Enjoy a Relaxed Christmas Dinner at Home With Your Family and Friends
By Mario Boucher
Some people love holiday cooking, but for those who do not, the Christmas holidays should be about spending time with family and friends, catching up and playing games—not being in the kitchen. Why not order a premade Christmas dinner from one of the locally owned restaurants in the Raleigh and Western Wake areas? You’ll be able to relax, and your order will support a local business.
Your choices are plentiful. Check some of the options:
The Butcher’s Market
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: It varies depending on the items you select
• Meal serves: Varies for each order
• Price: Varies for each order
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: Varies, depending on your order
• Pickup Location: Midtown Raleigh: 5045 Falls of Neuse Road (919) 809-8914; Holly Springs: 4200 Lassiter Road (919) 267-9191; Lake Boone: 2412 Wycliff Road (919) 615-0512; Cary: 1225 Kildaire Farm Road (919) 465-3082
• Phone: see locations
The menu: Enjoy a feast of meats – including turkey, boneless, or bone-in prime rib roast, tenderloin or strip loin roast, pork, poultry, seafood and prepared meals at The Butcher’s Market with a wide selection. Prepared sides include an assortment of gravies and sauces, soups and casseroles, and mashed potatoes. There’s even mac and cheese for the kids.
Dish to Door
• Pickup or Delivery: Both available.
• Pre-order deadline: Wednesday, December 18
• Meal serves: 6 people
• Price: $225
• Dates orders will be available for pick up: Monday, December 23 and Tuesday, December 24
• Pickup Location: Apex: 800 W. Williams St, Suite 112, (919) 651-8309 ext. 3 (#1) or Cary: 107 Edinburgh S. Drive, Suite 131, (919) 651 8309 ext. 3 (#2)
• Phone: (919) 651-8309
The menu: This meal includes honey-glazed ham, caramelized carrots, creamed spinach, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese, fresh-out-the-oven rolls and a choice of pie: apple or pecan pumpkin.
Element Gastro Pub
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline:
• Meal serves: 4 people
• Price: $120
• Dates orders will be available for pick up: December 23 between 12–8 p.m.
• Pickup Location: 421 Fayetteville Street, Suite 103, Raleigh
• Phone: (919) 703-6538
The menu: Element is a vegan cafe, so the menu is entirely vegan. The main course features hunni baked vegan ham, roasted root vegetables with horseradish cream, garlic leek potatoes and gravy, and holiday winter salad. You can add extras such as peanut butter cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie tray or herbed butter and rolls.
Fearrington House Restaurant
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 14
• Meal serves: Two
• Price: $175 without wine pairings; $230 with wine pairings.
• Dates orders will be available for pick up: Pick up on the morning of Christmas Eve – Saturday, December 24 from 10-11 a.m. at The Fearrington Barn.
• Pickup Location: The Fearrington Barn, 2000 Fearrington Village Center, Pittsboro
• Phone: 910-542-4000
The menu: The multi-course Christmas boxed feast includes a long list of delicious menu items to which the restaurant adds wine pairings – one bottle of white and one bottle of red. Please note that they may sell out sooner than December 14. Be sure to include the elegant buche de noel.
Hummingbird Cafe
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 18
• Meal serves: Small meals serve up to 4 people; large meals serve up to 10
• Price: Small cost $300. Large meals cost $580. A la carte items are available.
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: Tuesday December 24 between 12-4 p.m.
• Pickup Location: PoshNosh, 1053 E Whitaker Mill Road, Suite 111, Raleigh.
• Phone: (919) 301-8900
The menu: Hummingbird offers PoshNosh Catered meals this Christmas, including its famous charbroiled oysters and bone-in short ribs. Don’t miss the boozy sticky buns. There are many options for meal kits, single sides, wake and bake options, or hors d’euvres, so available items vary.
