Any recommendations for Christmas take out dinner?

Hi- I usually go to Michigan for Christmas to visit my sister that has the farm. My other sister lives in New Orleans, and she is a doctor. She has play reservations to fly into Midway on 12/21, and then we would drive to Michigan. She is getting nervous about getting on a plane, and walking around Midway, and so it sounds like she is going to cancel her reservations. She thinks I should not go there either.

My sister in NO has offered instead to order Christmas dinner for me. She could order it from Whole Foods, but we would both rather give a local restaurant our business. My sister wants to order a dinner for 4 so I will have lots of left overs! That means I would have enough food for 8 people. Is there any restaurant in Evanston that is going to do pick up on Christmas that is not super expensive that people could recommend. It can be either turkey or some sort of ethnic restaurant. My sister was looking at Found and the Farmhouse, and their dinners for 4 were too much money. I would prefer turkey, but I would be willing to eat Chinese or middle eastern too or vegetarian. I personally think a meal for one would give me leftovers, and would be plenty of food for me. Skokie, and Wilmette are okay too. Does anybody have any suggestions for Christmas dinner that are $40 max? Thanks, Nancy

Hecky’s

We just had a surprisingly good meal from Union Pizza - no pizza, just pasta w. braised short rib & Caesar salad.

Evanston chicken shack and cross Rhodes immediately came to mind. Both of those do very well as leftovers but not sure what their Christmas schedules are.

Is Zad too far out of your way? I think their food is well above average and could be festive enough for a holiday.

I also think your sister could gift you enough food for a reasonable price and good leftovers, too.

https://www.zadbypitainn.com/

Giovanna

Psistaria's Christmas menu looks really good and the prices are good as well. Not Evanston, but it's highway-adjacent, so you won't be going out of your way:

http://www.psistaria.com/

R Public House in Rogers Park is doing a ham dinner for two with delivery on December 23. Info on their Facebook page. link

Soul & Smoke in Evanston appears to have an a la carte Christmas meal with the small size feeding 2-3 people. link

Urban Tables in Rogers Park has multiple options for single diner.
link

A Taste of Heaven in Andersonville has multiple options. link

I don't think any of these are open on Christmas Day though.

WhyBeeSea wrote:Evanston chicken shack and cross Rhodes immediately came to mind. Both of those do very well as leftovers but not sure what their Christmas schedules are.

I generally think of fried chicken as one of the worst things as a leftover. Maybe if it's a Christmas special roasted version or something, I'd understand. But otherwise I don't get it.

As for an Evanston restaurant, I'd never pass up a chance to order Peppercorns fish. But I don't know if the $40 is for 1 person, or 4 people. Not real clear.

bweiny wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:Evanston chicken shack and cross Rhodes immediately came to mind. Both of those do very well as leftovers but not sure what their Christmas schedules are.

I generally think of fried chicken as one of the worst things as a leftover. Maybe if it's a Christmas special roasted version or something, I'd understand. But otherwise I don't get it.

As for an Evanston restaurant, I'd never pass up a chance to order Peppercorns fish. But I don't know if the $40 is for 1 person, or 4 people. Not real clear.

It's one of the only foods that I'll eat cold vs reheated and be content.

But yeah I'm with you, it loses the luster for fresh, crispy fried chicken.

Does anybody know if there is a list of restaurants that are open on Christmas day? I looked at Cross Rhodes website, and they only take cash, and I am not sure if they are open on Christmas day. There are several restaurants that are not open on Christmas day, but are open the day before, and they have a Christmas dinner that they sell you cold, and then they give you instructions for reheating it. Smylie's does that, and I looked at the menu for Found and it is a $134 dinner for two, and that is way more than she is willing to spend. I think most Chinese restaurants are open on Christmas. Cold chicken does not appeal to me, and I doubt Evanston chicken shack is open on Christmas because there were not open on Thanksgving.

NFriday wrote:Does anybody know if there is a list of restaurants that are open on Christmas day?

https://chicago.eater.com/maps/best-chi ... -christmas

Dave148 wrote:

NFriday wrote:Does anybody know if there is a list of restaurants that are open on Christmas day?

https://chicago.eater.com/maps/best-chi ... -christmas

Many of the listed restaurants will not be open on Christmas Day.

Farmhouse catering and provisions. Evanston Downtown has a facebook page and many of the places offering food are on there. Many towns have a Facebook page where you can get lots of info about restaurants. Wheaton has a Wheaton to go Facebook page where tons of info is posted regarding the status of restaurants.

