Where to find Thanksgiving dinner | Let’s Eat

It’s almost decision time in this, the strangest of years: What are you doing for Thanksgiving? We have ideas.

This week, we share local chefs’ comfort-food favorites and restaurant scuttlebutt, while Craig LaBan heads to a farm in Lancaster County — lend him an ear and he’ll tell you about an heirloom corn harvest.

If you need food news, click here and follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Email tips, suggestions, and questions here. If someone forwarded you this newsletter and you like what you’re reading, sign up here to get it free every week.

– Michael Klein

It’s difficult to skip our usual Thanksgiving routines, but 2020 has given us the best excuse to break with tradition — if only for a year (we hope), writes staffer Jenn Ladd. Restaurants, caterers, and bakeries are more than happy to do the cooking for you, and Jenn has found nearly 20 businesses offering takeout and dine-in.

And if you’re down with cooking a fresh turkey, here’s where to find them.

You’re stressed, too? Staff writer Grace Dickinson asked chefs for their favorite local comfort foods, all available for takeout or delivery. If you need to snuggle up on the couch with a big bowl of noodles, a cheesy pie of pizza, or a hearty lamb stew, Philly’s here for you. This Upside Down Jawn pizza from Angelo’s in South Philly is the go-to of Peter Hwang of SouthGate.

Speaking of recommendations: Look out this Thursday for Let’s Eat, Philly!, our new guide bringing you the food, people, and places you need to know. It will be delivered to all Inquirer home-delivery subscribers, even those who do not receive Thursday delivery, and will be available online. Want to get in on it? Subscribe now!

November is Native American Heritage Month, a chance to celebrate the cultures at the foundation of our country’s culinary traditions. Our contributor Tiffani Rozier shares four Thanksgiving recipes based on their diverse diet, including corn, beans, squash, and wild rice.

Food editor Jamila Robinson loves to cook, but does not like to spend all day in the kitchen. She shares a recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake tart, and she manages to cut the prep by creating a crust made from crushed store-bought cookies. (Shhh. Let’s keep that between us.)

Food critic Craig LaBan visited the Brendle family for harvest time at Green Meadow Farm in Gap, Pa., whose crop of heritage corn will be made into grits, tortillas, and polenta in Philadelphia restaurants.

The coronavirus has officially shuttered the critically acclaimed Res Ipsa Cafe in Center City, which halted its breakfast and dinner service early in the pandemic. Buffering this unfortunate news is word that Alex Bois, a James Beard-nominated pastry chef, will move into the space at 2218 Walnut St. with a cafe and retail location of Lost Bread Co., the artisanal bakery that he operates with Avram Hornik and Four Corners Management.

We’re also counting out the Philly locations of Porta (1216 Chestnut) and Brickwall (1213 Sansom), the adjacent restaurant/nightspots in Center City. Its North Jersey-based management offered only the slightest glimmer of hope that they might come back next year. I’ve added them to the list of restaurants that have closed in 2020.

In newcomers, Dim Sum Factory in Horsham has added a Center City location, moving into 1304 Walnut St. with dine-in (reservation only), takeout, and delivery. And worth checking out is the newish Garden Restaurant at the Barnes Foundation (20th and Pennsylvania Avenue). You don’t need a museum ticket to get into this gorgeous indoor/outdoor oasis that has cocktails, wine, and beer. Walk a cafeteria line for a changing menu of made-to-order hot foods as well as salads and sandwiches. Lunch/brunch, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. every day but Tuesday. I’ve added them to my list of restaurants that have opened in 2020.

And be advised that Cork, the pop-up wine shop in Audrey Claire Cook (20th and Rittenhouse Square), opens at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13.