Where to order Thanksgiving

17 top Houston restaurants serving Thanksgiving feasts to-go

Thanksgiving is a great time to gather with family and friends, offering gratitude for what we have. But, the stress of planning a huge feast might be too much amid everything else going on in life.

Luckily, several Bayou City restaurants are ready and willing to provide diners with Thanksgiving dinner to-go. Check out some of our recommendations.

Full dinners and a la carte selections

Backstreet Cafe
The beloved Houston restaurant can augment diners' main courses with a host of side dishes and desserts available for pickup. Choose from items such as wild mushroom soup, poached pears, scalloped potatoes, cauliflower au gratin, corn pudding, apple crisp, and pecan pie. Orders must be placed by Monday, November 25, and can be picked up on Wednesday, November 27. Order online here.

Caracol and Hugo's
Both of these Hugo Ortega restaurants have a la carte selections such as tamales, a whole pineapple and habarnero spiral ham, corn pudding, and tres leches are available. But they're also offering a couple's feast that serves two, which includes sliced pineapple and habanero spiral ham, sweet potato puree, corn pudding, charred Brussels sprouts, roasted red bliss papas bravas, sweet cranberry and spicy jalapeño relish, tamal Azteca tortilla casserole, and a choice of mini pumpkin and cajeta pie, tres leches, or tomatillo marmalade cheesecake for dessert. The cost for that option is $95.

See Caracol's menu here and Hugo's menu here. Orders must be placed by Monday, November 25 and can be picked up between 11 am and 9 pm on Wednesday, November 27.

Chez Nous
The popular Humble French restaurant has a gourmet Thanksgiving feast that includes enough food to serve between 10 and 12 people. The meal includes an 18 to 20-pound slow roasted, maple-bourbon brined organic turkey; cornbread stuffing with butternut squash, dried tart cherries and smoked bacon; 12 individual bundles of asparagus and haricot verts wrapped in Swiss chard with shallot, garlic and herb butter; roasted garlic-potato puree; honey-glazed carrots; a dozen French rolls; cranberry Grand Marnier sauce, creamy herbed velouté or creamy cognac demi-glace; and a choice of almond torte with candied ginger and orange marmalade, spiced pumpkin latte cheesecake with a gingersnap crust, or walnut tart with cinnamon chantilly for dessert.

Orders can be made by calling the restaurant at 281-446-6717 and a credit card guarantee is required. Orders must be placed by Wednesday, November 20, and dinners may be picked up on November 27 between 11 am and 2 pm.

Feges BBQ
Feed a crowd with main dish items such as a whole brisket for $130, sausage for $16 per link, and a three-to-four-pound turkey breast for $50 each. Appetizers are available in full (14 to 20 people, $60) and half-pan (seven to 10 people, $30) portions; choose from macaroni and cheese, dirty rice, sweet potato and banana mashers, Moroccan-spiced carrots, and more. Get a 16-piece rum raisin bread pudding for $40. The full menu is here.

Orders must be placed by 9 pm on Wednesday, November 20, and can be picked up on November 26 or 27 between 8 am and 3 pm at Feges' Greenway Plaza location.

Frank's Americana Revival
A la carte selections include a seven-pound French-cut turkey breast that serves between six and eight people for $75; a 12-pound, bone-in spiral ham that serves between 10 and 12 for $95; half- or full-pan orders of cornbread-sage stuffing, roasted butternut squash, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes for $65 (half, 12-15 people) or $95 (full, 24-30 people); and a half-pan of apple crumble that serves between 12 and 15 people for $60. View the full menu offerings online.

Orders can be placed online or by calling 713-572-8600, and must be in by Friday, November 22 at 9 pm. They can be picked up on November 27 or 28.

Goode Co. Barbecue
The company known for its Texas barbecue offers a dinner of mesquite-smoked turkey, sausage and pecan bread stuffing, potatoes au gratin, sweet potato gratin, green bean casserole, roasted cranberry sauce, dinner rolls and beer shallot jam butter, and their famous Brazos Bottom pecan pie. It's enough to serve between six and eight people, and the cost is $195.

