Best Thanksgiving Take Out

Thanksgiving to-go: Take the stress out of Turkey Day with these 11 restaurant take-out options

Who needs the hassle of trying to prepare a Thanksgiving feast? Stop worrying and let one of Houston's top restaurants take all the stress out of your Thanksgiving meal.

With choices ranging from traditional selections with a Southern flair to Mexican-inspired fare and everything in between, these take-out options will have the whole family begging for seconds. No debates about brining techniques required.

Frank's Americana Revival
The fare: The River Oaks restaurant offers traditional Thanksgiving entrees, shareable a la carte sides — including cornbread-sage dressing, green bean casserole, and roasted butternut squash — and dessert offerings like Maria's Tres Leches or cranberry-pecan bread pudding.
Pricing: French cut turkey breast (serves 6-8) for $60, bone-in spiral ham (serves 8-10) for $95, and a la carte sides starting at $45.
Availability: Orders must be placed by 9 pm on November 14 for pick up on November 22 or 23.
To order: Online or by phone at (713) 572-8600.

Jonathan's The Rub
The fare: Chef Jonathan Levine offers a fried turkey that's brined for 48 hours in his special herb and spice blend. Traditional homemade sides and desserts are also available.
Pricing: A 12-14 pound fried turkey for $75; A la carte sides start at $10 and pies are $38.
Availability: Place order before November 19 for pick up on November 23 between 10 am and 3 pm.
To order: Order via email at jonathansthanksgiving@gmail.com. Call (713) 467-9000 for more information.

FM Kitchen & Bar
The fare: Chef Ryan Hildebrand's Washington Avenue hotspot gets in touch with its Southern side with dishes like smoked turkey, stewed green beans and onions, and cornbread stuffing with sausage and mushrooms (portions designed for eight to 10 people). Preview the items — and shop 15 local vendors — during a special Sunday farmers market on November 19 from 11 am to 3 pm.
Pricing: Smoked turkey and gravy $70; sides $35 or $40; bread pudding $45
Availability: Orders accepted through November 19 with pick-up on November 22.
To order: Email media@fmkitchenandbar.com or call (832) 804-6006

Junior League of Houston
The fare: An under-the-radar choice, The Pantry at the Junior League of Houston offers holiday classics, including roasted turkey, cheesy broccoli rice casserole, and mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans, as well as a la carte options such as Quiche Lorraine or a sausage breakfast tart.
Pricing: One 22-pound turkey for $75; a la carte sides start at $16; packages for 10-12 start at $250.
Availability: Orders accepted until November 16 with pick-up on November 22 between 10 am and 1 pm.
To order: Visit jlh.org or call (713) 622-5965

Hugo's
The fare: Take things south of the border this Thanksgiving with a variety of tamales (including wild mushroom, chicken and mole and seafood), chile rellenos and enchiladas from Hugo's. Spice up the table with the restaurant's mole cornbread.
Pricing: Tamales start at $24/dozen. Chile rellenos start at $84/dozen. Enchiladas start at $32/dozen.
Availability: Order by November 20 for pick up on November 22.
To order: Call (713) 524-7744 to order.

Ouisie's Table
The fare: Known for delicious eats with an upscale southern twist, Ouisie's Table offers up favorites like garlic and pepper-crusted prime rib, honey glazed ham and roasted turkey, as well as tasty traditional sides and dessert options.
Pricing: Full packages start at $175; a la carte options vary in price.
Availability: Order by November 16 for pick up on November 22.
To order: Call (713) 528-2264 to order.

Goode Company
The fare: Let Goode Company deck out your Thanksgiving table with a mesquite-smoked turkey, their famous smoked BBQ meats, or their signature pecan pie.
Pricing: $75 per 10-pound turkey.
Availability: Turkeys can be pre-ordered through Goode Company’s three barbecue locations. Drive-through pie booths will be open at all Goode Co. BBQ locations the two days before Thanksgiving from 8 am to 5 pm.
To order: Place an order online, call (713) 224-6633, or stop by the pie booth.

Rainbow Lodge
The fare: In addition to classic dishes and roasted turkeys, get adventurous with Rainbow Lodge's wild game options — including buffalo tenderloin, roasted quail and even a whole roasted suckling pig — as well as a la carte choices such as croissant bread pudding and their signature smoked duck gumbo.
Pricing: Whole turkeys start at $89; a la carte options vary in price.
Availability: Orders must be placed 48 hours in advance.
To order: Call (713) 861-8666 or email info@rainbow-lodge.com.

Luby's
The fare: Get a down home feast of sliced roasted turkey, sliced baked ham, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, and giblet gravy at Luby’s. Traditional desserts and additional sides are available as well.
Pricing: Created for groups of 10 or more, packages are priced from $6.99 to $10.99 per person.
Availability: Multiple locations. Advance notice of 48 hours is requested.
To order: Lubys.com or (877) GO-LUBYS.

