Restaurant Preview: Thanksgiving To-Go This Year

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and this year as we all know, it is noticeably different from what we are used to. Traveling to visit friends and family is pretty much out amid the newest wave of COVID-19 cases hitting the Chicago area. So what are so many of us to do with much smaller gatherings and no need for the 15-pound turkey? Order your Thanksgiving Day meal to be picked up or delivered and make the most of the holiday on a smaller, but no less satisfying, scale.

Let’s take a look at Chicago area restaurants that will stuff your dinner table with delicious food in a year unlike any other.

Himmel’s, located at 2551 West Lawrence in Lincoln Square, offers a Thanksgiving dinner providing breast and leg meat, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole, red cabbage, pretzel bread, Bavarian cheese delicacy Obatzda, and bread pudding. The spread will run you $27.50 per person. Make sure to call by November 22 to make a reservation for this feast. Curbside pick-up is available from 10 am to 2 pm.

If the holiday this year is a minimal affair, why not go all out with the amazing cuisine provided by The Bristol, located at 2153 North Damen in Bucktown? Named one of GQ’s Best New Restaurants upon its opening, The Bristol has a Thanksgiving spread prepared by Executive Chef Larry Feldmeier. The three-course Thanksgiving meal features a salad trio of coleslaw, mustard vinaigrette, warm potato salad, white BBQ, green beans salad, and crispy onions for starters. Enjoy a main course of whole smoked duck with mustard jus alongside salt baked sweet potato, and bacon agrodolce. Rounding out the meal is milkbread with honey butter, cranberry and orange jam, and mini apple crostatas. The dinner serves two to four and costs $85. 

Formento’s, located at 925 West Randolph in the West Loop, offers a tasty Italian spin to help you celebrate the holiday this year. Their Thanksgiving at Home menu includes a chopped salad, house marinated olives, green bean casserole, au gratin potatoes, focaccia sage stuffing, turkey porchetta, and your choice of apple or pumpkin pie. Simply reheat at home, and this meal can serve four to five. The feast costs $290 for what will definitely be a mouth-watering Thanksgiving celebration.

Looking for a vegetarian alternative this Thanksgiving? Thankfully, Blind Faith Cafe, located at 525 Dempster in Evanston, has you covered. Their holiday options include individual veggie pot pies featuring an array of selections, including carrots, potatoes and peas, mushrooms, and roasted gardein and cream topped with homemade pastry. You can also go for the dinner package, which serves six, consisting of a whole shiitake walnut loaf, mashed sweet potatoes, vegetable gravy, and cranberry chutney for $75. 

So take a break from cooking all day long and worrying if everything on the table will be hot enough, and let some of the best spots in and around the Windy City do the heavy lifting for you this year. Be sure to check online for when orders must be in to ensure you have a memorable Thanksgiving Day.

ERIC KAPLAN AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO