Takeout and delivery promise to be a significant factor this pandemic Thanksgiving, with countless restaurants, caterers, mail-order companies and grocery stores offering holiday fare. Many are even open for pickup on Thanksgiving Day. Most of the menus skew traditional, but there are offbeat choices, like Socarrat’s turkey paella (above) and pizza from Public Display of Affection in Brooklyn. (If you’re trendspotting, confit — turkey and chicken — is having a moment.) Some restaurants and major caterers have packages for just one or two. Here’s a selection of complete dinners, including vegetarian and vegan options.
Baar Baar
Dinner for one or two? The package here amounts to Thanksgiving in one dish: a generous round of tandoor-baked kulcha, filled and topped with masala-seasoned turkey, cranberry chutney, truffles and Manchego cheese, $15, for pickup or delivery (various platforms) from Nov. 26 through 29.
13 East First Street (Bowery), 212-228-1200, baarbaarnyc.com.
Bar Marseille
This new beachside restaurant has a typical holiday menu, serving four to six for $300, and eight to 10 for $450. Order by Monday for pickup on Nov. 25.
190 Beach 69th Street (Rockaway Beach Boulevard), Arverne by the Sea, Rockaway, Queens, 718-513-2474, barmarseille.com.
Blue Smoke
Smoked turkey breast with biscuit dressing is the centerpiece of a $120 dinner for four, $148 with a pie. Order by Monday for pickup on Nov. 24, 25 or 26; by Saturday for Goldbelly nationwide.
Battery Park City, 255 Vesey Street (West Street), 212-889-2005, bluesmoke.com, goldbelly.com.
Public Display of Affection
Does there have to be turkey? And must pie be relegated to dessert? Here, $150 buys a dinner for four to six that includes confit chicken pie (available without chicken for vegetarians), a pizza (again, pie), sides, pumpkin spice latte pie and a bottle of sparkling wine to order by Monday for pickup on Nov. 25.
669 Union Street (Fourth Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-635-1678, pdapizza.com.
Great Performances
This catering company, based in the Bronx, has a traditional menu, $60 per person with a minimum of four. Sage-roasted delicata squash is a main course option for vegans. Order by Sunday. It is available for pickup in the Bronx, Hudson Valley and the Hamptons, and for delivery throughout the region.
17 Canal Place (East 140th Street), Mott Haven, Bronx, 212-727-2424, greatperformances.com.
Houseman at Home
Confit turkey legs and roasted breast with a turkey crackling salad are front and center on a menu that includes ample vegetable sides and starters, $60 per person. Order by Thursday for pickup on Nov. 25 in Manhattan and in Orient Village, N.Y.
508 Greenwich Street (Spring Street), 917-641-0654, housemanrestaurant.com.
Jean-Georges Restaurants
This restaurant group is making it easy. An elaborate, traditional dinner to serve six to eight is available for pickup at pre-booked times on Nov. 26 at a number of its establishments, including ABC Kitchen and the Fulton, $588. Order by Nov. 20.
Kimika
Japanese and Italian touches inform the Thanksgiving menu at this fairly new spot, which features both cuisines. The chef Christine Lau is preparing turchetta or porchetta, accompanied by dishes like seaweed focaccia, seasonal Japanese pickles, carrots with sesame ponzu, rice cake lasagna with sausage and kimchi, and a warm apple crostata with kabocha ice cream mochi and a ginger-miso caramel. The meals, $395, serve four to six, and orders can be placed through Saturday for pickup on Nov. 24 and 25.
40 Kenmare Street (Elizabeth Street), 212-256-9280, kimikanyc.com. (check: 973-747-8634)
Olivia Cooks for You
A Thanksgiving for two, $65 per person, with turkey, beef tenderloin or vegetarian squash lasagna as the centerpiece, is available from this Brooklyn-based caterer. Delivery is available to both Brooklyn and Manhattan, $125 minimum, plus a $20 fee. À la carte options are also available. Order by Saturday for delivery on Nov. 25.
oliviacooksforyou.com/special-events.
The Polo Bar at Home
Polish the heirloom silver. Tradition reigns, as you might expect from Ralph Lauren at Home. From free-range turkey with Calvados gravy and chestnut stuffing to pecan pie, the meal costs $595 to serve six, $995 for up to 12. Order by Saturday for pickup on Nov. 25 or 26.
Polo Bar, 1 East 55th Street, 212-207-8562, ralphlauren.com/global-polo-bar.
Portale
No surprises on Alfred Portale’s classic menu for two: 10 dishes, including pull-apart rolls, $130. Order by Friday for pickup on Nov. 25 and 26.