Orders can be placed online or by calling any Goode Co. Barbecue restaurant, and must be received by November 21. Pickup is available between 8 am and 5 pm on November 26 and November 27.

Hungry's
The restaurant's Holiday Family Feast serves 10 and includes an oven-roasted turkey with brown gravy; corn bread stuffing; garlic mashed potatoes with poblano mushroom sauce; green beans; cranberry sauce; dinner rolls; and a choice of apple, pecan or pumpkin pie. The cost is $170. Orders must be placed by Tuesday, November 26 by 12 pm, and must be picked up on Wednesday, November 27.

Free delivery is available on orders of $250 or more. To order from the Rice Village location call 713-523-8652, and to order from the Memorial location call 281-493-1520.

The Junior League of Houston
The full Thanksgiving meal serves between 10 and 12 people, and includes a 22-pound. roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, one quart of giblet gravy, mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans, corn casserole made with bacon and sour cream, cheesy broccoli rice casserole, one pint of cranberry-orange relish, two dozen signature dinner rolls, one pecan pie and one pumpkin pie. The cost is $250.

Orders will be accepted until Thursday, November 21, and pick-up is on Wednesday, November 27 between 10 am and 1 pm. Orders can be placed online or by calling 713-622-5965.

The Kitchen
Woodlands chef Austin Simmons' more casual restaurant has both a complete turkey dinner and a la carte dishes available for pick up. The menu includes a choice of free range turkey or chipotle honey glazed spiral-cut ham, and classic Thanksgiving sides such as maple sweet potatoes, green bean almandine, roasted poblano cornbread stuffing, roasted butternut squash, signature mac and cheese, sherry turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, and brioche rolls. For dessert, guests can choose between pecan pie or pumpkin pie.

Orders can be placed online and picked up on Wednesday, November 27.

Ouisie's Table
The River Oaks classic has to-go a la carte selections that promise to be crowd pleasers. There's a garlic-and-pepper-crusted prime rib dinner that comes with two sides and one dessert of guests' choosing that serves 15 to 20 people available for $350, or a honey-glazed ham dinner with two sides for 20 to 25 people for $175. Of course, there is also a roasted turkey with gravy option that serves 10 to 15 people for $175. Side dishes include green beans, lobster mashed potatoes, cinnamon-ginger sweet potatoes, and cornbread dressing, all of which can also be ordered a la carte for $50 each. See the full menu here.

Orders must be placed by Monday, November 25 and dinners must be picked up Wednesday, November 27. To order, call 713-528-2264

Revival Market
A wide-ranging a la carte menu includes items such as a bone-in ham for $12.95 per pound (eight pound minimum), a whole duck for $14.95 per pound, a 12 to 15-pound or 16 to 18-pound turkey for $6.50 per pound, servings of Brussels sprouts or green bean casserole for $10.95 each, and pumpkin pie for $32. Guests may also order baskets of wine or beer selections. View the full menu online.

All orders must be placed by 4 pm on Friday, November 22, and there is a $25 per protein or wine deposit. Guests will pay the balance when the pick up their items.

Underbelly Hospitality
The masterminds that gave Houston Georgia James, Hay Merchant, UB Preserv, and One Fifth have killer a la carte selections available for diners to create a mix-and-match Thanksgiving dinner. Choose from items such as Shepherd Family Rum Sausages for $22, a gallon of Day-After Thanksgiving Gumbo that's ready to have turkey added for $50, a four-pound home-smoked and brined turkey breast for $40, bacon-sausage creamed greens for $35, and jalapeno cornbread dressing for $35. The full menu and ordering instructions are available online.

Orders must be placed before November 24 at 9 pm, and can be picked up your in the parking lot behind Georgia James and Hay Merchant at 1100 Westheimer on Wednesday, November 27 between 11 am and 3 pm.

