10 options for Thanksgiving takeout, dining in Central Jersey

Aren’t we all just a little too tired and busy to make a Thanksgiving dinner at home with all the fixins' and more people than you comfortably can fit into a dining room?

If not, God bless ya’! But if so, fret not. We have the best places in Central Jersey for Thanksgiving takeout and dining. All you have to do is show up or pick up. Maybe you’ll even have time to enjoy a few extra minutes of the Macy’s parade and a football game or two with family and friends.

READ: 5 bakeries cooking up tasty Thanksgiving pies

READ: Local poultry anytime at Griggstown Farm

Takeout options

Here are some Thanksgiving dinner takeout options, making it so the hardest part your day will be to pick up and heat up your meal:

Boston Market, bostonmarket.com/holiday-meal-catering-and-delivery/

If you're planning for 12 or more people, Boston Market’s many locations offer a convenient way to go with two choices. Both the Basic and Complete Thanksgiving meals, $99.99 and $119.99, respectively, include one whole roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetable stuffing and rolls. The Complete also offers spinach and artichoke dip with crackers, cranberry walnut relish, and pumpkin and apple pies.

If anyone in your crew doesn’t like turkey, three different ham options are available: an 11-pound spiral sliced for $59.99, a whole 8-pound boneless for $64.99, and a half boneless for $42.99. Side dishes also are available a la carte. Deadline to order is Nov. 19.

To make Thanksgiving even easier, Boston Market also offers home delivery. They also are open on Thanksgiving and serving dinner in East Brunswick, Edison, the Somerset section of Franklin, Avenel section of Woodbridge, Union and Hamilton.

Wegmans, order at catering.wegmans.com; pickup at locations in Bridgewater, Woodbridge, Manalapan and Princeton

Known as a foodie’s paradise, Wegmans offers a 36-page “Entertain Holiday 2018” catalog that offers dozens of options. They include a hand-carved turkey dinner for six ($129) or 12 ($229) ready to heat and serve in an about an hour more or less or a 12- to 14-pound bird that serves 10 ($125) and needs to be heated up for two hours.

Both come with homestyle gravy, herb stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry orange relish. The carved turkey dinner also comes with roasted butternut squash with spinach and Craisins, seasoned green beans, and cranberry orange relish. The whole bird also features green bean and mushroom casserole with crispy onions and whipped butternut squash. Orders need to be placed 24 hours before pickup.

Cracker Barrel, crackerbarrel.com/order-online/thanksgiving

If you want your Turkey Day Southern-style with all the comfort food you can stomach before the tryptophan lulls you to sleep, this could be your jam, as well as your gravy, mashed potatoes, yeasty rolls, sweet potato casserole, hash-brown casserole, cornbread stuff, corn, carrots, pecan pie, pumpkin pie and fried apples. That’s the feast that comes with a roasted turkey breast.

The Heat n’ Serve Holiday Family Meal To-Go serves 10, comes cold, requires up to two hours to heat and costs $109.99. The Homestyle Turkey n’ Dressing Family Meal To-Go comes hot and ready to serve to 6 for $67.99. Deadline to order is Nov. 21. Central Jersey locations are Clinton and Hamilton.  

Whole Foods, wholefoodsmarket.com/shop/MAR/3544

Whole Foods has 11 different Thanksgiving dinners available. Eight of them come with turkey, three with ham, and two with prime rib. And one comes with all three, plus a large shrimp platter, Passport to Europe four-cheese platter, green peppercorn sauce, maple-mustard glaze for the ham, turkey gravy, cranberry orange sauce, maple-roasted brussels sprouts with pepitas, roasted butternut squash with cranberries and sage, herb stuffing, creamy mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, cranberry crumble pie, dinner rolls, and a holiday floral arrangement.

That appropriately is called the Ultimate Feast and it feeds up to 14 for $449.99. All items are served cold and require reheating. The other options range from a turkey breast dinner for two at $59.99 and Festive Feast for 12 at $269.99. The deadline to order is Nov. 19.

