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.
