#The best Thanksgiving takeout and delivery dinners in NYC

Dining out for Thanksgiving is a beloved New York tradition, but 2020 is shaping up to be the exception.

Restaurants feel the pinch. Take Hill Country Barbecue Market, in Gramercy, as an example. Last year, according to executive chef Ash Fulk, it served nearly 1,000 people on Thanksgiving. This year, as of press time, it’s expecting only 50. “We normally order 300 whole turkeys but won’t do more than 100 now,” he said. “I get it. It’s not enjoyable to be in a restaurant masked, and plus, we have a limit of six to a table.”

David Burke can also speak to the sharp drop-off at his Upper East Side eatery for this food-centric holiday. “We typically have 300 people, but we’ll be lucky to get half that this year,” he said.

In a bid to survive and adapt to what New Yorkers want, restaurateurs like Fulk and Burke are bringing family-style to-go holiday dinners straight to your apartments. And yes, the leftovers will be glorious.

For those unable to gather with family due to COVID-19 restrictions, let this be your year to try something new. Rather than suffer through re-creating your grandma’s classics, relish the fact that you don’t have to cook or do dishes — your version of her stuffing was always dry, anyway. Even better: You can request your bird to arrive pre-carved.

So tip your delivery folks generously, and tuck in! Here are five restaurants offering spreads, complete with sides and fixings, all ready to heat and eat.

Tried-and-true traditional

Reflective of the chef’s love for indulgence, David Burke Tavern on the Upper East Side is offering a Thanksgiving bonanza he cheekily calls Grab ‘n’ Gobble. The centerpiece is a heritage breed turkey from New Jersey’s Fossil Farms. Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon, sausage stuffing, maple whipped sweet potatoes, green beans almondine, a medley of roasted fall vegetables, sauteed spinach and mushrooms, rosemary potatoes with pearl onions and cranberry-orange-ginger relish round out the sides. You also get three pies — apple, pumpkin and pecan — plus cheesecake lollipops.

The dishes come in aluminum pans that go straight into the oven, but most of the sides can be microwaved. For an extra-moist turkey, Burke suggests warming the bird in the oven with a half-inch of water or stock.

David Burke Tavern, 135 E. 62nd St.; 212-988-9021

Cost: $275 for a half-turkey (serves 6-8); $375 for a full turkey (serves 9-12), plus sides and dessert
Order deadline: Nov. 22, pickup only

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Down-home deliciousness

Thanksgiving gets a Texas-style kick with Hill Country Barbecue Market’s two meals where almost all dishes are smoked, vacuum-sealed and transferred into oven-ready aluminum pans. And what belt-busters they are. Smaller groups can opt for the Texas Turkey Box that includes a 4- to 5-pound turkey breast with gravy, cranberry sauce, cornbread with ancho honey butter and two sides: a breakfast sausage stuffing, an extra-rich mac ‘n’ cheese. To cap it all off, there’s pumpkin pie.

For larger celebrations, go for the Thanksgiving Feast with a 14 to 16-pound turkey and the sides, which also include a green-bean casserole, corn pudding and buttermilk mashed potatoes. If you have any questions about reheating, Fulk will be on-site all day and available to help. “The instructions are easy to follow, but please call with any questions,” he said.

Hill Country Barbecue Market, 30 W. 26th St.; 212-255-4544

Cost: $165 (serves 2-4); $275 (serves 8-10)
Order deadline: Nov. 23, pickup and delivery

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A Chinese take on turkey

Steak and dim sum joint Brooklyn Chop House is serving up a Bell & Evans Peking turkey accompanied by sliced cucumbers, scallions, a cranberry-plum sauce and paper-thin rice pancakes. The restaurant’s managing director, Stratis Morfogen, suggests you pack your pancakes with the meat, top with the accoutrements, roll up and chow down. “It’s how you eat Peking duck, but we’re using turkey instead,” he said.

The rest of the sides, which come in aluminum pans just like the turkey, straddle the East and West. Sure, there are garlic mashed potatoes with Parmesan cheese, but the wok-sauteed string beans are a favorite; Morfogen’s chefs have been making them that way for 15 years. Even the mesclun side salad is a standout, thanks to four incredible house dressings that come on the side: creamy garlic, chunky blue cheese, ranch and a classic vinaigrette. Dessert is a New York trio of cheesecakes — caramelized apple, brownie and peanut butter.

Brooklyn Chop House, 150 Nassau St.; 212-619-1200

Cost: $296 (serves 6-8)
Order deadline: Nov. 23, pickup and delivery

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Vegetarian with Jewish flair

Although Jewish-style Brooklyn BBQ joint Pulkies does offer a turkey-centric dinner, vegetarians get some serious love with the restaurant’s hearty meat-free feast, which comes in oven-ready aluminum pans or microwavable plastic containers. Get the party going with a rich pimento cheese dip that pairs perfectly with matzo chips. There’s also a zippy salad with endives, celery, walnuts and apples plus a creamy horseradish dressing.

Mains — and yes, that means more than one — include a “sloppy Joseph,” a hearty hash of BBQ cauliflower and chickpeas. The other is a stuffed sweet-and-sour cabbage simmered in tomato kimchi sauce, filled with kasha, mushrooms and pecans. With sides of braised kale, mashed sweet potatoes with rosemary streusel topping, plus a Manischewitz cranberry sauce and honey butter cornbread, you’ve got a Thanksgiving hearty enough to satisfy even the most hardcore carnivore. Save room for dessert though — the apple-pecan crumble is worth it, especially when warmed and topped with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Pulkies at Dekalb Market; 445 Albee Square W.; 646-410-2040

Cost: $175 (serves 6-8)
Order deadline: Nov. 22, pickup only

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Classics with a fancy French twist

Upper East Side mainstay T Bar is offering a portable dinner in its Southampton location only. Created and prepared by the renowned French chef François Payard and the restaurant’s longtime chef de cuisine Segundo Pelaz, the meal is packaged in aluminum trays and quart-size soup containers. The star of the show is a 22 to 25-pound roasted Amish organic turkey from Pennsylvania with gravy and chunky cranberry chutney. Start with a creamy yet dairy-free butternut squash soup accompanied by in-house made croutons and toasted pumpkin seeds and an endive, beet and apple salad with feta cheese and shallot vinaigrette.

Sides are simple and use olive oil instead of butter. Brussels sprouts are caramelized in the oven, the sweet potato puree is airy and light, and the stuffing is baked with country bread, chicken stock and a mix of carrots, celery, parsley and dill. To end, Payard is baking a pumpkin pie as well as an apple variety filled with diced apples, raisins, brown sugar and brandy that have been macerated for 48 hours. “If you serve it warm with vanilla ice cream, it’s just divine,” he said.

T Bar Southampton, 268 Elm St., Southampton; 631-283-0202

Cost: $550 (serves 10)
Order deadline: Nov. 19, pickup only