Einkorn and bay-leaf rolls from Elbow Bread. Photo: Meredith Truax
In this takeout-dependent town, there is nearly equal valor in showing up to a gathering with a pie from the latest hype bakery as there is in baking one yourself. In that spirit, we’ve put together this list of items both small and large that will be ideal accompaniments to any kind of Thanksgiving meal, whether you’re hosting a full feast, throwing together a quick Friendsgiving, or just needing to not show up to someone else’s apartment empty-handed. Cooking might not be required, but foresight is, since these specials are likely to sell out before their preorder deadlines.
Party-Ready Patties
$24 for 12
The Flatbush bakery Bon Pâtés is selling frozen, cocktail-size versions of its puff pastries — with fillings like cod, oxtail, spinach, and Impossible beef — that can be passed around on a platter instead of pigs in a blanket.
Order details: Order by November 20. Pickup until 12:30 on Thanksgiving day, or get local delivery for $15.
Herring to Match a Martini
$12 per pint
Sour-sweet pickled herring is an unexpected alternative to the Cantabrian anchovies donning every modern tablescape in recent memory. Nordic Preserves inside Essex Market makes blueberry- and apple-juniper-brined options that are especially festive and will effortlessly become a platter alongside some Wasa crackers and crudites.
Order details: Order online for pickup within 24 hours. The shop will close at 6 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving.
Hype Butter for Your Hosts
$12.50 for 125-gram bar
You don’t have to bring Beurre Bordier back in a suitcase from France like the Francophiles on TikTok. Head to Pavé in midtown or the Tin Building by South Street Seaport, both places where you can grab a crusty baguette to eat alongside.
Order details: Just show up before Thanksgiving Day. Tin Building’s supply is being restocked on November 18. Pavé has a two-per-customer limit.
Truffles Because It’s a Celebration
$170 for 4 ounces
Like a bottle of vintage Champagne, a truffle to shave over some potatoes is a small but exceptional contribution to the table. Regalis’s offerings start with Burgundy black truffles — perhaps you’d like to add some to the gravy? — and go up from there.
Order details: Order for pickup within two business days. Regalis’s East Williamsburg warehouse will close at 5 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving.
Exceptional Pickles
$10
I’m calling it: Vietnamese pickles are the new cranberry sauce, a sweet and tangy accompaniment to unify everything else on a table. Grab jars of daikon and carrot or papaya with fish sauce from Hi:En From Vietnam alongside a little bit of ca phe concentrate you could use to make some excellent espresso martinis.
Order details: Available until it sells out in-store. Normal hours Thanksgiving week.
Bay-Leaf Rolls to Pass (or Hoard for Yourself)
$28 for 12
For Thanksgiving, Elbow Bread’s Zoe Kanan is rolling out pies, knishes, and cookie-tartlet hybrids known as tassies, but I’m most excited to try her einkorn rolls, fluffy enough to please anyone looking for Parker House Rolls and made fragrant by the addition of bay-leaf–infused butter that’s added to the dough and brushed right on top.
Order details: Preorders accepted until November 22; pickup November 25 and 26 until 5:00 p.m.
Mac and Cheese, Because Who Doesn’t Love It?
$52 and up
The nearly two-decade-old East Village standby S’mac offers its full menu of eccentric macaroni and cheeses in baked or unbaked pans that can serve seven to ten people. And though some of the outlier mac — like goat cheese, Kalamata olive, and spinach — is likely to be as controversial at some tables as it is welcome on others, the gluten-free, low-carb, and multigrain pasta options make this a surprisingly inclusive choice.
Order details: Place orders by November 24.
A Half-Turkey to Start
$90
Williamsburg’s Pheasant Catering has an entire à la carte spread of things like green-bean casserole, cauliflower gratin, and chunky old-school cranberry sauce. We’re partial to the half-turkey, served in its own buttery jus, which feels just right for a smaller group instead of an entire bird.
Order details: Preorders are accepted until November 23.
