Holiday News

Master list of Dallas restaurants offering Christmas 2021 dinner to-go

Photo by Kathy Tran

In the post-pandemic world, the new normal for Dallas restaurants and holiday dining is to include an option to-go. Dining-in is festive and traditional, but there's a whole sector of diners who've grown accustomed to takeout and delivery, and restaurants are rising to that challenge.

Here's who is offering Christmas meals to go:

Blue Mesa Grill. Holiday Dinner Family Pack To-Go includes red chile glazed ham, potato chile tart, butternut squash, garlic-basil green beans, cheese enchiladas, Southwest Caesar salad, sweet corn cake, rolls, and coconut lime tres leches cake, plus an extra treat for breakfast: French toast bread pudding with cajeta. $130, serve 6. Order by December 21 for pickup December 23 from 11 am-9 pm or December 24 from 11 am-4 pm at bluemesagrill.com.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit. Two packages include The Complete Feast (serves 10-12) or Dinner Feast (serves 8-10) for heat and eat with choice of Spiral Cut Ham, Smoked Turkey, Cajun Fried Turkey, Peppercorn Garlic Prime Rib, or traditional Prime Rib, sides, gravy, rolls, and dessert. Order online or via the Dickey's App.

Eatzi's Market & Bakery. Christmas specials include fried mac & cheese, mini crab cakes, glazed ham, turkey breast, Rosewood Ranch Smoked Wagyu Prime rib roast with black pepper crust, cranberry maple Brussels sprouts, lobster mac & cheese, smashed sweet potatoes, mocha buche de Noel, bourbon pecan pie, and Christmas cookie platter. Order by December 23 for pickup December 18-24. Items can also be picked up at all stores December 18-24, subject to availability. Eatzi’s will be closed on Christmas Day.

Elm & Good. South of the border-inspired Feliz Navidad dinner includes Christmas enchilada plate with 3 turkey enchiladas with red chile or 3 Oaxaca cheese with green chile ($12). Sides are $6 and include baby lettuce salad, borracho Anasazi beans, cilantro rice, and Mexican vanilla flan ($6) Order by December 24 at 5 pm, online or 469-498-2525, for pickup December 24 from 5:30-10 pm.

Fearing's. Christmas Dinner for 10 includes garden salad, prime rib, baked ham, truffled mashed potatoes, cheddar mac & cheese, broccolini with lemon & marcona almonds, bourbon maple glazed carrots, rolls, cookies, and warm sticky toffee pudding. $475. 214-922-4783 or email donna.bosworth@ritzcarlton.com.

Fireside Pies. Christmas To-Go Menu includes chile-honey baked ham and Firesides signature lasagna, accompanied by tomatillo green beans with almonds, Mexican street corn, caramelized shallot-sage mashed potatoes, garlic parmesan yeast bread, cranberry mojo, cranberry-white chocolate bread pudding with Maker’s Mark butterscotch sauce, or honey crisp apple-cream cheese flatbread pie with aged balsamic.Pricing: $195. Order by December 19 at 3 pm. Pickup December 23 from 2-4 pm at Fireside Pies Henderson, and December 23-24 from 2-4 pm at other locations. Email holiday@firesidepies.com.

Golden Corral. Holiday Meals To Go include choice of turkey or glazed ham with mashed potatoes, gravy, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, yeast rolls, one additional side (buttered corn, green beans, macaroni & cheese, steamed carrots, or sweet potato casserole) and choice of pumpkin or pecan pie. $80, feeds 6-8. Order by December 21, pickup Christmas Eve.

Gorji. 4-course meal includes choices from roasted garlic and Bulgarian feta with pita, chili & yogurt over avocado, baby greens & strawberries, Romaine & kale Caesar, turkey breast, bone in pork chop, langoustine tails with cognac sauce, sea bass & shrimp over cauliflower puree with English peas, beef tenderloin with gnocchi gorgonzola, three-cheese spinach lasagna, flourless chocolate cake, or kefir cheese with sesame wafers. 3 course dinner is $83, 4-course dinner is $99 plus tax. Order by December 23 at . 972-503-7080.