126 West 18th Street, 917-781-0255, portalerestaurant.com.
Pulkies
The dinner, $200 to serve six to eight, includes barbecue and pulled turkey with Manischewitz cranberry sauce, or, for a vegetarian option at $175, there’s stuffed cabbage and a sloppy Joseph with cauliflower and chickpea hash. Order by Sunday for pickup on Nov. 25 or 26.
DeKalb Market Hall, 445 Albee Square West (Flatbush Avenue), Downtown Brooklyn, pulkies.com.
Thanksgiving ›
Grocery Checklist
Some items on the Thanksgiving shopping list are obvious, but there are several other ingredients that will prove invaluable to have on hand. See our full guide on How To Cook and Plan Thanksgiving and our list of staples below.
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- Butter, lots of it. Choose European-style high-fat butter for pie crusts, and regular unsalted butter for everything else.
- Stock. If you haven’t made your own, look for homemade stock at the same butcher shop where you buy your turkey, or in the freezer section of your supermarket. The canned and boxed stuff should be a last resort.
- Fresh herbs. Not only do they add freshness and flavor across your Thanksgiving table, but they’re also pretty, lending a touch of green to a meal heavy on earth tones.
- Garlic, onions, leeks, fresh ginger, shallots. An assortment of aromatics keeps your cooking lively and interesting. You’ll need them for the stuffing, for stock and gravy, and for many side dishes.
- Fresh citrus. Lemon, lime and orange juice and zest contribute brightness to countless Thanksgiving dishes, from the turkey to the gravy to the cranberry sauce to the whipped cream for pie.
- Nuts. These go a long way to give crunch to otherwise texturally boring dishes. (Ahem, sweet potato casserole.)
- White wine/vermouth/beer. Even if you’re not drinking any of these spirits before or during the meal, they can be splashed into gravy or vegetable dishes, or used to deglaze the turkey roasting pan. (Bourbon and brandy work well as deglazers, too.)
- Fresh spices. If you can’t remember when you bought your spices, now is a good time to replace them.
- Light brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup. These sweeteners are more profoundly flavored than white sugar, and they have an autumnal richness.
- Heavy cream, sour cream, crème fraîche, ice cream. You’ll need these for topping pies and cakes.
- Please, wear a mask. It protects both yourself and others from coronavirus, and aim to maintain several feet of distance from other shoppers in stores whenever possible. If you opt for grocery delivery, tip as generously as you can.
- See all of our Thanksgiving recipes.
Racines NY
It’s not just about the turkey porchetta-style. What grabbed me on this holiday menu for two was the chef Diego Moya’s sophisticated take on sweet potatoes with marshmallows, mashed white sweets topped with Swiss meringue. The package is $65 per person. Order by Sunday for pickup or delivery on Nov. 25.
94 Chambers Street (Church Street), 212-227-3400, racinesny.com.
Rainbow Room
You can only imagine the view, but the dinner spread would please a traditional party, well priced at $325 for six people, with à la carte extras. Order by Monday for delivery within a 15-mile radius ($150 minimum) or spend less for curbside pickup.
49 West 49th Street, 212-632-5029, rockefellercenter.com.
Seamore’s
That first Thanksgiving could just as well have included salmon; in those days the Atlantic teemed with it, now but a memory in the wild. A farmed Atlantic salmon roast with classic sides, $160 to serve four, $300 for eight, is an option from Seamore’s, a group of seafood restaurants. Turkey is also available. Order by Monday for delivery in all of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, or pickup on Nov. 25 and 26 in Chelsea, Dumbo and Brookfield Place.
Socarrat Paella Bar
Turkey paella with confit turkey leg, roasted breast, chorizo and vegetables with rice is the centerpiece for a Spanish-style dinner. Tapas, sides and either pumpkin cheesecake or churros for dessert come to $110 for two, $220 for four and $440 for eight. Order by Nov. 24 for delivery on Nov. 25, or pickup on Nov. 25 or 26 from Socarrat locations in Midtown, Chelsea and NoLIta.
Wayan
Even at this Indonesian restaurant from Cédric Vongerichten and his wife, Ochi, the centerpiece for a complete holiday dinner is turkey, specifically an organic whole roasted turkey. Sides include a roasted delicata squash under a ginger-coconut crust, spiced cranberry sauce with acar (vegetable pickle), and long pepper gravy, $198 for two to four, $388 to serve six to eight. Order by Wednesday (email only, info@wayan-nyc.com) for delivery or pickup on Nov. 25.
20 Spring Street (Elizabeth Street), 917-261-4388, wayan-nyc.com.
