Not a fan of turkey done the traditional way? That’s OK.
Pittsburgh-area restaurants are dishing up an alternative main dish for the Thanksgiving table. Here’s a sampling:
Syrian feast
Khalil’s, a 48-year staple in Bloomfield, is serving a Thanksgiving meal for the public for the very first time.
When she was a child, Dalel Khalil’s parents would gather the whole family — at least 100 people — at the restaurant for an American-Syrian holiday feast. They would make five to six turkeys alongside stuffed grape leaves and both American- and Syrian-style stuffings. They would send trays of food to homeless shelters on the holiday, too.
Shel and her sister, Leila Khalil, now own the restaurant and are not making turkeys this year. They’re going full-on Syrian. Their takeout package ($130) serves four to six and includes individual lamb shanks in mushroom sauce, a vegetable medley (potatoes, celery, corn, peas and carrots), Syrian rice and ground beef stuffing with raisins and toasted almonds, cranberries topped with pomegranate and mint, Khalil’s signature salad, rolls, and pumpkin baklava.
Some items are available a la carte, including vegan pumpkin kibbe footballs ($18), a vegan pumpkin kibbe tray ($35), a pan of Syrian stuffing ($40), salad ($32, or $42 with feta) and a pan of pumpkin baklava ($36).
Orders are due by Friday, and pickup is available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 25 or 26. Leila Khalil said that the restaurant staff would place the orders in the cars.
Email orders to info@khalilsrestaurant.com, and include your desired pickup time.
Gobbleritos
This year, for the first time, you can order a Take-n-Bake Gobblerito 6-Pack for $95 from Mad Mex.
For the uninitiated, that’s your entire Thanksgiving meal inside a burrito. Turkey, black bean mashed potatoes, bread stuffing and corn — it’s all in there.
The oven-ready pan comes with a salad for six with a choice of two dressings, a side dish of cranberry sauce and plenty of gravy for smothering those burritos.
“We think that a lot of people will be having very small group Thanksgiving dinners and will be looking for simple, fun solutions,” said Bill Fuller of Big Burrito Restaurant Group.
Whether this will become a new tradition remains to be seen. “It depends on how the public receives the idea,” he said.
Order online at madmex.com and pick up between Nov. 23 and Nov. 25.
Turkey lasagna
Another Thanksgiving-meal-in-one option is the turkey lasagna from Bella Frutteto in Franklin Park. Owner Sandy Rook said the dish features turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn and butternut squash, all layered between lasagna noodles and smothered with sage gravy. A tray serves eight to 10 and comes with a side of cranberry sauce.
Order deadline is Nov. 23, and orders can be picked up between 3 and 8 p.m. Nov. 25. Bellafrutteto.com (click on “Features”); 724-940-7777.
Lasagna
Community Kitchen Pittsburgh in Hazelwood, a culinary training program for people with barriers to employment, will sell pans of frozen vegetable or meat lasagna that serve four to six people for $30.
Julie Inman, business development director, said customers can pick up pans of made-from-scratch lasagna between 2 and 6 p.m. Nov. 25. There’s also an option to pick up traditional Thanksgiving fare that day, including herb-roasted turkey (starting at $67 for a 16-pound bird), an assortment of small plates and appetizers (individually priced), side dishes like stuffing and green bean casserole ($20 for six to eight servings or $40 for 10 to 12 servings), and desserts and baked goods such as pumpkin or apple pie ($12).
“We did a lot of research, and we found out that a lot of people are displaced for the holidays this year,” Ms. Inman said. “People can’t come home.”
Maybe Grandpa always makes the best green bean casserole, but you can't celebrate with him this year. You can get the casserole at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh instead, she said.
Community Kitchen Pittsburgh has always done Christmas catering, but mainly it was for parties where the staff delivered, set up and served the food, she said. The takeout packages are a new twist during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details and the online order form can be found at ckpgh.org (click on “Events”).
Ham
Ham is the typical substitute for those who don’t like turkey on Thanksgiving, and Bistro to Go supplies it.
Brown sugar baked ham with pineapple sauce, serving six to eight, is $65 per pan at the North Side cafe. It has other entrees, sides and desserts, as well as single-plate holiday meals (regular or vegan, $22 each).
Pickups are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 24 and 25. bistroandcompany.com; 412-231-0218.
Homemade pasta
Tillie’s, a staple in McKeesport since 1962, offers homemade pasta family packs with various sauces.
Choose from homemade spaghetti, fettuccine, hand-rolled gnocchi and other pastas. Sauce options include plain tomato sauce, thick meat sauce, mushroom, Alfredo, Mafalda (tomato and cream), bacon and artichoke butter, or piccata sauce. Meatballs and hot sausage are optional add-ons. The pasta packs come with a loaf of bread and serve four to six. They range from $27 to $49, depending on choice of pasta and sauce.
Co-owner Phyllis Teti, daughter-in-law of the restaurant’s namesake, Tillie, said the family packs have been available since the very beginning, but they’ve grown more popular during COVID-19.
Visit tillies.com.
Food events
To a Tea: Vanilla chai, Vietnamese green and Turkish apple teas, Scandinavian turkey salad, salmon roulade, prosciutto and fontina, scones, lemon curd wheel, pound cake with basil butter, chocolate truffles. Noon and 12:30 p.m. seatings on Nov. 21 at Revival on Lincoln, Bellevue. $32. revivalonlincoln.com/events/2020/nov-tea.
Winter Holiday Market: Winter Holiday Market: Features 31 vendors from the local food and agriculture scene. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 21 outdoors at the Community Pavilion, Washington, Pa. Masks and social distancing are required. Vendors include farms, bakeries, wineries and other local food businesses. facebook.com (search for “Winter Holiday Farmer’s Market”).
Golden Meal Ticket Raffle: Junior Achievement of Western PA typically asks restaurants to donate to the organization’s fundraiser each year. This year, recognizing the difficult business climate for restaurants, the organization secured donors to buy restaurant gift cards for a big raffle that benefits Junior Achievement and local restaurants. Through the Golden Meal Ticket Raffle, one person will win more than $5,000 in $100 gift certificates to restaurants in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Raffle tickets are $10. The winner will be announced on Jan. 28 through the PA Lottery Big Four 7 p.m. evening drawing. For information or tickets: jawesternpa.org.
Rebecca Sodergren: pgfoodevents@hotmail.com; @pgfoodevents.
First Published: November 18, 2020, 12:30 p.m.
