IMAGE: Kim Scafuro
Thanksgiving—it’s the time of year when we all come together at a table creaking with the weight of pure American gluttony. Spending hours shoving forkful after forkful of turkey and pie into your mouth is fantastic—unless the days and days of cooking have already made you sick of stuffing. Take it easy this year and let a professional do the work for you.
To that end, here’s a list of great lazy-day Thanksgiving helpers, from restaurants serving dinner to food carts selling pie. Or give up completely and let a market like New Seasons (newseasonsmarket.com)or Whole Foods (wholefoodsmarket.com/holidays) take care of cookin’ everything, including the bird and sides—be they vegan or carnivore (see expanded listings on these markets and more at wweek.com/tday09).
Restaurants Serving Thanksgiving Dinner
Jake’s Thanksgiving Buffet at the Governor Hotel
Yes, you can eat a full Thanksgiving dinner at Jake’s Grill at the Governor Hotel (or Jake’s Famous up the street, or any other of McCormick Schmick’s Portland outposts). But if you wanna go big, reserve a seat at the local chain’s grand buffet at the hotel. From tom turkey, cedar-plank salmon and New York strip steak to whole stations devoted to chilled seafood, salads, side dishes and desserts, this meal’s so big it has to be served in a ballroom. It’s like a wedding where the bride is dinner and you’re the groom (or vice versa). Visit mccormickandschmicks.com for a list of the chain’s other Portland seafood restaurants, all of which are serving T-Day dinner. Governor Hotel, 614 SW 11th Ave., 224-3400. Reservations begin at 11:30 am and end at 3:30 pm. $29.95 adults, $7.95 children 6-12, 5 and under free. Call 241-2125 to make your reservation.
Heathman Thanksgiving Dinner
An overwhelming assortment of traditional Northwestern eats, from roasted turkey with sage stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake to bouillabaisse and smoked salmon, for both sit-down eaters and buffet lovers. Prix fixe dining-room service 11 am-9 pm. Holiday buffet 11:30 am-5 pm. The Heathman, 1001 SW Broadway, 790-7752. $39.50 per person ($18 for kids under 12) for prix fixe dining. $46.50 per person ($18 for kids under 12) for the buffet. Call to reserve seats.
Salty’s on the Columbia Thanksgiving
Nothing says “Thanksgiving” like Dungeness crab, prawns and seafood chowder. Get your seafood on with a mega holiday buffet at this riverside classic. Don’t worry—there’ll be turkey and all the trimmings as well. Salty’s on the Columbia, 3839 NE Marine Drive, 288-4444. 10:30 am-5:30 pm. $39.95 per person. Call for reservations. To-go orders must be placed by Nov. 22. Visit saltys.com for menu.
Thanksgiving “Two Ways” at Urban Farmer
In case you need to stuff yourself twice in one day, the downtown restaurant will be offering its traditional brunch (which includes rich delicacies like wagyu beef brisket hash and fried chicken and waffles) on Thanksgiving morning, followed by a four-course prix fixe, slightly more traditional meal filled with your choice of meat (or mushrooms for the veggie types), salads, sides (from mashed potatoes to giblet gravy) and desserts in the afternoon and evening. Oh, gluttony. Urban Farmer, 525 SW Morrison St., 222-4900. Brunch 6:30 am-2 pm. Prix fixe meal 2-9 pm. $49 per person ($29 for kids under 12). Call to reserve seats.
Peruvian Thanksgiving at Andina
Have a cross-cultural meal this year. You can snack on over 30 different tapas plates, Peruvian entrees or their own take on turkey (served with quince-huacatay chutney, corn-pumpkin humita and swiss chard). There’ll also be live music from Nelson Salazar and the Danny Romero Trio. Andina, 1314 NW Glisan. 228-9535. 1-9:30 pm. $55 per person ($27.50 for kids under 12). Call to reserve seats.
Country Cat Thanksgiving Feast
Gorge yourself on chef-butcher Adam Sappington’s carefully carved meats served with locally sourced soul food like chanterelle soup, truffled deviled eggs and bacon-braised collard greens. The Country Cat, 7937 SE Stark St., 408-1414. 2:30-7:30 pm. $40 per person. Some sides are $5 extra. Call to reserve seats.
T-Day Supplies For Your Home Table
Salt Fire and Time/Abby’s Table
[FRESH BIRDS, TAKEOUT MEALS] The community-supported kitchen is offering a special T-Day menu full of nutrient-rich delicacies like celery root and wild mushroom soup ($4 per serving), stuffing with sage and chestnuts ($6 per serving), and mashed parsnips ($6 per serving). Abby’s Table is providing raw, vegan and gluten-free options as well—like cured kale salad ($4 per serving) and raw pumpkin pie mousse ($4 per serving). It will also be selling sustainable birds from Deck Family Farm ($7.50-$8.50 per pound). To order prepared foods, stop by Salt, Fire and Time/Abby’s Table. 609 SE Ankeny St., 208-2758. To order turkeys, contact Deck Family Farm, 541-998-4967. Specify that you want to pick up at Salt, Fire and Time. Orders must be placed by Nov. 20 and can be picked up Tuesday or Wednesday, Nov. 24 or 25.
Sassafras Catering
[TAKEOUT MEALS] This catering company is creating a Southern-inspired T-Day for the ultimate comfort meal. Its turkey is served up with apple chutney and cranberry-peach relish ($25 for half bird, $50 for full). Sides ($3 per person) include a root vegetable mash, stuffing with your choice of oysters or mushrooms and bacon mixed in, beer-braised collards and apple pie studded with crystallized ginger ($25 for full size, $5 for mini). Call 369-0599 to order. Meal pickup all day Wednesday, Nov. 25, at the kitchen. 5222 NE Sacramento St. Delivery is available in Portland area on Tuesday, Nov. 24, or Wednesday, Nov. 25, for $25. Orders must be placed by Friday, Nov. 20.
Elephants Deli Thanksgiving
[TAKEOUT MEALS] This PDX deli has a wealth of to-go T-Day options. But Elephants’ menu ranges beyond the bird and trimmings to include soups, appetizer platters, salads and gift baskets. See a full menu at elephantsdeli.com. Call 224-3955 or order at elephantsdeli.com. Orders for whole turkeys must be placed by Wednesday, Nov. 18. All other orders must be placed by Monday, Nov. 23. Elephants Uptown, 115 NW 22nd Ave., 299-6304.
Kenny Zuke’s
[TAKEOUT MEALS] You won’t get any pastrami with your turkey, but you can trust the sandwich-makers to throw together a killer dinner. They’ll be offering turkey stuffed with wild mushrooms ($13.75 per pound), along with sides like cornbread stuffing ($9.50 per pound), twice-baked truffled potatoes ($4.50 each) and three different pies ($16.50-$19.50). Call 222-3354 or email catering@kennyandzukes.com for full menu and to order by 3 pm Monday, Nov. 23.
Gartner’s Country Meat Market
[TURKEYS] This old-school meat market is pretty much a protein mecca. Find an excuse to get your behind out here for the cheap, fresh housemade pepperoni sticks (10 for $5), even if you’re not ordering a turkey. Gartner’s has got competitive prices on both fresh and house-smoked birds ($1.69-$3.49 a pound) as well as stuffed game hens ($8.99 each), prime rib roasts ($8.98 per pound) and sugar-cured hams ($3.98 per pound). Gartner’s, 7450 NE Killingsworth St., 252-7801.
Nicky USA
[TURKEYS & MORE!] When a turkey just won’t do, wild-game purveyor Nicky USA has all your weird protein needs taken care of. Squab! Rabbit! A partridge in a pear tree! Prices range from $7 to $13 per pound. Order online at nickyusa.com or by phone at 234-4263. $75 minimum on all orders, and no walk-ins.
PastaWorks
[TURKEYS] Get thee to PastaWorks for “broad-breasted white” Northwest Natural turkeys ($3.75 a pound). They’re already out of their heritage-breed turkeys, so place your order quickly. Call 232-1010 to order ASAP.
Meirav Catering
[KOSHER TAKEOUT] This local Jewish catering company will provide a five-course kosher turkey dinner—complete with gravy, mashed potatoes and pie. Everything will be cooked in the Shaarie Torah kitchen so you know it’ll be legit. Email meriav@comcast.net or call 740-7050 for menu and pricing information. All orders must be placed by Sunday, Nov. 22.
Pix Desserts
[DESSERT] Bring a little ooh-la-la to the table with Pix. The traditional pumpkin pie gets a cheesecake makeover with a spiced pecan crust ($24-$32). Most intriguing? The macaroon cornucopia: “Four dozen colorful French macaroons in assorted flavors overflow an edible cornucopia of caramelized almonds.” And that’d be an $85 wow. Pix on Division will be open for pickups 9 am-noon on Thanksgiving Day. Pix Pâtisserie, 3402 SE Division St., 232-4407.
Random Order Pies
[PIE] Random Order Coffeehouse is ready with desserts like brandied pears with dark chocolate and candied ginger streusel, and pies such as pumpkin, boozy pecan, pear-cranberry-blackberry and old-fashioned apple. Nine-inch rounds ($28) serve about six to eight people. Visit the shop or call to order. Pie list at randomordercoffee.com. Random Order Coffeehouse, 1800 NE Alberta St., 971-340-6995. Orders must be placed by Sunday, Nov. 22.
The Sugar Cube
[DESSERT] Only in PDX could you order Thanksgiving dessert from a food cart. The Sugar Cube is dishing out spiced buttermilk cornbread muffins with meadowfoam honey (6 for $10, 12 for $18, 24 for $25), port cranberry jam ($6 for 8 oz. or $10 for 12 oz.), pumpkin gingerbread cupcakes (6 for $15) and four different Lauretta Jean pies (rum spiced apple, pumpkin with gingersnap crumble, bourbon and ginger pecan, and coconut cream) for $30 each. Call 890-2825 to order by Monday, Nov. 23. Sugar Cube pickups noon-4 pm, Lauretta Jean pickups 11 am-2 pm, Wednesday, Nov. 25, at the Sugar Cube. 4237 N Mississippi Ave.
STILL HUNGRY? More Thanksgiving restaurant, market and grub ideas in our expanded guide on wweek.com/tday09.
