Many won’t be going to Grandma’s house this year for this non-traditional traditional Thanksgiving, but for those staying at home and missing the good fare and family time, there’s no need to give up the one day when we can gorge ourselves and express thanks for the bounty we have.
Falls Church restaurants have plentiful and varied menus to deliver or serve you at the curb with wine to suggest for your repast.
Outdoor seating is available at most local restaurants and a few are open on Thanksgiving Day. Managers and owners emphasize their “clean Covid” policies in force to protect customers and employees. Order online or by phone.
Thompson Italian
The feature for Thanksgiving at Thompson Italian (124 N. Washington St., Falls Church) is its “Everything But the Turkey Box” to feed from four to six ($185). The dinner (available Saturday through Wednesday for pickup) comes with housemade potato rolls, garlic mashed or roasted sweet potatoes, Italian sausage or kale and mushroom dressing, roasted Brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, and apple crumb or pumpkin pie.
Side dishes are available to be purchased separately and Thompson’s also has trays of autumn squash salad, roasted and pickled market pears, spicy pork meatballs, pork loin and more. Desserts include a cranberry tart, apple cinnamon bread pudding and pumpkin tiramisu. Several gluten-free selections are on the menu. Order online at thompsonitalian.com before Nov. 25 with pickup between 4 – 8 p.m. Nov. 22 – 25. For more information, call 703-269-0893.
Northside Social Falls Church
Northside Social Falls Church, (205 Park Ave., Falls Church), is open Thanksgiving Day, 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. Pre-orders for its pumpkin, pecan, apple or chocolate chip expresso cookie dough pies ($31 or $32) must be placed by 5 p.m. on Nov. 22. Pies will be sold individually as long as supplies last. The restaurant offers chicken and vegetable pot pies ($37 – $42) and quiches of roasted squash and goat cheese or ham, gruyere, and spinach (both $32). Hors d’oeuvres include deviled eggs with bacon ($28/dozen) and a house-smoked salmon platter ($65 for 25).
For football fans who watch the games while the cooks work, Northside Social has a mimosa kit ($20), a brunch basket ($35) and wings to keep the fanatics at bay before they explode when they finally sit down at the table (if they make it that far from the couch). For more information, visit www.northsidesocialva.com or call 703-992-8650.
Bawadi Mediterranean Grill
Bawadi Mediterranean Grill at Seven Corners (6304 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church), will be open on Thanksgiving from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. with a buffet ($18.99, adults; $10.99, children) and all the trimmings, including rice with turkey or lamb. chicken kabobs, spinach, cranberry sauce, rolls, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, okra, bread crumbs and more. The restaurant has many lamb and seafood dishes for those who eschew poultry.
Bawadi sells turkeys from 12 to 16 pounds for $99, traditional sides ($10), and pies ($10), which must be pre-ordered before Thanksgiving and can be picked up on Thanksgiving Day as late as 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.bawadidc.com or call 703-845-1600.
Panjshir Restaurant
Panjshir Restaurant (114 E. Fairfax St., Falls Church), which serves authentic Afghan cuisine, is a place for vegetarians and others who may shun the bird. Panjshir has a combo vegetarian dish for $18 with choice of three entrees ranging from sautéed pumpkin or eggplant with homemade yogurt, tomato sauce, and spinach rice to carrots, prunes, walnuts, and chickpeas with tomato sauce and white basmati rice to turnips cooked in onions, ginger, and brown sugar with rice (each, priced separately at $13).
The restaurant has entrees of lamb dishes, dumplings filled with scallions or ground beef ($18) and many varieties of kabobs ($14 to $24). Or, try “mushroom palow” with chicken chunks sautéed in sour cream with mushrooms seasoned with special Afghan spices ($18). For more information, visit panjshirrestaurant.com or call 703-536-4566.
Liberty Barbecue
Liberty Barbecue (370 W. Broad St., Falls Church) will be open from 11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Pre-orders for a “Thanksgiving Bundle” serving from 10 to 12 are available for $210. The bundle comes with an average 14-pound turkey and stuffing, red “skin-on” mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato purée, turkey gravy and cranberry relish which may be ordered separately. (Order before 4 p.m. Thanksgiving Eve or buy onsite as long as supplies last.)
Liberty has a solo dinner, too, of a platter for $22 which comes with a half pound of turkey (your choice of dark or white meat), potatoes, green beans, turkey gravy, and cranberry relish. Liberty also has whole smoked hams, briskets, turkeys, wings, and half or full racks of ribs. To finish off, choose from pumpkin, pecan, and apple pie (from $31) and a quart of vanilla ice cream ($12). For more information, visit libertyfallschurch.com or call 703-237-8227.
Ireland’s Four Provinces
Ireland’s Four Provinces (105 W. Broad St., Falls Church) will be open Thanksgiving Day from noon – 6 p.m. and lists a “dine-in” classic to eat at the restaurant or take home a feast.
The “dine-in” special ($34.99, adults; $15.99, children under age 12, and free for children under age three) starts with a soup or salad, followed by turkey, turkey gravy, housemade stuffing and mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, glazed yams, and homemade cranberry sauce. Dessert is a choice of apple or pumpkin pie a la mode or housemade bread pudding with vanilla bean sauce.
Ireland’s “take home” variety is $23.99 per serving and includes an eight ounce turkey breast, housemade stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and a piece of pumpkin pie.
And for additional enjoyment, Ireland’s is hosting its first ever “Thanksgiving Blanket Contest” on its heated outdoor patio. Take along your favorite Thanksgiving (or fall) blanket for a picture session with you and whomever all curled up, and compete for two prizes! (Which turkeys are the judges?) Hurry since the contest ends Thanksgiving Eve when the turkeys go home to roost. For more information visit 4psva.com or call 703-534-8999.
And the “Leftovers”…
Hurry up to place orders at Open Road, 571-395-4400, and Trio Grill, 703-992-9200, both at 8100 Lee Highway, since the deadline to pre-order is Thursday, Nov. 19 at 5 p.m. (Pickup on Nov. 25, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.) The duo have a special takeout menu where $80 will buy two dinners or spend $155 and serve four to six.
Meals come with rolls, cranberry relish, green bean amandine, garlic mashed potatoes, sage stuffing, “Brussels and blue,” a pumpkin or pecan pie and a choice of ham, turkey breast or beef tenderloin. More sides are available including a maple Old Fashioned for $30 (yes, $30 for a drink. We double-checked). Items sold separately. Visit openroadgrill.com and triomerrifield.com for more information.
For some in your bunch who may resist traditional Thanksgiving fare, Falls Church has plenty of options. Try Sweet Rice Thai (1113 W. Broad St., Falls Church), 703-241-8582/ sweetricethai.net, or, across the street, Haandi Indian Cuisine (1222 W. Broad St., Falls Church) 703-533-3501/haandi.com, which are both open on Thanksgiving.
For those craving still more, how about a pumpkin pie milkshake recipe from Giant? Purée until smooth one small slice of pumpkin pie, one cup of skim milk and ¼ cup vanilla ice cream, adding more milk if necessary.
This dessert treat will add a few more calories to the holiday’s intake, but who’s counting calories when everyone is counting the number of days to the end of this terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad year? (Thank you, author Judith Viorst.)