The Fresh Market, 75 Washington Valley Road, Bedminster, thefreshmarket.com/our-products/holiday-meals

Three options are on the table from The Fresh Market’s only Central Jersey location. For $149.99, the Deluxe Holiday Dinner will feed 12 to 14 with a 10- to 12-pound fully cooked turkey, a three-pound boneless spiral ham, 4 pounds of Yukon Gold whipped potatoes, 3 pounds of herb stuffing, two pounds of gravy, a two-pound corn soufflé, two pounds of green beans, a pound of cranberry relish with walnuts and 24 dinner rolls. It takes about two hours to reheat the turkey.

If you’re having fewer folks, the Traditional Holiday Dinner comes without the ham, corn soufflé and green beans and only three pounds of potatoes and a dozen rolls for $79.99. That feeds eight to 10. For only three to five people, there’s the Essential Holiday Dinner with 3.5-pound fully cooked turkey breast, 2 pounds of potatoes, 2 pounds of stuffing, 1 pound of green beans, two pounds of gravy, and half a pound of cranberry relish with walnuts for $54.99. Ham, rib roast, crown roast and pork tenderloin are additional options between $2.99 and $15.99 per pound. A variety of pies also are available between $8.99 and $19.99. Deadline to order is Nov. 16.

Dining options

Here are Thanksgiving dinners in a few of Central Jersey’s finest restaurants; just call your favorite dining destination to see what they may be offering this holiday:

The Bernards Inn, 7 Mine Brook Road, Bernardsville, bernardsinn.com/inn-events/466-thanksgiving

The Bernards Inn will offer a buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with organic Griggstown Farm turkey, plus beef, seafood and pasta selections and traditional fixings. The cost is $69 for adults, $35 for children ages 6 to 12, and $15 for 2– to 5-year-olds.

The inn also has a three-course prix fixe menu from noon to 6 p.m. that includes chef selections from the fall menu, plus the aforementioned turkey, for $79 for adults and $35 for ages 12 and younger.

Cranbury Inn Restaurant, 21 S. Main St., Cranbury, thecranburyinn.com/thanksgiving.html

Folks have been celebrating Thanksgiving for 265 years at the historic Cranbury Inn, 112 years before Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday. That tradition will continue with a dinner featuring homemade soup, house salad, a variety of entrees with a vegetable and potato du jour, dessert, and coffee, tea or milk. Price is $37 to $46, depending on the entrée.

Wine pairings, appetizers and other desserts are available at an additional cost. Children’s entrees include turkey, chicken tenders and pasta and come with soup, dessert and beverage. That cost is $20 for ages 5 to 10, $15 for ages 3 and 4, and complimentary for younger. For menu specifics, call 609-655-5595.

Olde Mill Inn and Grain House Restaurant, 225 Route 202, Basking Ridge, oldemillinn.com/event/thanksgiving/

This historic restaurant offers two Thanksgiving Day feasts: a four-course dinner at the Grain House and a buffet in the Washington Ballroom. Both include a Griggstown Farm turkey and all-you-can-eat dessert buffet. Check the website for an updated menu and pricing. A reservation is required at 908-696-2335 with a credit card to hold it.

Pantagis Renaissance, 250 Park Ave., Scotch Plains, pantagis.com/event_1.html

You won't go hungry at this extensive Thanksgiving buffet, featuring a carving station with prime rib, Virginia ham, leg of lamb and roast turkey, plus hot trays of seafood paella, clams, shrimp, mussels, loin of pork with garlic rosemary demiglaze, vodka penne, sausage and peppers, roast duck, steak tips marsala, roast chicken, and sides, and soups, salads, and a Viennese pastry table. Seatings are noon, 2 and 4 p.m. and 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. for parties larger than eight. Cost is $45, $22.50 for children ages 6 to 10, and complimentary for 5 and younger. A la carte dining is also available. For reservations call 908-322-7726.

Forsgate Country Club, 375 Forsgate Drive, Monroe, forsgatecc.com

Forsgate Country Club will celebrate Thanksgiving with a festive buffet that includes the traditional roasted turkey and favorite fixings along with a beef carving station and additional entrees, gourmet salads, and a wide selection of side dishes and tempting desserts. You do not need to be a member of this historic private club to enjoy this holiday and sample the chef’s buffet offerings.

Reservations are necessary at 732-521-0070. Non-member pricing is $43.95, $21.95 for children ages 4 to 12. Tax and gratuity will be added. All children age 3 and younger eat for free. There are two seatings at 1 and 4 p.m. 

Staff Writer Bob Makin: 732-565-7319; bmakin@gannett.com