Where to get your Thanksgiving dinner in Petaluma

I have always sided with the folks who say holiday lights and music should be reserved until after Thanksgiving. That is unless those Christmas lights were left up year-round, in which case, I tip my hat to your sense of home décor. However, 2020 has thrown a bit of a monkey wrench into that whole idea. Even prior to All Hallows’ Eve, winter holiday items, and in some rare cases, music, already started to settle into our stores.

This year’s holiday of thanks will certainly be different for most of us, whether due to travel restrictions or simply keeping family gatherings small for safety’s sake. And while some may want to cling to some of the traditions, such as a big bird on the table, others will choose to keep non-turkey traditions going.

Non-turkey choices

I am just going to come out and say it: I am not a fan of turkey. Maybe it was the one year we hunted our own wild bird and spent hours upon hours dressing it down, only to end up with quite the gamey dining experience. If I am going to eat fowl, I would much prefer the duck over anything else, and if I cannot get something from Liberty Ducks, I would prefer something on four legs. This is to remind folks that there are a lot of great alternatives if turkey is not your thing, like beef, lamb and pork. Our favorite holiday of the year, our family has even been known to eat out, at non-traditional restaurants at that, so have never felt restrained by tradition. Spending time with family and/or finding the rare nuggets of 2020 for which to be thankful, are all the tradition needed this holiday.

Starting with a local holiday tradition, the recreational Dungeness crab seasons opened this past weekend, which means if you have pots or snares of your own, you can get your own. However, keep in mind that crabbing does require a license, which can be purchased at most sporting goods store, although Bodega Tackle (bodegatackle.com) is a local favorite. Also, be aware that buying recreationally caught crab, or even paying for your buddy fisherman’s gas in exchange for crab, is considered poaching. For the non-fishing type, sadly, the commercial crab season won’t open in time for Thanksgiving, having been pushed back to Dec. 1 to protect migrating whale populations.

If fish is your choice for Thanksgiving, there is no better spot to start your shopping than at Anna’s Seafood (shopannasseafood.com) at the north end of town. From incredible clam chowder, cioppino and poke bowls to just about every regional variety of fresh fish and shell fish, Anna’s is great way to diversify your holiday menu.

Next up on in the non-traditional category is Liberty Ducks (libertyducks.com), which we have been ordering regularly from ever since the pandemic hit. With restaurants ordering a lot less duck, Liberty shifted focus to direct sales, much to us duck lovers’ pleasure. From whole to parts to ground to sausages, if you enjoy duck, Liberty has you covered. We recently tried a new product, the smoked duck breast, and will not be creating a charcuterie board without it ever again. Liberty offers shipping throughout the US, but if your order is over $50, local home delivery is available.

With smaller gatherings, one might think home cooks would turn to chicken to supplement the turkey, but chicken is a fairly common dinner item already. The non-turkey trend appears to be focused more on beef, pork and lamb as a way to make a special meal, but in a lot less time.

As we ourselves devour our first ever dry aged, grass feed, bone-in ribeye from Stemple Creek Ranch (stemplecreek.com), which was ready to pull from the barbecue in roughly 15 minutes, some sort of grill preparation is definitely on our minds for this year’s holiday dinners. You can find Stemple Creek at Petaluma Market but for a broader selection of beef, pork and lamb, visit them at the various Marin farmers markets or online where accept pre-orders. They are currently offering grass-fed and finished tenderloin roasts, which during the pre-Thanksgiving test “only took 60 minutes from seasoning to table to prepare this 4-pound roast.”

Fallon Hills Ranch (fallonhills.com) is another great local ranch for beef, pork, lamb, chicken and eggs, as well as some of our favorite sausages, all available for direct order through the website.

The bird

For birds straight from the farm, Tara Firma Farms (tarafirmafarms.com) is always a favorite but their organic feed pasture raised birds are in limited supply and pickup is scheduled for the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, so place your order soon.

Petaluma’s and Penngrove’s butcher shops are also a great place for whatever main dish you are looking to put on your table. Angelo’s Meats (angelossmokehouse.com), Bud’s Meats (budscustommeats.com) and Thistle Meats (thistlemeats.com) all carry a great variety of meats, as well as plenty of accouterments, from seasonings to olives to a variety of local cheeses and breads. Bud’s is offering its version of a Turducken, which is turkey, duck and chicken, which comes with Creole pork dressing. As always, Angelo’s offers a great smoked turkey. For bird orders, I recommend ordering well ahead of the holiday.

If you like the idea of supporting our 4-H youth, Slow Food Russian River (slowfoodrr.org) is again facilitating the Heritage Turkey Project. Heritage birds are known for a richer flavored dark meat whereas the standard white turkey we normally buy in the stores has a milder flavor and larger breasts, which is where the white meat comes from. The Heritage Turkey Project birds are bread and raised on organic feed by Sonoma County 4-H farmers and after harvest, never see the inside of a freezer. Proceeds go back to the 4-H kid who raised it.