Kona Grill. Christmas specials are available for takeout December 24-26. Pre-order and schedule for pickup during one of nine time slots. Options include: Surf & Turf special with filet, NY strip, or ribeye with any Kona roll, $41; filet with lobster cream, $40, ham, $34; macadamia nut turkey, $34; and Prime rib dinner for two, $72. Kids' meal with turkey, gravy, mac & cheese, and green beans is $16. 214-945-2500.

Kuluntu Bakery. Oak Cliff cottage bakery is doing a big Christmas bake with seasonal pastries and sourdough loaves including cranberry-orange-walnut sourdough bread ($13), chocolate-maple babka ($16), gingerbread cake with bourbon cream cheese icing ($45), peppermint crisp tart, a South African dessert that's like an ice box cake ($25), and a holiday treat box ($60) with South African goodies including chocolate-oat cookies, biscotti "rusks," peppermint crisp fudge, and chutney. Order online by December 16 at 10 pm for pickup on December 23 from 4-7 pm.

Logan's Roadhouse. 4-pound Prime Rib or Turkey Breast Feast comes with family-sized house salad, two sides, a dozen yeast rolls, and Mississippi Brownie. $100, serves 6-8. Order online.

Loro Dallas. Christmas Menu Package includes butternut squash-sweet onion soup, kale & Asian pear salad, honey and miso glazed carrots, confit marble potatoes, smoked porchetta, mango bread pudding. $190, serves 4-6. Order online by December 23 for pickup December 23-24. 214-883-4983.

Perry's Steakhouse. Holiday feast to-go includes choices from 3-pound prime rib ($165), 3-pound rack of lamb ($175) or 3-pound smoked New York strip roast ($155), cooked medium rare with instructions to cook medium+. Comes with choice of seafood tomato bisque, Caesar, or chopped salad, and choice of two sides from mac & cheese, whipped potatoes, chargrilled vegetables, au gratin potatoes, or creamed spinach. Order online only at least 24 hours in advance for pickup December 22-24.

The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. Christmas To-Go includes truffled mashed potatoes, Prime rib, sticky toffee pudding. Order by December 16 at 12 pm, pickup December 23, 9 am-5 pm. $475, feeds up to 10. Email Donna.bosworth@ritzcarlton.com 214-922-4783.

Silver Fox. Beef tenderloin family pack includes sliced beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and creamed corn. $200, serves 3-4 people. Order online or by calling the restaurant on or before December 24. Richardson 972-423-8121, Fort Worth 817-332-9060.

Soulman's Bar-B-Que. Traditional holiday meal includes smoked turkey or spiral sliced holiday ham, with cornbread dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls, and cranberry sauce. $135, serves 10-12. New Soulful Holiday Meal features sliced brisket and sausage with mac & cheese, ranch house beans, and rolls for $150, serves 10-12 people. Cajun Fried Turkey fried in peanut oil is $85. Order by December 18.

Taverna Rossa. Two dishes include Caddy Mac & Cheese for $50, Brisket Lasagna for $60. Order by December 19 for pickup by December 24 at both locations in Southlake & Plano.

3 Forks. Beef tenderloin family pack includes sliced beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, seasonalvegetables and creamed corn. $200, serves 3-4 people. Order online or by calling the restaurant on or before December 24. 972-267-1776.

12 Cuts Steakhouse. Holidays package includes empanadas and cheese bread, beef tenderloin, pork chop, 12 Cuts salad, broccolini, mashed potatoes, and Brazilian homemade flan or chocolate cake. Order online by December 23 by 12 pm for pickup on or before December 25.

lists holidays

Eco Warrior News

Dallas restaurants doing amazing little things for the environment

Southwest Airlines

Cute bamboo cup from Southwest Airlines

One unfortunate legacy left by the pandemic has been a huge increase in the use of plastics — setting back progress that was being made pre-pandemic.

Plastics are bad. They harm everything they touch: the environment, health, food security, and economies. But they're convenient, subsidized, and in some cases necessary.

Before the pandemic, a growing awareness had started to snowball regarding the negative impact of plastics, particularly plastic straws and single-use plastic containers — and it was significant enough to make the plastics industry very nervous.

