Posted by Sheryl Kirby in holidays, meat and poultry, prepared foods, where can I find? on October 5, 2008 at 8:16 am
Autumn kind of came out of nowhere and with it, the best holiday; Thanksgiving - a celebration focused on food that allows an unabashed, no-excuses day in the kitchen where I get to cook some of my favourite foods. To my surprise, not everyone shares this joy of cooking, so we've got our annual primer of where to get everything for a perfect Thanksgiving, regardless of whether you know a whisk from a broiler.
Cook It Yourself
For those not content with ye olde industrial butterball, there are a few happier, healthier poultry options available. Organic turkey can be hard to track down, but The Butchers (2636 Yonge Street) is offering in-house smoked turkey and ham, as well as fresh organic turkey and a limited number of Heritage Bronze turkeys. Customers are advised to place their Thanksgiving orders at least two days in advance.
Bronze turkeys seem to be the hot Thanksgiving item this year, as they are also available at The Healthy Butcher (565 Queen Street West), along with ham, turducken and a variety of other holiday meats. The folks at Cumbrae's (481 Church Street) are so excited about their heritage turkey offerings, they've got a video on their website.
Whitehouse Meats in St Lawrence Market (93 Front Street East) offers free-range turkeys and chickens (for those of us not feeding an army), and across the street at the farmers market, Clement's Poultry offers organically-raised birds.
The other main Thanksgiving element is cranberries, and local berries can be found at the farmers market at Nathan Phillips Square and St. Lawrence Market.
Make It Look Like You Cooked It Yourself
Since not everyone actually likes spending the day over a hot stove, there are plenty of places willing to prepare your Thanksgiving feast so you can enjoy the day not covered in gravy. Although The Healthy Butcher won't cook your turkey for you, they do offer a selection of prepared side dishes, soups, stuffing and pies to make the day a bit easier. Cooked turkey with all the trimmings is available at Whole Foods (87 Avenue Road), as well as full dinner packages and sides. They've even got cheese boards, fish and a vegan holiday dinner.
The Fairmont Royal York (100 Front Street West) is also offering prepared Thanksgiving dinner packages under their Thanksgiving To Go promotion, as is Le Meridien King Edward (37 King Street East, no web info, call 416-863-4125 to reserve). And Rose Reisman Catering is also offering a Thanksgiving to Go special, delivered to your door.
Screw It, Let's Go Out
If dinner at a fancy hotel is what you've got in mind for turkey day, The Royal York is offering both Thanksgiving brunch and dinner at Epic, and the King Edward will be serving dinner in the elegant Victoria's restaurant.
If local and seasonal is important, the Palais Royale (1601 Lakeshore Boulevard West) is serving up a Thanksgiving brunch in conjunction with the Pear Up promotion, and Black Creek Pioneer Village (1000 Murray Ross Parkway) does up a pioneer style dinner showcasing Ontario meat and produce in their Half Way House restaurant.
And finally, while it's billed as an Oktoberfest event, the Abbott on the Hill pub (1276 Yonge Street) will be holding a brunch and dinner fundraiser on the 11th and 12th of October to raise money for the Canadian Olympic teams. It's more bratwurst and beer than turkey and wine, but it's for a good cause. (416-920-9074 to reserve tickets.)