Irregardless
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 22
• Meal serves: 4-6 people
• Price: $195
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: Pickup is December 24 between 11:15 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Pickup Location: 901 W. Morgan Street, Raleigh
• Phone: (919) 833-8898
The menu: Raleigh’s Irregardless offers its popular take-and-bake menu for Christmas. Diners can order à la carte items or a Christmas meal package to serve four to six people with one main, three sides, and one dessert. Designed to please vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores, the menu includes cajun-rubbed turkey, mushroom wellington, beef bourguignon, mushroom bourguignon, roasted brussels sprouts, baked mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, apple and chestnut crisp, snickerdoodle cheesecake and more.
La Farm Bakery
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 21
• Meal serves: Varies for each order
• Price: Varies for each order
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: Varies for each order
• Pickup Location: La Farm Bakery: Preston Corners, 4248 NW Cary Parkway, Cary ((919).657.0657), La Farm Bakery: Downtown Cary, 220 W. Chatham Street, Cary ((919).650.3117), La Farm Bakery: West Cary, 5055 Arco Street inside Whole Foods, Cary (984.228.0300), La Farm Bakery: Fuquay Varina, 1900 Broad Street, Fuquay-Varina ((919).285.3910), La Farm Bakery: Glenwood South, 122 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh ((919).322.1351)
• Phone: see locations
The menu: Pre-order holiday breads, pastry and desserts! La Farm Bakery celebrates 25 years of European artisan bread, pastries and desserts, including stollen and chocolate-cranberry to snowmen-shaped bread, Christmas tree croissants and decadent buche de noel.
Locals Seafood
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 18
• Meal serves: 4 people
• Price: $199
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: Pick up between December 19 and December 24 at one of the Locals Seafood markets in Raleigh or Cary.
• Pickup Location: East Raleigh Seafood Market, 1408 Corporation Pkwy, Raleigh; Downtown Cary Farmers Market, 160 E. Park Street, Cary; State Farmers Market at The Market Shoppes’ Indoor Building, 1209 Farmers Market Dr, Raleigh
• Phone: (919) 675-2722
The menu: Inspired by the Feast of the Seven Fishes tradition, Locals Seafood offers a holiday seafood bundle for $199. The meal feeds four people with a dozen N.C. oysters, smoked fish dip, shrimp cocktail, bottarga, a four-pack of house-made crab cakes, two quarts of fishermen’s chowder and a three-pound whole stuffed and trussed whole fish.
Longleaf Swine
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: Unspecified
• Meal serves: Varies for each order
• Price: Varies for each order
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: December 24 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Pickup Location: 300 E. Edenton Street, Raleigh
• Phone: (984) 200-9649
The menu: Longleaf Swine offers a diverse variety of appetizers, meats, sides, sauces and desserts.
Mandolin Raleigh
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: Noon, December 15
• Meal serves: 6-12 people
• Price: $195 for six portions, $390 for 12 portions
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: December 24 between 12:00 and 3:00 p.m.
• Pickup Location: 2519 Fairview Rd, Raleigh
• Phone: (919) 322-0365
The menu: Mandolin offers a classic Christmas dinner with turkey, ham, sides, all the fixings, and dessert. The meal includes roasted turkey, glazed ham, mushroom-sage bread pudding, gravy, loaded baked potato casserole, green bean casserole, roasted root vegetables, kale panzanella salad with citrus-herb dressing, tepuy brioche dinner rolls and your choice of sweet potato pie, chocolate chess pie or apple pie.
Poppyseed Market
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 18
• Meal serves: 6-8 people
• Price: $275
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: December 24 between 9-11 a.m.
• Pickup Location: 8801 Lead Mine Road #107, Raleigh
• Phone: (919)870-4997
The menu: The meal includes slow-roasted boneless prime rib, potatoes au gratin, roasted haricot vert, and Parker House rolls. Sides can include mixed baby greens salad with sweetened balsamic vinaigrette or mac and cheese. Desserts include chocolate chess pie, apple crisp, or strawberry key lime pie.