I guess this is out of your geographical range, but just in case you would go a bit further south, you can get a full take out duck from Sun Wah for $26 and a large portion of roast pork for $17. If you don't like Sun Wah, Dong Kee around the corner probably has similar pricing. I know Sun Wah has been open on Thanksgivings. It might be worth checking to see if they are open on Christmas.

Sun Wah is open until 5:00 on Christmas:

https://sunwahbbq.com/dec-25-2020-open-christmas-day/

If anyone is in the western suburbs near Wheaton, the college offers a meal service for Christmas. We ordered the one for Thanksgiving and it was good. I am posting the menu below. THE DEADLINE TO ORDER IS NOON ON SUNDAY 12/20!! The website is kind of wonky you have to establish an account of course. Go to Christmas menu on left column and then click on pricing and ordering. It offers two days where you can pick up your food, which you prepay for, and gives specific heating instructions. If you order the Prime Rib package, put in the notes box what kind of pie you want. Those that have ordered it say the Prime Rib is good even though it is slightly precooked, you have to finish it off yourself. The website allows you to designate a time you will pick it up. You can order single items too, or combos of what you want.
*********************************************************************************
https://bawheaton.catertrax.com/shopdis ... ntOrderID=

Christmas Menu - Prime Rib Package (Includes: Prime Rib), Garlic Mashed Potatoes (2LBS), Chef's Special Green Beans (1.25LBS), House-Made Wild Mushroom Gravy (32oz), Horseradish Cream Sauce (8oz) & Choice Of (Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, Cherry Pie or Turtle Cheesecake) - (Feeds 6) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $95.59
0
Christmas Menu - Roasted Farm Fresh Turkey Breast Sliced And Served In Natural Juices (3LBS & Feeds 6-7) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $30.99
0
Christmas Menu - Oven Baked Sliced Ham With Brown Sugar And Maple Mustard Glaze (3LBS & Feeds 6-7) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $30.99
0
Christmas Menu - Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (32oz & Feeds 6-7) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $8.99
0
Christmas Menu - Four Cheese Macaroni And Cheese (32oz & Feeds 6-7) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $8.99
0
Christmas Menu - Oven Roasted Parsnips And Carrots With Shallots And Olive Oil (32oz & Feeds 6-7) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $8.99
0
Christmas Menu - Brussel Sprouts With Bacon And Red Onion (24oz & Feeds 6-7) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $8.99
0
Christmas Menu - House-Made Wild Mushroom Gravy (32oz) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $7.79
0
Christmas Menu - House-Made Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (9 in) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $9.99
0
Christmas Menu - House-Made Cherry Pie (9 in) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $9.99
0
Christmas Menu - House-Made Turtle Cheesecake (9 in) - Pick-Up 12/22 or 12/23 ONLY! - $9.99

I think that Alpana Singh's Terra & Vine might fit your bill. It's $49 for a dinner for 2 with 2 entree options (Braised short ribs, Salmon piccata, Chicken piccata, Shrimp scampi, Roasted cauliflower) Pick up on 12/24 only with reheating instructions. I love that she's offering a take and heat breakfast option as well.
https://www.terraandvine.com/
Terra and Vine
1701 Maple Ave.
Evanston, IL

No matter where you decide on, I strongly recommend that you consider picking up your Friday dinner the day before, and reheating it the next day. Many restaurants will offer carryout dinners on Thursday, but the number which are actually open on Friday will be very small, so you'll have WAY more choices by picking up on Thursday. Think also about which foods do best being reheated; many do, but many others don't.

Also, just to add one possibility that MIGHT be open on Friday - Chinese restaurants often are. As I mentioned in my recent post, I thought the food at Ho Ho Chinese Kitchen in Skokie was very good, with large portions and reasonable prices. And as Ronnie noted,

ronnie_suburban wrote:They're just one Ho away from being the perfect restaurant for the season!

