Take Your Thanksgiving Feast To-go
Despite restaurants being open and serving Thanksgiving dinner, it's undeniable that Thanksgiving is a homey holiday often spent around a dining table with family members. So if going out to dinner is not something you'd enjoy and you'd rather dine at home, you can still enjoy a restaurant-caliber meal at home thanks to a bevy of takeout and catering options. Here are a few top picks this year:
Nana: Let Nana do the cooking this year. The family-run restaurant in Bridgeport, renowned for its organic, Latin-tinged cookery, is the perfect option for holiday catering and delivery. On the docket this year, available for home delivery, is individually portioned herb-butter roasted turkey along with choice of four seasonal sides, and choice of dessert. Side options include green bean casserole, truffle roasted fingerling potatoes, poblano cheddar cornbread, and beet-pear-goat cheese salad. For vegetarians, Nana also has an entree option of roasted spaghetti squash with tomato-pepper sauce. Orders must be placed by noon on November 23 and the cost is just $35 per person. Additional orders of sides and desserts can be arranged as well. Call the restaurant to place an order.
Bub City: Smoked turkey and all the fixins are on hand courtesy of Bub City, taking the stress out of Thanksgiving and replacing it with gravy. The barbecue restaurant's Thanksgiving to-go menu offers everything you could crave for the holiday, including a whole smoked turkey, roasted garlic and sage stuffing, choice of potato, gravy, cranberries, and a Thanksgiving pie. The feast is designed to feed up to 10 guests, and it can all be yours for a mere $150. Pre-order by November 25 and pick up the morning of Thanksgiving. Call the restaurant to place orders.
Shaw's Crab House Chicago: You love Shaw's Crab House for its nautical delights, but now you'll love it even more once it saves Turkey Day with its venerable spread of holiday provisions. Available for pickup from the Chicago location on November 25 or 26, the to-go menu includes seafood, sides, and seasonal dishes of all sorts available in half or full sizes, making for the perfect accent to turkey and all those other Thanksgiving essentials. Items include salads like kale and spinach, organic mixed greens, chopped seafood salad, and Caesar salad. For appetizers, Shaw's offers shrimp cocktail, king crab bites, and mini crab cakes. And for sides, there's braised Brussels sprouts, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach, au gratin potatoes, roasted cauliflower, mashed potatoes, and more. Orders must be placed at least 72 hours in advance.
County Barbeque: Another barbecue option for Thanksgiving takeout this year is County Barbeque. The restaurant is offering farm-fresh smoked turkeys to-go, along with sides like giblet gravy, chestnut stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a mixture of Brussels sprouts, carrots, and parsnips. Turkeys are 12-14 pounds, enough to feed 12-16 people, and cost $70 each. Sides are a la cart, at $10 per quart. Orders need to be placed by November 21 and pickups can be made on November 24 and November 25.
Summer House Santa Monica: Let's face it, baking is intimidating. Especially when you've already got enough on your plate when you're tasked with turkey duty. Leave the heavy lifting (i.e. baking) to the pros by placing a dessert order with Summer House Santa Monica. The Lincoln Park restaurant is offering spiced pumpkin chiffon pies to-go. They're $36 per pie, and they're sure to wow your guests. Orders must be placed 24 hours in advance by calling the restaurant or emailing Katie Heika at kheika@leye.com.
- Matt Kirouac