Turkey-Leg Confit
$30 each
Some people don’t even want to bother with white meat. For them, we suggest the confit turkey legs — big enough to feed two people apiece — from Dickson’s Farmstand. Heat them up in the oven and then ladle on the matching gravy, a worthwhile addition at $25 per quart.
Order details: Preorders are accepted until each item sells out. Pickup on November 25 until 8:30 p.m. and November 26 until 7 p.m.
Turkey Pot Pie
$32 for small; $78 for large
Dan Kluger has an all-in-one solution at Greywind, his restaurant near Hudson Yards. Buttery crust filled with local turkey and vegetables in a sage-y cider sauce could compete with the top dishes on any fully loaded table.
Order details: Preorders accepted until pies sell out. Pickup at the bakery on November 26 and Thanksgiving Day from 8–3.
A Full Vegan Feast
$180
Anyone who sticks to a plant-based diet tends to have it tough during group meals. There is no greater gesture from a host than supplying those guests with their own spread from Ravi Derossi’s Overthrow Hospitality. Each kit includes enough cornbread, squash soup, vegetables, truffle pasta, mushroom Wellington, and sweet-potato pie to feed two hungry vegans.
Order details: Preorders are accepted until they sell out. Pickup on November 25 and 26 at Soda Club.
Fried Chicken That — Let’s Be Honest — Tastes Better Than Turkey
$100 for a tray
Fried chicken might sound too ordinary for a holiday, but it’s (a) delicious and (b) easily served to large groups at rambling potlucks where there aren’t enough chairs for everyone, let alone forks. Schaller and Weber’s is exceptionally crunchy and somehow even better at room temperature.
Order details: Order trays online, or buy it by weight at the deli counter, which closes at 7 p.m. on November 26.
Lasagna to Feed a Crowd
$98 for a 7.5-lb tray
What is white lasagna if not just very-large-format macaroni and cheese? La Lanterna’s is legendary among connoisseurs for its fresh pasta stacked into thick yet structurally sound layers with a gooey blend of Fontina, mozzarella, Pecorino, and Parmesan — black truffle optional. Call ahead with two days’ notice and specify whether you want it frozen, ready to cook, or already baked.
Order details: Order by Monday, November 24, for pickup on November 26 or Thanksgiving during restaurant hours.
Chocolate Praline Tart Sounds Nice
$65
This chocolate-pie alternative from Birdee Bakery in Williamsburg is filled with mousselike chocolate sabayon and caramelized hazelnuts, a Nutella-esque combo that will sit nicely next to apple or pumpkin.
Order details: Available until it sells out; pickup between 8 a.m. and noon on Thanksgiving.
Classics From Partybus
$22 to $50
There are a zillion great places to get the usual suspects — apple, pecan, pumpkin — and I like the way Partybus on the Lower East Side is adding some just-creative-enough supplements, including pear crumble and miso-caramel, to go with them.
Order details: Preorders accepted until November 23; pickup between 8 a.m. and noon on Thanksgiving.
And Some Gluten-Free Options
$32 to $35 each
The Long Island bakery Kerber’s always stocks an assortment of pies at its West Village outpost, and it’s a solid option for berry, gluten-free, and even a couple vegan pies.
Order details: Preorder by November 24.
Ice Cream Pies to Really Blow People’s Minds
$32 to 35 each
Out: ice cream with pie. In: ice cream as pie. Sugar Hill Creamery in Harlem has peach-cobbler ice cream with compote and crumble; sweet-potato ice cream with a latticed layer of torched marshmallow; and bourbon-pecan ice cream all wrapped in crust and ready to go.
Order details: Preorders until November 25; pickup from November 22 to 26.
Yes, Everything
$685
Frenchette’s all-inclusive, no-modifications-allowed dinner packs everything that needs to be reheated in oven-safe containers for maximum ease. The price is steep, but it includes a whole turkey and gravy, plus pâté stuffed into a pumpkin, radicchio and Castelfranco salad, celery-root velouté, and five sides with pumpkin pie and chocolate cookies for dessert. All hosts have to do is set the table and ask their six to eight guests to supply the wine.
Order details: Available until it sells out. Pickup in Tribeca on November 25 and 26.
