5 SF Alternatives to Cooking Thanksgiving at Home

When the thought of rotating a sheet pan seems too much inside your San Francisco domicile, off-load the cooking tasks, besties. 

We’re all busy. We’re all exhausted. We’re all overstimulated. But we, too, are enough… regardless if we make a Thanksgiving dinner this year.

If you’re like us and are not planning on lifting a finger for Turkey Day this year, he’s a quick rundown on some hyperlocal offerings/ideas to take the stress out of making (most of or all of) the feast at home.


Maybeck’s Thanksgiving takeout dinner when you want to treat yourself, but don’t want to dirty a plate. The resto’s multi-course offering serves up to four dishes that include brussels sprouts, a fall salad, cranberry sauce, sausage and sage stuffing, turkey breast, and much more. More info.

Get Horn Barbqeuew’s whole-ass turkey for the girls and gays and theys. Fully preparing and cooking an entire turkey is a days-long process; let Oakland’s foremost barbeque hub take the biggest time-suck of the Thanksgiving meal off your to-do list; the bird is slow-roasted, smoked, and juicy AF; they also have other meat options, too. More info

What if we made out at a booth by the buffet, babe? Ayesha Curry’s International Smoke is hosting a Thanksgiving-themed all-you-can-eat buffet — which will include smoked turkey breast, smoked salmon, and wagyu prime rib as the main meat dishes. More info.

“Get the [dinner rolls], get the [dinner rolls].” Acme Bakery is kneading, rising, and baking Thanksgiving bread loaves and dinner rolls offered specifically to its Ferry Building location for the holiday. More info.

Have a staycation and a five-course Thanksgiving meal. 1 Hotel — the five-star hotel located in the Embarcadero that is winning awards and accolades for its environmental sustainability — is hosting a rather reasonable multi-course Thanksgiving dinner at its on-site restaurant Terrene, fit for a treat-yo’ self moment. More info


While we’re on the subject of taking the stress out of a holiday organized around extroversion, it’s completely OK and fine and acceptable to pull the e-brake on committed plans. To reflect on gratitude in a sea of stimulation is, in fact, rather difficult. It’s a much easier task to find thanks for all the things in your life when you’re not bombarded by conversation.

Take this upcoming Thanksgiving to find respite — recharge, relax, and relinquish powers to the present moment. There’s nothing wrong with ordering a meal for one and pouring a good glass of wine while watching a 2016 episode of Chef’s Table.

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