Prime Barbecue
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 17
• Meal serves:
• Price: $250 for the Chilled Saving Christmas Package; $460 for the Pitmaster Package. A la carte items available.
• Dates orders will be available for pick up: Varies depending on your order.
• Pickup Location: 403 Knightdale Station Run, Knightdale
The menu: The Chilled Saving Christmas package comes with your choice of either a whole pork butt or whole turkey breast. The Pitmaster Package includes a whole brisket and a choice of either a whole turkey breast, a whole pork butt or another brisket. Both meals include a choice of two sides, one scratch-made pie (+ $25 for a dessert upgrade), and a bottle of its signature BBQ Sauce.
Sam Jones BBQ
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: Midnight December 20
• Meal serves: 8-10 people
• Price: $148.99
• Dates orders will be available for pick up: Pickup is available from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on December 24. The meal will come cold with easy reheating instructions for each item.
• Pickup Location: 502 W. Lenoir St, Raleigh
• Phone: (984) 206-2555
The menu: The meal includes a whole smoked turkey breast, a bottle of Sam Jones Sweet BBQ sauce, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, green bean casserole, a dozen sweet potato muffins and a pecan pie. Guests can also order a four-pound smoked ham for $49.99 and the whole smoked turkey breast for $67.99.
Table and Twine
• Pickup or Delivery: Both options are available
• Pre-order deadline: December 21
• Meal serves: Up to 8 people
• Price: $299
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: Monday, December 23rd (12 p.m.-5 p.m.) and Tuesday, December 24th (8 a.m.-12 p.m.)
• Pickup Location: Rocky Top Catering, 5000 Departure Drive, Raleigh
• Phone: (919) 439-5322
The Menu: Table + Twine offers four different Christmas meals with different proteins and sides—two creative, chef-inspired versions and two homestyle, traditional versions. All include rolls and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
Union Special Bread
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: December 20
• Meal serves: Varies for each order
• Price: Varies for each order
• Dates orders will be available for pick up: December 23 or 24
• Pickup Location: Gateway Plaza, 2409 Crabtree Blvd #102, Raleigh; 401 Fayetteville St Suite 103, Raleigh
• Phone: 984-200-3094
The menu: Specialty baked goods include panettone in two flavors (triple chocolate and apricot, citrus and vanilla bean), stollen, dark chocolate babka, butterscotch pecan pie, chocolate chess pie, cookies, quiche, rolls and more.
Weaver Street Market
• Pickup or Delivery: Pickup
• Pre-order deadline: 9 p.m. December 21
• Meal serves: Varies for each order
• Price: Varies for each order
• Dates orders will be available for pickup: Orders that include whole turkeys can only be picked up Sunday, December 22 through Tuesday, December 24. All other order pickups are from Wednesday, December 18 to Thursday, December 26.
• Pickup Location: 404 W. Hargett Street, Raleigh
• Phone: (919) 429-7800
The menu: Options include a smoked whole chicken dinner for 2-4 people, a turkey dinner for 6-8 people; a turkey dinner for up to 10 people, or a vegetarian dinner for 6-8 people. There are also individual meal options, including one for vegans. The smoked chicken menu for 2-4 people includes smoked chicken, broccoli cheddar bake, four-cheese macaroni and cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts with cranberries and walnuts, and 6 soft dinner rolls. The turkey dinner menu for 6-8 people includes apple pecan stuffing, a crunchy sweet potato bake, roasted root vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, fresh cranberry relish and rolls. The turkey dinner menu for 8-10 people includes larger portions of all the previously mentioned turkey dinner items and also a green bean casserole. The vegetarian menu for 6-8 people includes all above-mentioned turkey dinner side items (but not the turkey, of course) and includes roasted vegetable gravy instead of turkey gravy. The individual vegan meal includes a plant-based roast, apple pecan stuffing, roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, roasted vegetable gravy and fresh cranberry relish.
