Bite-Size: Family-Style Takeout to the Rescue
Place an order with one of these open-for-business restaurants and take a well deserved break from the kitchen
Please send tips from the field. Bite-size writer Jess Saba is looking for food news from chefs, farms, and community organizers about restaurant and farmstand openings, closings, struggles and adaptations. Send images, ideas and creative community solutions to jessicalsaba@gmail.comPlan ahead today, and soon your dinner table will be the scene of a restaurant-style meal with no cooking (and no dishes) required. If that sounds like a dream come true, then take a look at this list of chef-prepared, multiserving takeout options from restaurants across the state.
Many restaurants either require same-day ordering or advance ordering (at least 24 hours) ahead of pick up.
A warning — as a diner, you may face a period of confusion as you learn which restaurants — within your hometown radius — offer which food on which days at what times. For now, restaurants are offering take-out as a short-term experiment to see if they can make the numbers work. So, a second warning — we just don’t know if take-out only can sustain these restaurant businesses and, sadly, we’ve already seen a few of our favorites close until further notice.
For now, enjoy the pleasure of having someone else do the cooking. Be sure to plan ahead for your family-style takeout nights so you don’t find your stomach set on a certain meal, only to find out it is sold out. If I miss the ordering window for chicken pot pie night one more time I’m going to turn into a puddle of tears.
Re: hours. They vary greatly as each restaurant is independently owned and managed. Thursday though Sundays seem to be the most common operating hours in this new reality. So, do a little research and place an advance order to ensure you are paid up and on the list.
Select the number of servings you’d like to order. Some chefs even include bread, salads, sides, sauces and desserts.
Georgia’s Northside in Concord has always been setup for takeout. With one table with no chairs in the middle of the room, customers learned long ago how to order, pick up and head out to find a picnic spot. Now, owner Alan Natkiel and his team offer take-and-bake mac and cheese, as well as their hot-and-ready dishes like their buttermilk fried chicken plate or their Carolina-style pulled pork plate — both of which are excellent. I recommend the banana bread pudding if it’s on the menu — my dad and I shared the dessert and politely battled for every last bit of pudding in the dish. Known for their rotation of weekly specials, Georgia’s Northside is worth planning for.
The Foundry in Manchester is now offering family-style takeout. The meals are packed with two, four or six servings. Each day of the week, The Foundry offers a single entrée option — such as fried chicken, meatloaf and haddock piccata — and every meal is served with bread, salad and a dessert. Orders must be placed 24 hours in advance.
Presto Pasta is also in Manchester, and it’s the place to go for homecooked Italian meals the family will love. All of their salads, appetizers (“bites”) and entrées come in single or family sizes, which you can find right on the regular menu. If spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parm, carbonara or chicken Marsala are your idea of comfort food, Chef Grella is the man to call. Open Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
The Crown Tavern, another Manchester restaurant, is offering both traditional and family-style takeout. The latter includes make-your-own pizza and burger kits that come with all the fixings. If you’re just not up to cooking, no worries — you can order either chicken Parmesan or meatloaf (they come cold and need to be reheated), and both come with salad dessert. They also offer some grocery items (eggs, flour, butter, basil pesto, some meat and other products), beer and wine. Open Wednesday and Thursday from 4-7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4-8 p.m.
The Red Fox Bar and Grille in Jackson Village is open for curb-side takeout Thursday to Monday from 3 to 8 p.m. Advance orders are accepted — You can schedule your pick-up order online days ahead of your reserved timeslot for frozen pizzas, lasagnas and breads or made-to-order wood-fired entrées.
Throwback Brewery in North Hampton is open Wednesday and Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 7:30 p.m. for delivery and takeout for food and beer. Unlike Red Fox, Throwback only accepts orders during open business hours.
The Covered Bridge Farm Table in Campton sent out a record 365 Mother’s Day brunch meals last Sunday. Keep an eye on their ever evolving family-style takeout operation. Their family-style meals feed four to five people. I recommend the chicken Parmesan, steak tips or the Buffalo-style mac and cheese.
White Mountain Cider Company in Bartlett is offering family-style meals to go, with either 4 or 6 servings from Thursday to Monday. Orders must be placed by 2 p.m. to pick up for that evening. Two entrée options are listed per day — I scanned the list. There’s something enticing on this menu each day of the week but, I wonder, how does one choose between cider braised pork with ricotta gnocchi and zucchini piccata with lemon caper sauce and herbed cous cous?
Papagallos Restaurant in Keene has the largest list of “party platters to go” that I’ve seen in a while. If you’re looking for variety, this is the menu to order from. Hours vary so check the website. I’m looking at their lemon berry mascarpone dessert platter that serves 14 (or serves one 14 times …)
Smokeshow Barbeque in Concord has, well, BBQ, which is ideal for family meals. To make things even easier, they also offer their “OMG” shepherds pie, plus take-and-bake turkey pot pie and two sizes of “family packs” with meats, sides and rolls. Open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
O Steaks & Seafood in Laconia and Concord and Canoe in Center Harbor have the same menu, with the exception of wood-fired pizza, which is only available at Canoe. All meals are offered in three serving sizes — individual, four and eight. They have Italian options, a comfort food section (think mac and cheese), beef and chicken dinners, burgers and salads. Open from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 4:30-8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The related Rubbin’ Butts BBQ also has family-style dinners that feed two, four or six. See the menu here. Open Thursday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Delivery available Thursday to Saturday from 4:30-7:30 p.m.
New England’s Tap House Grille in Hooksett has three family-style meals: mac and cheese, chicken Parmesan and a smoked meat platter. You can order online, and delivery is available locally. Andy why not add on a mimosa, bloody Mary or margarita basket?
Please enjoy your meals out of the house, tip enthusiastically and generously, and thank the people running food to cars, coordinating orders, sterilizing and sanitizing surfaces. Be kind to the people on the phones when you place your orders, and show gratitude to the dishwashers, delivery drivers and everyone you meet these days. We’re all in this together!