Hi- My sister called this evening, and we went over the list of possibilities that people suggested. She did not like Hecky's, and Cross Rhodes only accepts cash. We decided to go with Terra and Vine. I have never been there, and it is only three blocks from where I live. She is going to order a dinner for two. Pickup is between 3:30 and 8:00 on Christmas eve, and you pick a 15 minute time. 3:30, and 3:45 are already full. They are supposed to have four entrees to choose from, but when she tried to order the two I wanted, it only let her order the short ribs and shrimp scampi. We tried different times. She is going to call them up and see if I can get the salmon instead of the short ribs. I said it was okay if all they had was the short ribs. I told her that we had 67 COVID cases yesterday, and she said it was just as well I was not traveling for Christmas. Thanks for all of the suggestions

Hi- just picked up my Christmas dinner from Terra and Vine. Alpana handed me the bag personally. I got mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, cream of mushroom soup. some bread, salmon and pasta and shrimp scampi. I got lots of the shrimp scampi. Enough for two meals. They did not give me any reheating instructions though. I already just heated up some of the cream of mushroom soup in my microwave, and it is good, but how do I heat up the pasta and shrimp scampi and the salmon. Do I just put them in the microwave?

They charged my sister a $10 service fee. Is that common? The whole thing including tax was $64. They were busy today. It looks like a lot of people are still going somewhere for Christmas. Thanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:They charged my sister a $10 service fee. Is that common? The whole thing including tax was $64.

The $9.80 was the default 20% gratuity/tip on a $49 order. Your sister could have chosen any amount she wanted. Pre-pandemic I seldom tipped for pickup orders, but things are different now.

nsxtasy wrote:I thought the food at Ho Ho Chinese Kitchen in Skokie was very good, with large portions and reasonable prices. And as Ronnie noted,

ronnie_suburban wrote:They're just one Ho away from being the perfect restaurant for the season!

Took a shot and ordered from Ho Ho last night. I'm usually reluctant to order from tiny shoeboxes with massive menus but every dish was really well prepared and tasted great. Everything had more of a home cooked feel from the Crab Rangoon, which had chunks of scallions inside to the vegetable fried rice which had chunks of blanched vegetables instead of the usual frozen peas/carrots. The chicken and beef dishes used good quality meat. Fried items were properly fried with no excess oil. Overall, much, much better than China Chef. Will definitely order again.

Interestingly, I returned to China Chef for my Christmas dinner, after giving HoHo a shot over a week ago. Once again, China Chef did very well, indeed.

I was impressed by how busy they were - when I ordered, there was an hour's backlog, and when I picked up at 4:45 p.m. there were at least 2 dozen orders waiting to be picked up. Then again, they are Skokie adjacent, so it makes sense.

Food dishes were all well made, not overly salty, and to my palate, properly composed. Over the years, I have grown fond of the Pancit Guisado made by China Chef, and again yesterday it was very tasty, with a nice mix of noodles and vegetables, with fresh shrimp and pork. It was the star of a rock solid meal.

I went with two standard Cantonese dishes, BBQ Pork Kow and Beef with Chinese Broccoli (gai lan). Both met my expectations exactly. The gai lan was perfectly cooked, crisp but not crunchy, and the dark sauce had nice balance.

I tried one new dish, the Hoe Sai Guy, and that was the only item that disappointed a little. I thought this mix of vegetables, chicken, and shrimp a bit bland, and the presence of zucchini a bit of a surprise. Still, this was better than the average Chicken Almond Ding, and worth the try. I spent enough to get free chicken fried rice, and this was pretty standard, which means good.

So despite reports of 'off days' at China Chef, Morton Grove, I have to give this selection of dishes a solid B+ to A- review.

Hi- My sister called me up last night to see how I liked my dinner at Terra and Vine and I said it was good, but I mentioned the $10 service fee, and she told me that they asked her if she wanted to leave a tip, and that was the tip she asked them to add to the bill. My other sister told me that she and her husband bought a 12 pound turkey for the two of them, and fixed it yesterday. She also told me that she bought $280 worth of restaurant gift cards to help out local restaurants.

A lot of restaurants I would have considered were closed on Christmas Eve including Crossrhodes and the New Dave's Kitchen. Terra and Vine is only open 4pm-8pm, and is closed on Monday and Tuesdays. It looks like they were really busy on Christmas Eve though. They were open more hours when their patio was open. Thanks, Nancy

I've been trying to cycle our take-out orders around to places we like and want to survive. We ordered Christmas dinner from Fat Cat. I've spent a lot of time at Fat Cat in the summers on their patio. The dinner was fantastic. Beet salad, Brussels sprout with bacon and maple glaze, mac & cheese, beef tenderloin and two biscuits. Lots of food for the two of us for $90 before tax and gratuity.