Verandah Indian Restaurant
Diners can get a 14-16 pound, all-natural roast turkey, masala-style, along with sides of baby roast potatoes with black cumin and cilantro; prunes, apricot and cranberry rice; red onion, eggs and cheese stuffing; cranberry sauce; and spicy gravy. There’s also a choice of broccoli, beans or mixed vegetables that are stir fried with garlic, cracked pepper, and cumin. The meal served between 10 and 12 people and costs $120 plus tax and gratuity.

Orders must be made no later than Thursday, November 21 and can be picked up by 11 am on Thanksgiving Day. Arrangements can be made for earlier pick up. Call 281-501-0258 or 832-886-4291 to place an order and to arrange pick-up.

Desserts

Cake and Bacon
Pick up nine-inch a classic pecan,chocolate bourbon pecan, bourbon pecan, of pumpkin sweet potato pie for $25 each. Orders must be made by Friday, November 22, and pies can be collected at the Cake and Bacon Pop-Up Shop at Weights + Measures on November 26 or 27. Full ordering details are online.

Dandelion Cafe
Owner Sarah Lieberman and chef J.C. Ricks have ready-to-eat, made-from-scratch pies for pre-order. Choose from pumpkin or apple pie for $26, or pecan pie, made with pecans from Houston Pecan Company, for $28. Pies feed from 6 to 8 people. Holiday-themed, made-from-scratch sugar cookies are available for $16 per half dozen and $30 per dozen, with orders to be placed four days from pick up. Pies orders should be placed no later than 48 hour from pick up. Pick up times are Tuesday, November 26, from 7 am to 6 pm and Wednesday, November 27, from 7 am to 3 pm. To order, call 832-988-9210.

The Dunlavy
Skip the ho hum pies by ordering some of chef Jane Wild's fanciful creations. Available with traditional or gluten-free crusts, options include Balcones bourbon and San Saba pecan pie, Texas wildflower honey pie with smoked salt, citrus rum pumpkin pie, and brown butter apple-cranberry-pistachio pie. Prices range between $30 and $40, and orders may be placed online.

Get some smoke-infused sides from Feges BBQ.

Photo by Carla Gomez

Get some smoke-infused sides from Feges BBQ.

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eat real food

Houston DJ-turned-TikTok star cooks up a cult following one recipe at a time

Courtesy of Uncle Dibbz

Uncle Dibbz, a.k.a. A.H. Bowden, has built a devoted following for his viral recipes.

For the past month, Uncle Dibbz has been, shall we say, going ham on social media with the myriad videos of alternative Thanksgiving dishes. He’s dropped how-to clips for such recipes as Cajun-roasted turkey, honey-baked ham/hens, oven-bag turkey, and six-piece fried turkey (to go). Basically, if you don’t want to cook a bland ol’ Butterball this Turkey Day, Dibbz has you covered.

Who is Dibbz, you say? Well, he’s a North Jersey-born, Georgia-bred, Houston-based chef who’s been building quite the foodie rep online. Several videos across his TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages, from his Cajun-boiled fried chicken (2 million on IG) to his “Propose to Me Pasta” (12.3 million on TikTok), has amassed millions of views. But Dibbz (government name: A.H. Bowden) wasn’t always a culinary content creator. He used to spin music back in Atlanta as DJ DiBiase, named after retired wrestler Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase. “DiBiase is a mouthful to say, so people just always call me ‘D’ or ‘Dibbz’ for short,” says Bowden, 37, during a Zoom interview.

