Things are a little bit different this holiday season. With COVID-19 restrictions still in place across Toronto, many families are unable to gather ’round the table for a festive holiday meal and are instead, opting to raise a glass (or a turkey leg) virtually. Preparing a holiday dinner is no easy feat but, fortunately, some of the city’s top restaurants and chefs have come up with their own versions of a festive feast that arrives straight to your door. From traditional turkey spreads to sizzling Asian-influenced delights, here are six Toronto holiday takeout options for a 2020 holiday dinner you won’t soon forget.
Cibo Market
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No holiday dinner is complete without wine, and Cibo Wine Bar is making it easy to indulge with the launch of their Italian-inspired festive baskets, available through its grocery e-commerce platform, Cibo Market. There are several sweet or savoury holiday meal baskets to choose from, ranging from $80 to $350. The Panettone Gift Basket ($180), includes two bottles of wine, alongside a collection of fine Italian chocolates and biscuits. The Charcuterie Gift Basket ($130) includes everything you’d ever need for a festive appetizer spread, like a carefully-curated assortment of meats, hard and soft cheeses and even grilled vegetables and dried fruits.
Chef Haan Palcu-Chang
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Chef Haan Palcu-Chang, the chef behind Thai BBQ joint Favorites, has come up with his own Christmas feast dubbed the “Kind-of-Asian” holiday meal kit. Spiced duck confit replaces the traditional turkey meat, and sweet and sour roasted cauliflower and broccolini salad with sesame dressing and fried shallots reign over boring steamed Brussels sprouts and glazed carrots. Soy miso gravy is included to drizzle on top and for dessert: eggnog cheesecake parfaits. This holiday meal kit serves two people (perfect for a couple) and costs $110. For more information, click here.
Beast Bodega
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What’s better than going to the grocery store and picking up a frozen turkey? Picking up a whole animal and having a chef create a six-course dinner from it. Beast Bodega offers a “whole animal” dining experience in which diners select a type of meat and then Beast‘s chefs create a six-course tasting menu (five savoury and one sweet) using a different part of the animal for each course. Lamb, goat, rabbit, duck, chicken, squab, pig and wild boar all cost $100 per person, while cow, venison, elk or bison go for $120 per person. For an additional charge, wine pairings can also be included with your meal.
TOCA
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For those who crave a traditional Christmas turkey feast, the Ritz-Carlton Toronto’s TOCA Restaurant has you covered. Available for pick-up on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) and Christmas Day (Dec. 25), TOCA’s Festive Turkey Meal bundle feeds between two and four people, or there’s another option that feeds between six and eight. All of the festive favourites that would take hours to prepare at home are included: seasonal butternut squash soup, three varieties of salad, oven-roasted turkey, traditional apple pie, along with stuffing, potato puree, gravy and cranberry sauce.
La Palma
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West end Italian favourite La Palma is offering its “Xmas Hamper,” which favours prime rib over turkey. Trussed with rosemary and ready to roast, the prime rib also comes with vegetables, mashed potatoes dressed with cultured butter and Gran Padano cheese, whole celeriac coated in hazelnut dukka and tahini yogurt and Castlefranco salad (pickled onion croutons and a creamy cider vinaigrette). For dessert: a pistachio cake laced with bergamot cream and marascino cherries replaces the traditional apple pie. This Italian-style feast serves four and costs $200 before HST.
Richmond Station
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For those who aren’t interested in a full family-sized meal, Richmond Station’s Turducken Feast should do the trick. At $55, the feast is fit for one and includes a slice of turducken (a hybrid of turkey, chicken and duck) stuffed with wild rice and herbs, a side of “cran-marnier” sauce, roasted root vegetables with apple cider glaze, truffled scalloped potatoes, charred caraflex cabbage and kale and Brussels salad with memolette cheese, plus bouche de noel for dessert. If you want a feast that will feed family and friends, for $159 you can purchase an entire turducken roast, trussed and ready to cook.