Eating Out This Thanksgiving? Try These D.C. Spots

This year, we’re exploring all of the alternatives to our holiday norms. Cocktail hour with friends? Now on Zoom. Going to the movies? Drive-in theaters. Game nights? Online trivia time. These changes all seem simple enough, but how do you scale down Thanksgiving to a Covid-friendly option? Luckily, local restaurants have come to the rescue once again, creating take-out and take-home kits to fill all your turkey day needs. Check out some of the great options in the DMV listed below.

Blue Duck Tavern at Park Hyatt Washington, D.C.
1201 24th St. NW, DC
Blue Duck Tavern, known for its farm fresh options, is offering an a la carte Thanksgiving breakfast menu from 6:30-10 a.m. and a “lunch into dinner” service from 12-8:30 p.m. The menus will highlight seasonal ingredients, such as pumpkin, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and more. This holiday feast is priced at $110 per person for adults and $55 for children from 6 to 12 years of age, children under 6 get to eat free. Reserve a spot inside of the Blue Duck Tavern to avoid cleanup duty, or order a decadent to-go meal. Blue Duck Tavern’s take-home Thanksgiving meal includes a succulent 12 to 14-pound free-range turkey, a freshly baked bread loaf and six traditional sides from the restaurant’s menu. Designed to feed six to eight people, this to-go feast is priced at $445. Call 202-419-6755 to reserve a table, or visit www.blueducktavern.com for more information on their take home Thanksgiving meals.

Fiola 2.0
601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC
Michelin-starred Fiola’s pop-up, Fiola 2.0, is working with Chancellors Rock Farm to bring you their Thanksgiving Harvest Feast for two. This premade to-go meal offers dishes featuring farm fresh ingredients like the Fall Harvest Salad of heirloom radicchio, roasted beets and goat cheese crema. Enjoy a Heritage Beaver Creek Farms turkey served with a traditional cranberry sauce, accompanied by a sweet potato puree and sage crumble. Sip on local cider stirred with a mulling spices, and finish the meal off with a decadent cider coffee cake. Pick up is available at Fiola 2.0 on Wednesday, November 25. Order online through Tock, or learn more about Fiola 2.0’s offerings by visiting www.fioladc.com.

Jack Rose Dining Saloon
2007 18th St. NW, DC
Jack Rose wants you to drink your Thanksgiving dinner. Enjoy crafted cocktails, bourbon-spiked pies, whiskey flights and more from the Saloon’s Thanksgiving to-go menu. Start off the holiday right with food-inspired cocktails made with infused spirits and syrups, such as their sweet potato-infused bourbon and jet-puffed marshmallow syrup. Jack Rose is offering a five-course cocktail kit for two including a total of 10 servings. Why eat a yam casserole when you can drink a yam casserole old fashioned? After you’ve finished drinking, graze on some of the Jack Rose appetizers, sides and desserts. Flaky homemade buttermilk biscuits served with honey butter followed by bourbon pecan pie? Yes please! And, if you didn’t have enough booze already, you can end the night with a whiskey tasting flight featuring five 1-oz pours, tasting instructions and notes. Pick up everything you need this holiday on November 25 from 4-10 p.m. For more information and pricing, visit www.jackrosediningsaloon.com or follow them on Instagram @jackroseindc to stay up-to-date.

The LINE
1770 Euclid St. NW, DC
The LINE Hotel and chef Erik Bruner-Yang are serving unconventional Thanksgiving meals for an unconventional year. Bruner-Yang’s menu features peking duck, braised short rib and butternut squash green curry alongside some fire sides. The premade Thanksgiving trays cost $55 per person, allowing you to get exactly the right amount of food for your holiday celebrations. Alternatively, reservations can be made to dine in at Brothers and Sisters via Resy if you’re tired of staring at the same four walls. For more information about The LINE and Brothers and Sisters, visit www.thelinehotel.com or www.brothersandsistersdc.com.

Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery
1201 Half St. SE, DC
Mah-Ze-Dahr Bakery has added holiday pies and treats to their menu. Every pie you could think of that screams “holiday” is available for purchase; pumpkin, pecan, apple crumble, and lemon meringue. If you’re hosting a smaller celebration and can’t eat a whole pie by yourself, try some pre-package pastries or pumpkin loaves. Pick up is available November 25-29 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Order on Tock. For more information, visit www.mahzedahrbakery.com.

Modena
1100 New York Ave. NW, DC
Modena serves exceptional Italian cuisine year-round, and is now offering a mouthwatering take-home Thanksgiving feast. Enjoy a free-range turkey accompanied by a seasonal salad and your choice of three traditional, cornbread stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberry chutney as well as your choice for dessert. While the sides of course have standard Thanksgiving fare, they have an Italian twist making your meal that much better. For a 10 to 12-pound bird and sides that feeds four to six people, you pay $195. Purchase a 14 to 16-pound bird and sides that feeds six to eight people for $225. Pickup will be available November 24-25 from 11:30 a.m. – 9 p.m., and on November 26 from 12-8 p.m. Visit www.modenadc.com or call 202-216-9550 to place your order.

Side Door
909 New Jersey Ave. SE, DC
D.C.’s newest Detroit-style pizza pop-up is celebrating its first holiday with a menu featuring all of the classics. Instead of slinging dough, Side Door is taking time to create a fantastic Thanksgiving meal fit for a Hallmark movie. Choose a maple-brined turkey breast, confit thigh with black pepper honey glaze, braised leg with sage parsnip cream, or smoked wings with Alabama white sauce as your main turkey day dish, then enjoy all of the classic sides like stuffing, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and yams. Side Door promises that there’s enough food in this package for dinner plus leftovers for the next day. Packages for two, four, six or eight guests and are available, pick up will take place on Thanksgiving from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, visit www.sidedoorpizza.com and follow them on Instagram @sidedoor_pizza.

Sweet Science Coffee
35 N St. NE, DC 
The craft coffee shop in NoMa is offering fun Thanksgiving-themed desserts ready to order. Feature Sweet Science’s homemade pumpkin pie, bourbon pecan pie and apple cider donuts in your Thanksgiving meal this year to wow your friends and family in person or over Zoom. Pies come in two sizes: large and small. The large nine-inch pie ($23) feeds four to six, while the small five-inch pie ($16) feeds two to three people. For those having smaller gatherings, the smaller pie sizes are a great space saver in your fridge. Order your Thanksgiving apple cider donuts by the half dozen ($12) or dozen ($24). Pick up your order between November 24 and 26, or order 10 or more pies and get them delivered right to your door. Order online at www.sweetsciencecoffee.com. For updates on future offerings, follow Sweet Science on Facebook and Instagram @sweetsciencecoffee. 

Rose’s at Home
Rose’s at Home is delivering full-on feasts to your home this holiday season. Expect a brined-and-roasted turkey with all the familiar Thanksgiving sides complete with the Rose’s special touch ready for you to gobble down. This Thanksgiving feast feeds two to four people, and includes an all-natural lemon-pepper brined and roasted half turkey with gravy, charred Brussels sprout caesar salad, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, mushroom stuffing and more. And, in the Thanksgiving spirit, when you order one of the take-home feasts rom Rose’s they make a donation to the DC Food Project. This package will run you $240, but for all that you’re getting it is definitely worth it. To order, visit Tock. For more information, visit www.rosesathome.com.

Your Only Friend
124 Bladgen Alley NW, DC
Paul Taylor’s new sandwich and cocktail pop-up at the Columbia Room, Your Only Friend, is getting in the holiday spirit and serving seasonal sandwiches, sides and large format cocktails for Thanksgiving. These items will be available November 11-25 for in-person dining or pick up. Your Only Friend hopes to bring a little extra joy to your holiday celebrations through their menu in light of this year’s circumstances. Though Thanksgiving will look different this year, that doesn’t mean it can’t still be fun. Spice things up with Your Only Friend’s Cheeto Mac & Cheese featuring Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and wash everything down with the Sweater Weather cocktail featuring Nikka Coffey Grain Japanese Whisky, cinnamon and clarified apple juice. For more information and pricing, check out www.youronlyfrienddc.com and follow the pop-up on Instagram @youronlyfrienddc.

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