Thanksgiving To Go

If a happy Thanksgiving for you means NOT cooking, you’ll be pleased to know there are an array of to-go dinners (order in advance) for just about every budget that you can enjoy while remaining safer at home.

Then, you can spend the day being grateful and watching Friends Thanksgiving episodes.

$8 Bob Evans, ironically, is not offering their Everyday Thanksgiving plate of turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving. Or even on the day before. So, you’ll have to celebrate Thanksgiving no later than Tuesday night if you want to take advantage of this deal! I could see doing that. For $8? Sure.

Thanksgiving Plated Meals with a Tablecloth for about $30 – $40

There’s a lot to be said for a traditional, home-cooked family dinner. But there are also plenty of reasons to choose a nice restaurant for your Thanksgiving meal.

Don’t cook! choose a value-priced Thanksgiving meal this year

“I can’t cook a Thanksgiving dinner. All I can make is cold cereal and maybe toast.” – Charlie Brown

A delicious, all-inclusive meal at Cracker Barrel for just $12!

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival and enjoying a bountiful meal is part of it. I have made Thanksgiving dinner a couple of times. And it wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t great either, and it was quite the project.

There are plenty of good reasons you might be thankful for choosing an affordable restaurant for your Thanksgiving meal.

Make reservations ASAP for these high-demand Thanksgiving dining experiences

If you wait, it will be too late! If you are planning an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime kind of Thanksgiving meal for you and loved ones, it’s times to call in those reservations. Here are some ideas…

One-of-a-Kind Thanksgiving Buffet Meals

• Graves Mountain Lodge, $40. Make advance reservations and drive to Syria, Virginia to enjoy a gracious, old-fashioned Thanksgiving buffet for lunch or dinner hours in a country setting. Expect freshly made rolls, their special apple butter, and fried oysters, along with traditional favorites. Make new friends at your convivial, family-style table. It will taste and feel like dinner at your Southern grandma’s house.
• GreenFare Organic Cafe in Herndon, $50 offers a 100% plant-based Thanksgiving Buffet between noon and 3 p.m. for $50. The dishes have no added salt, oil or sugar. I will never eat a Thanksgiving meal like this but I have to admit the carrot soup, roasted butternut squash, pumpkin bread pudding and other offerings sound yummy, as well as healthy. You must reserve in advance.

Unforgettable and Pricey Splurges

• LeMaire’s at The Jefferson hotel in Richmond is noted for its elegant food and setting. They are offering a four-course Thanksgiving meal for $70 between the hours of 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., but as of this writing the only reservations that are left are for couples. You can also make reservations for a three-course Thanksgiving meal at the more casual T.J.’s between 5 p.m and 9 p.m. for $55.
• The Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, about $75, offers a Thanksgiving brunch buffet between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. that also includes prime rib, roast duck and Panettone French toast.
• The Williamsburg Inn in Colonial Williamsburg, $100, offers a lavish and elegant Thanksgiving buffet, with seatings every half hour between 12 pm and 3 pm. Expect live entertainment, multiple chef stations, with delicacies such as pumpkin bisque, artisanal cheeses and charcuterie, salmon, prime rib and ham, in addition to turkey. There are also at least five desserts, including chef-prepared Bananas Foster. Make advance reservations as early as possible. Business casual (or better) dress code.
• The Ritz-Carlton in Mclean, Tysons Corner, $120 serves a Thanksgiving brunch buffet between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. that includes live entertainment. Expect raw oysters, lobster and caviar, in addition to traditional favorites. Reservations required; dress code.