@uncledibbz PROPOSE To Me PASTA 💍 🍝 Trust your Uncle! This SEAFOOD Pasta will seal the deal 👌🏽 Get my recipe below ⬇️ or on uncledibbz.com [@uncledibbz Link in Bio] 🌐 **Ingredients:** - 8 ounces spaghetti - 1 lb mixed seafood (shrimp, scallops, crab meat, etc.) - 2 tablespoons olive oil - Fresh chopped basil - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/2 cup white wine - 1/4 cup heavy cream - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - Salt and pepper to taste - Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust [link in bio] - Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish) - Grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish) **Instructions:** 1. Cook the spaghetti pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, chopped basil and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant. 3. Add the mixed seafood to the skillet. Season with Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust to taste and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Remove the seafood from the skillet and set aside. 4. Pour in the white wine to the skillet and let it simmer for 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off. 5. Stir in the heavy cream, butter, Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. 6. Add the cooked spaghetti and cooked mixed seafood to the skillet. Toss everything together until well coated with the sauce. 7. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. 8. Serve hot and enjoy the flavorful Seafood Spaghetti. That's good Shawty! #UncleDibbz #ThatsGoodShawty #Pasta #marryme #proposal #bride #wife #husband #relationshipgoals #datenight #easyrecipe #seafood #cajun #cooking #fyp #foryou #viral #houston ♬ original sound - Uncle Dibbz 🍴

He was making a nice living as a DJ, even serving as rapper Big K.R.I.T.’s touring DJ for a while. But when the pandemic hit, the gigs obviously dried up.

“I was living in Miami at the time,” he says. “And, you know, when you have a lot of time on your hands to think – but also need to figure out a way to, you know, sustain an income and everything like that – the ideas start coming,”

Like most DJs at that time, he was doing live mixes on Instagram. But his days throwing cookout parties in Atlanta inspired him to start doing his cooking videos, where he used his very own seasoning. Of course, he had a lemon pepper blend, which he used in a lemon pepper hot wings video that currently has over a half-million views on TikTok.

“I'm about to go live to DJ later that night, and my phone was just going off with orders,” he recalls. “So I'm like, where are these orders coming from? And it's not from my friends. I'm seeing the cities and the states. I don't know these people.”

Thanks to his videos, which usually end with him saying his signature line “That’s good shawty!” (that’s also the name of his cookbook he released last year), Dibbz went into the seasoning business full time. He eventually hired another person to help send out the piles of orders he was receiving.

He even got an order from former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, one of his favorite athletes. “I remember doing a book report on him when I was in fourth grade,” he boasts.

Although Dibbz has a flair for making meals that border on decadent, he’s an ardent practitioner of cooking with natural ingredients, especially in his seasoning. He has several low-sodium seasoning, including Bebe’s Salt Free – named after his mother, who had open-heart surgery a few weeks before the pandemic started.

“I don't think a lot of people understand the amount of toxins and chemicals that go into a lot of these seasonings,” he says. “You're starting to see it in the news now. A lot of the foods with certain dyes are being taken off the shelves and things like that.’

Soon, Dibbz moved himself and his new business to Houston, a favorite place to perform as well as a town whose hip-hop got him into music. He cites local chopped-and-screwed gods DJ Screw, Michael 5000 Watts, and OG Ron C as his holy trinity of influences. To give props to the music of his new home, he created a hot sauce – called HXT Sauce – whose uncharacteristically large bottle resembles Promethazine cough syrup (aka the key ingredient in lean, the preferred purple cocktail for the city’s rap community).

“It's not necessarily about promoting that usage,” he says. “But, at the same time, it’s just a homage to one of the factors and influences of screwed-and-chopped music.”

Dibbz still indulges in spinning records from time to time. The Waxaholics’ DJ Big Reeks has gotten him to break out the vinyl a few times during his Thursday-night sets at Alley Kat Bar & Lounge in Midtown. But creating new recipes, dropping delicious content and proving you can eat and live in a hearty, healthy fashion still remains his full-time mission.

“I’m not just talking about eating cauliflower rice all day and every day, but just eat real food,” he says. “We're eating fake food. That's the bottom line. We're eating fake food and my whole purpose is to inspire people to eat real food and that starts with real ingredients, real herbs, you know – real natural seasonings.”

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