And as always, most of our local grocers will offer up plenty of turkey options, so check in with them individually.

To Go

This year there may be few dine-out options. For those looking to dine out, call your favorite restaurant to make sure they will be serving, bust out your winter coat, and then keep your eye on the weather. However, as we have already seen throughout the pandemic, many of our dine-in favorites have crossed over into the realm of take-out and some have already announced their Thanksgiving dinners.

April Pantry (aprilpantry.com) is offering a meal for four to five people for $80, with an order deadline of Saturday, Nov. 21, with delivery to your home on either Wednesday or Thursday of Thanksgiving week. Although it appears to be on the traditional side, April Pantry has proven that they are nowhere near ordinary when it comes to offering big, fresh and bold flavors, so this is sure to be a spectacular dinner.

Bay Laurel Culinary (baylaurelculinary.com) is offering an “everything but the turkey” package that allows you to prepare your bird anyway you want, but leave all the rest of the meal up to them. Order deadline is Friday, Nov. 20 for pick-up on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Starters include prawn cocktail, tuna poke, crab salad, Liberty Ducks liver pate, a cheese and charcuterie box, spiced nuts, olives and crackers. They also offer several soups and salads, and sides of several stuffings and mashes, beans, gravy and of course cranberry sauce. They are also offering several ready-to-cook turkey alternatives such as marinated billets, pork tenderloins and house honey-baked hams. They also have an extensive dessert menu available. Pricing is per item.

Café Bellini (thecafebellini.com) is offering preorders by Wednesday, Nov. 18, with pickup on Wednesday, Nov. 25 by 7 p.m. The menu is traditional with pricing based on the number of people the dinner will feed: $45 for two, $85 for four and $125 for six. Beyond the roasted turkey breast, chive mashed potatoes, sourdough stuffing, herbed turkey gravy, cranberry sauce with orange zest and dinner rolls, additional sides can be added, including seasonal veggies, salads and bacon-topped deviled eggs.

Della Fattoria (dellafattoria.com) is offering Thanksgiving Dinner for the first time ever and it is sure to be spectacular. Sure, Della’s lunches are always good but it is the dinner service where I feel like Chef Aaron Weber really comes into his own. And when Della gets into the game, they do not do it half-heartedly. Dinner will be turkey and all the fixings, including several seasonal veggie dishes. Alongside the Thanksgiving dinner, which is $60 per person, they are also offering add-ons of everything else for the table, from dinner rolls to several options of floral centerpieces to appetizer boards to dessert. Along with all the pre-orders, Della will have plenty of other tasty items for your Wednesday, Nov. 25, pickup from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., including morning pastries, breads, cookies, flowers, wine and gift cards and baskets. They also offer frozen dough for those who want the flavors of Della but fresh from their own oven.

Mazza Catering Co. (mazzacatering.com), with one of their two commercial kitchens located here in Petaluma, have made quite a name for themselves over the past year for their incredible charcuterie boards, delivered directly to your door, including on Thanksgiving day.

Out to Lunch (otlfinecatering.com) is offering Thanksgiving dinner delivery on Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 4 to 6 p.m., at just $25 per meal with a three meal minimum order. Dinner will include roaster herb and butter turkey breast, creamy mash, stuffing, brown sugar and butter yams, savory gravy, green bean casserole, rolls and butter, homemade cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

Penngrove Market (penngrovemarket.com) has fully cooked, ready to heat and serve dinners for four to six people starting at $125 and will include half of a wood-oven roasted turkey, 3-pounds of organic mashed potatoes, 2-pounds of sausage stuffing, a pound of roasted Brussels sprouts with shallots and bacon, plus gravy, orange and cranberry sauce and either a homemade apple or pumpkin pie. Gluten-free dinners and vegetarian versions of sides within the dinner are also available, as is the option for a whole turkey. All items are also available from the ala carte menu. Order deadline is Monday, Nov. 23 with pickup on Wednesday, Nov. 25, between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. “We did this last year and it was outstanding,” says Anna Abeyta. “It's our plan for this year, too. Highly recommend.”

Petaluma Market (petalumamarket.com) is a perennial favorite with the choice of either a 12- or 14-pound free-range turkey or a 6- or 8-pound Caggiano gourmet ham. (Caggiano’s has been curing hams and making sausages here in Petaluma since 1986 and makes some of our favorites.) Along with the main comes pounds and pounds of mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, garlic almond green beans, candied yams, orange cranberry sauce, gravy, dinner rolls and a pumpkin pie. The meal serves six to eight people, is $150, is picked up cold and be re-heated. Orders must be placed by Sunday, Nov. 22, for pickup by noon on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26).