Etoile Cuisine et Bar
The fare: For a French-inspired holiday feast, Etoile Cuisine et Bar is offering take-out packages — complete with organic oven-roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, green bean casserole and more — as well as a la carte options including foie gras torchon, mushroom, leek and potato soup, and vanilla bourbon pecan pie.
Pricing: Complete package costs $190; a la carte options vary in price.
Availability: Place orders by November 20.
To order: Call 832-668-5808 to order.

Lucienne
The fare: Lucienne at Hotel Alessandra has prepared a stunning take-out feast featuring pumpkin soup, green beans, brussel sprouts, sweet potato puree, mashed potatoes, and gravy, all to accompany a delectable 20-pound stuffed turkey.
Pricing: Packages are priced from $200 (for 4 to 6) to $400 (8 to 10). Pies are $25 each.
Availability: Place order before November 20 for pick up on November 23 between 11 am and 2 pm.
To order: Order via email at lpoirier@valenciagroup.com or via phone 713.242.8555 ext 6026.

Mole cornbread from Hugo's.

Courtesy of Hugo's.

Mole cornbread from Hugo's.

dinner holidays news-you-can-eat

Rising Star

Houston restaurateur dishes on swapping Tex-Mex for new retro steakhouse

Photo by Eric Sandler

Star Rover is now open in the Heights.

Restaurateur Ford Fry surprised Houston diners when he announced in January that he was closing his Tex-Mex restaurant Superica and replacing it with Star Rover, a casual, family-friendly steakhouse. With Star Rover now open for dinner and weekend brunch, Fry — who also owns Star Rover's neighbor La Lucha, casual taqueria Little Rey, and River Oaks fine dining restaurant State of Grace — explains that the decision came down to both economics and his own desire to provide the Heights with something he thought was lacking.

“This was our smallest Superica. Superica for us takes so much — every day you’re making salsas, tortillas, it’s so prep heavy,” Fry says. “We weren’t big enough to be that successful. We didn’t have enough seats to make the labor make sense.”

Rather than compete against Houston’s seemingly limitless roster of Tex-Mex restaurants, Fry saw an opportunity for a steakhouse that occupied a space somewhere between chains like Texas Roadhouse and Outback and fine dining staples like Pappas Bros. Enter Star Rover, which already has a popular location in Nashville.

Just as La Lucha channels Fry’s childhood memories of the San Jacinto Inn, Star Rover takes some inspiration from iconic Houston restaurant Hofbrau. Diners of a certain age will see places like Hofbrau in the restaurant’s design. The walls are adorned with framed pictures, taxidermy, vintage advertising, and more.

“The inspiration is if you were some old Texas dude who wanted to start a steakhouse you’d find a bunch of crap and put it on the walls,” Fry says. “We want to make it cool, but it’s got to take you away from what it was. Did we achieve that? I hope so.”

Fry tasked chef Bobby Matos with updating the Star Rover menu for Houston. It starts with a selection of steaks — chopped, filet, T-bone, ribeye, or skirt — along with a half-chicken, blackened redfish, and chicken fried chicken. All of them come with milk rolls, salad, fries, and onion rings. Diners who want a little surf and turf can add either a crab cake or a fried lobster tail.

The appetizer menu is similarly tidy, consisting of shrimp cocktail, oysters (raw or fried), potato skins, and vegetable crudités. Desserts include a selection of pies as well as soft serve ice cream.

Since the steaks are thinner than those served at upscale steakhouses, they’re cooked hot and fast on a plancha and basted in butter.

“We control the costs by the size of the meat,” Fry explains. “Meat is so expensive, how do you do a family-friendly steakhouse? It’s a 12-ounce ribeye and it’s choice. We put the right amount of age on it.”

Tucked away in the corner of the menu is text that reads “Cheeseburger?! Just ask!” People should, because it’s a hearty half-pound, New York tavern-style burger that sits on grilled onions, is topped with cheese and mayonnaise, and is served on a classic potato bun. Think of it as the thick-patty counterpart to La Lucha’s thin-patty Pharmacy Burger.

“I call it a lowbrow steakhouse burger,” Fry says. “It’s not a Peter Luger, but it may be better and it won’t cost as much.”

Star Rover’s weekend brunch menu features the same pancakes that had been a staple at Superica. They’re joined by some new items, including baked-to-order cinnamon rolls, breakfast tacos, and kolaches that use sausage from Houston’s Roegels Barbecue Co.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Star Rover is now open in the Heights.

The restaurant has one other old-school touch in the form of an eating challenge called the “I Ate the 76er.” Available with 24 hours notice, diners who finish a 76-ounce steak, milk rolls, salad, onion rings, and fries in under an hour will receive the meal for free, plus a t-shirt and the opportunity to sign a winners’ wall. The challenge reflects the spirit Fry is bringing to Star Rover.

“A lot of it is scratching that itch of something fun I want to do versus what I think the neighborhood will like,” he says. “We did a version of this in Nashville with a stage. It’s where I eat when I’m in Nashville, because it’s what I want to eat when I’m there.”

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