By Sarah Sussman
The holidays are a time to relax – not a time to stress about cooking the perfect Christmas dinner. Sometimes, it’s better to let someone else take care of dinner. And thankfully there are tons are options to choose from in Edmonton. Whether you’re looking for a prepared takeaway meal, a budget-friendly turkey feast or a gourmet sit-down dinner, here are your best bets for Christmas dinner this year. [Photo credit: istockphoto.com/ca/portfolio/solstock]
If you want to host but don’t want to cook, you can order a ready-made meal from the Westin to serve anywhere from eight to 16 people. The meal comes with an in-house hickory smoked turkey, sage bread stuffing, roasted root veggies, garden salad and all the fixings. For dessert, choose between apple Saskatoon berry crumble and gluten-free chocolate cake. And for only $25 extra, the Westin will also carve your turkey, so all you have to do is heat and serve.
Want some perogies with your turkey dinner? If you order your holiday meal from D’Arcy’s Casual Catering this year, they’ll throw in a bonus free bag of perogies. The meal includes the classic turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes as well as hot buttered corn, two dozen cabbage rolls and three fruit pies. The meal serves between 10 and 12 people and costs $249.99. Call 780-459-4400 to order your meal.
Christmas brunch is one of the most overlooked meals of the season. If you love brunch and you love Christmas dinner, Christmas brunch is a must! This year, Creations Dining Room and Lounge offers a Christmas brunch from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Christmas Day. The menu features everything from spinach and crab bennies to carved slow-roasted turkey and mashed potatoes. There are also plenty of gluten-free and vegetarian options. Admission is $44.95 for adults, $39.95 for seniors and $19.95 for youth. Call 780-989-4439 to make a reservation.
Bet you’ve never had duck prosciutto for Christmas dinner before. On Christmas Day, Madison’s Grill at the Union Bank Inn hosts an elegant six-course sit down holiday dinner. Dig in to an upscale, gourmet menu of unexpected dishes like lobster truffle fettuccini, yam portage and sweet charcoal roasted pork belly. The dinner costs $99.50 per person or $174.50 per person with wine pairings.
Want a low-key sit down Christmas dinner that won’t break the bank? Head to Teddy’s Restaurant on Christmas this year. The Jasper Avenue fixture is Edmonton’s go-to for no-frills diner and pub fare – and Christmas at Teddy’s is no different. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. on Christmas and serves up a special holiday menu with turkey all day. Call 780-488-0984 to make a reservation.
Have you ever had tourtière? The pillowy soft meat pies are a Christmas staple for many French Canadians. And this year you can find them in Edmonton at the Highlevel Diner. Pre-order a tourtière (or two, or three) for your Christmas dinner for $33 each or $40 with a choice of house-made chutney. You might just decide to forgo your turkey main altogether.
Sunterra was one of the first places to offer prepared Christmas meals and they’ve been a go-to ever since. This year’s menu features butternut squash soup and kale orange salad followed by a choice of herb-rubbed turkey breast and stuffing or orange and brown sugar glazed ham served with all the sides, finished off with an eggnog tres leche cake. All you have to do is heat and eat. This is also one of the most affordable options around town, costing only $25.99 per person.
Don’t want to make a full Christmas dinner but still want to cook at home? Sobeys offers a great little turkey kit that comes with a fresh and fully cooked turkey, cooked garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and gravy. All you have to do is heat it up and it’ll be on the table in less than two hours. Then you can add fill out the rest of the meal with your own accompaniments and desserts.
Nobody does it quite like the Fairmont. So if you want a gourmet Christmas meal to go, let Hotel MacDonald do the cooking for you. For $400, you’ll receive a five-kilogram roasted turkey, butternut squash soup, buttermilk mashed potatoes, maple glazed veggies, stuffing and dessert. If you’d prefer to dine in, the Farimont has a six-course Christmas Day dinner in The Harvest Room as well as a dinner buffet in the Empire Ballroom. Call 780-429-6495 to order your meal or to make reservations.
With so many holiday dinner options available this year, it’s easy to kick back and let someone else take care of the cooking. Order a prepared meal or nab a dinner reservation and get back to what Christmas is about – spending time with the ones you love most.