Pete’s Henny Penny is offering pre-order from now until Thanksgiving day pick-up, which is between noon and 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26. Dinner is $24 per person, with the option to add lamb shank (+$19) and a bottle of Salmon Creek Chard or Merlot (+$10) to any meal. Dinner is turkey and gravy, apple-chicken-cranberry stuffing, yams, garlic mashed potatoes, butternut squash soup, salad, green beans with red peppers and almonds, fresh rolls and pumpkin pie.

Preferred Sonoma Caterers’ (sonomacaterers.com) Thanksgiving menu takes up two pages, and for good reason. Having offered special holiday meals for as long as anyone, there is good reason for PSC to be a crowd favorite. All orders must be placed by Sunday, Nov. 22 at noon for pickup on Wednesday, Nov. 25, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Half-orders are $154 and full orders are $220, which will serve eight to 10 people. Dinner is a herb-basted turkey, celery sage stuffing, mashed yukon golds, maple candied yams, tarragon roasted veggies, cranberry orange conserve, mixed Sonoma greens, turkey gravy, dinner rolls and either apple streusel pie or traditional pumpkin pie. (Co-owner/chef Amber Balshaw got her pastry chops in Austria, so I would opt for the apple streusel myself.) All items are available ala carte too. The menu also includes a great selection of holiday appetizers – ham and Swiss puff pastry, pesto stuffed mushrooms, butternut truffle tartlet, Thanksgiving poppers with cranberry gastrique and spicy cranberry baked brie. Even if we end up making our whole dinner ourselves, these appetizers will make for a nice treat while we toil away in the kitchen and would surely keep your holiday guest well occupied while waiting for dinner.

Seared (petalumaseared.com) offers a great alternative if your “guest list is looking a little sparse and cooking an entire Thanksgiving meal just doesn’t make sense.” Dinner for $60 per person consists of black pepper crusted Mary’s turkey, cornbread and chorizo stuffing, roasted heirloom carrots, spinach salad, crème fraiche mashed potatoes, Parker House rolls (with citrus and herb butter) and pumpkin cheesecake (with candied pepitas and vanilla bean whipped cream.) Wagyu prime rib can be added for an additional $20 and classic batch cocktails and wine are also available. Orders must be placed by Monday, Nov. 23 for pickup on Thanksgiving Day between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

War Wagon BBQ is last but certainly not least when it comes to a great catered-to-go dinner for the holiday. They are offering the staples and leaving the add-ons to you. Personally, I would look to some of the other ala carte menus on this list to fill out the rest of your meal, that way leaving all the cooking and clean-up to someone else while you celebrate a great day of food and family. Preorders are due by Sunday, Nov. 22 for smoked turkey (12-14 pounds, $80), smoke whole brisket (13-15 pounds, $225), half brisket, half turkey and six hot links ($300) and mac-n-cheese (serves 10-12, $50).

Wine Pairings

The Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance (petalumagap.com) has published its seasonal newsletter, which this time around comes with a ton of great pinot noir-paired recipes perfect for your Thanksgiving table. For recipe cards, photos and links to where you can purchase each wine, visiting PGap’s Facebook page, where they started posting a recipe just about daily, starting on Nov. 1. First up is Adobe Road Wines’ Mrs. B’s Lemon Thyme Roasted Turkey with the 2017 Griffin's Lair pinot, followed by Bruliam Wines’ tangy cranberry relish with the 2017 Sangiacomo Roberts Road pinot; Dutton-Goldfield Winery’s leek and mushroom croquettes with the 2017 Azaya Ranch pinot; Ernest Vineyards’ tray-baked ratatouille and roast beef tenderloin with the 2017 The Wrangler Grand Vent Vineyard pinot; with two from Keller Estate, a turkey breast roulade stuffed with cranberries and pecans with the 2019 Rose of Pinot Noir and the braised turkey thigh with caramelized leeks, carrots and celery, paired with the 2018 El Coro pinot; McEvoy Ranch’s artichoke spinach dip paired with the 2014 Azaya Ranch pinot and Ron Noble Wines’ Yun’s chanterelles, done two ways, along with the 2018 Estate Reserve pinot. There are more recipes and pairings to come from Sangiacomo Family Wines, Thirty-Seven Wines and Trombetta Family Wines. This is an impressive collection of personal recipes and wonderful local wine pairings and so are definitely worth a look.

Sweets

Petaluma Pie Company (petalumapiecompany.com) is a natural choice when it comes to holiday desserts and is currently taking pre-orders through the website. Also offering pies, plus a variety of other after dinner treats, Scone Rollin’ (sconerollin.com) is currently taking pre-orders through Nov. 18 without pickup only from Nov. 20-28. They also offer gluten-free dessert options. Crumbs to Sprinkles is offering a Thanksgiving inspired “cakepop kit” with all the parts to make for a fun project for the kids, check the Facebook page for details. True Delicious (truedelicious.com) will be rolling out its incredible cannoli’s specially for Thanksgiving, although pre-order always sell out almost immediately. Check now and if you did not make it this time, get on the mailing list so you can get advance notice next time and you will get 10% off your first order.