"In the two years leading up to the pandemic, the public backlash against plastic was a major concern for industry leaders," says a story about plastics and the pandemic in The Guardian. "As a corporate executive remarked during an industry event early in 2019: 'We need to get the image of plastic in oceans out of the public’s mind. Otherwise, we could lose our social license to operate.'"

But then the pandemic came along, igniting mass hysteria about contagion, and suddenly, bans on single-use plastics that had been in the works were reversed in countries around the world: North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“Overnight, plastics went from public enemy No. 1 to consumers asking for everything to have as much packaging as possible and to be single use," said one gleeful analyst for Shell Oil, who are a major plastics player.

The urgency of the plastics situation remains invisible to most people, lined up at the drive-thru for their coffee or Chick-Fil-A, piling up nearly 250 pounds of plastic waste every year. (That's what the average American amasses — more than any other country.)

But there are brave, pro-environment efforts being made by Dallas companies and organizations, big and small.

La Casita Bakeshop cup Revolutionary compostable cup at La Casita Bakeshop.Facebook

Dallas efforts
The Dallas restaurants and organizations listed below have taken steps to fight waste, even though it costs them money.

Plastic Free Lunch Day is November 22
Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services will participate in Plastic Free Lunch Day on November 22, to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic in school cafeterias.

Plastic Free Lunch Day was started by middle school students in Brooklyn. The initiative was such a success that it was adopted by all New York City public schools in 2022. The concept has since spread to public schools across the country — including Dallas ISD, which was the first in Texas to participate, when it joined up in 2022.

It creates an opportunity to educate students and the community on ways to positively impact the environment, including skipping plastic. Dallas school cafeterias will replace the plastic items they regularly use during lunch with biodegradable alternatives. (Plastic cutlery, cups, and straws will be available upon request for the crybabies.)

Southwest Airlines bamboo cup
Southwest Airlines Co., the Dallas-based airline, has introduced a new bamboo cup for inflight cold beverages, and a wood stir stick in place of a plastic stick. The airline expects the new items to reduce its inflight single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds annually.

In July 2024, Southwest transitioned to a paper overwrap for its napkins made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled materials — fully eliminating plastic from this service item. The airline is making an effort to eliminate single-use plastics from inflight service by 2030.

La Casita Bakeshop compostable cups
La Casita Bakeshop, the award-winning bakery and cafe operation, recently debuted fabulous new cups that are 100 percent compostable, soil- and marine-biodegradable, breaking down naturally after 90 days. and are made from natural materials.

"We are always trying to find ways to be more environmentally friendly and this is a big way we can," they said in their post announcing the new cups. "We just want to be proud of our paper trail and being a restaurant it's hard to do that."

Smoothie King biodegrable cups
Smoothie King, the Dallas-based smoothie chain, previously used styrofoam cups, but began testing a biodegradable cup in 2019. They now offer it as the default choice. They're using Vio Foam, specially made cups that biodegrade 92 percent in four years. They'll still accommodate whiny selfish customers who insist on getting a plastic cup instead, but their Vio foam cup not only helps the environment, it also keeps their smoothies cold a little longer.

Kate Weiser Recycle Box Program
Kate Weiser, the Dallas chocolatier, sells its gorgeous eye-catching bon-bons in a variety of boxes, from 4 pieces all the way up to 35 pieces. (OK, they'll sell them individually, too, but who goes to a chocolate shop and buys a single chocolate?) They have a program where you can bring your empty box to the store and get a refill and get 5 percent off. (Weiser amusingly calls it a "secret hack.")

Dude Sweet Chocolate freezer packaging
Dude Sweet Chocolate, the Oak Cliff chocolatier, has a next-level campaign in which they will accept cold-ship packaging you've received in the mail and re-use it. Say, for example, that you ordered an 8-pack of ice cream pints from Double Rainbow in San Francisco, and it arrived in a box with freezer packs and a foil liner. You can drop that packaging off at Dude Sweet's factory location at 1340 Inwood Rd., and they'll re-use it in one way or another when they're doing shipments of their chocolate.

Note: Whether you're putting it in the blue bin or the gray bin, your plastic is not being recycled. The best course when it comes to plastic, especially single-use plastic, is to not use it at all.

sustainability