer delivered in reused glass bottles ($25 for ten 26-ounce bottles; 718-468-4047).
Say It in Song
Have a man in a chicken suit (or one of about 50 other outfits) sing “Happy Birthday” or a more embarrassing number. Same-day service ($99 to $125, depending on costume, by Preppygrams; 212-477-5533).
For Media Cravings
Need a cookbook pronto? Look for it on Barnes & Noble’s Website. Select items (including DVDs, CDs, etc.) should arrive same-day in Manhattan if your order is placed before 11 a.m. ($25 minimum order; barnesandnoble.com).
Outsourced Dog Duties
Biscuits & Bath will groom your pooch and return him home in time for his evening walk. Schedule 24 hours in advance (grooming prices vary by breed, pickup and delivery fee from $22; 41 W. 13th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-419-2500).
Gelato Needed
Summon a pack of four eighteen-ounce cartons of Il Laboratorio del Gelato’s creamy gelato. Order before noon to have your toasted-sesame or honey-lavender gelato in the freezer by the day’s end ($60 plus $10 delivery, 95 Orchard St., nr. Delancey St.; 212-343-9922).
Chic and Speedy
For last-minute dates and other fashion emergencies, order online for same-day delivery of dresses, bags, and accessories by the likes of Alexander McQueen and Phillip Lim. Orders placed by noon arrive before 6 p.m. in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Queens ($25 delivery fee; net-a-porter.com).
Never Get Locked Out
For an annual fee, NewYourKey will keep secure a spare set of your apartment keys and dispatch them to you anywhere in the city, anytime, when you provide the predetermined password ($30 annual fee plus $20 per delivery; newyourkey.com).