Assemble the Ultimate Thanksgiving Spread

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Earlier this month, I was standing around a Friendsgiving when I considered my plate: bulgogi beef sliders, a pile of artichoke dip, mashed potatoes, Basque cheesecake: Something about Thanksgiving blurs the lines between right and wrong, too much or too little. It doesn’t have to make sense. If you want to pair scallion-cornbread stuffing with queso mac and cheese, all it takes is two phone calls. This is the true beauty of Thanksgiving in the city: The array of premade, takeout options available means that it’s possible to assemble the world’s greatest mix-and-match meal, with stuffing from Missy Robbins.

Where to start? I did the work for you, sifting through menus and options to come up with this roster of what I think will be the single best option in each of the de rigueur Thanksgiving-dinner categories: The best turkey, the best stuffing, and the best pies. Yes that’s plural on pies, because everyone knows one isn’t enough. Pay attention to the deadlines, but plan to order sooner rather than later since sales will stop once something sells out.

The Turkey: The Meat Hook’s Smoked Turkey
We may not have known it at the time, but 2009 would be a pivotal year for New York turkey. That’s when Dickson’s Farmstand Meats in Chelsea Market and the Meat Hook in Williamsburg opened their doors. The shops have carved out distinct lanes, but on Thanksgiving, they’re known for the same dish: smoked turkey. Dickson’s rubs theirs in soy sauce and smokes it over low heat for hours. It was the bird to beat until 2016 when the Meat Hook debuted an alternative, smoked over apple and oak woods. For this guide, the choice was simple, since Dickson’s is almost sold out of smoked turkeys this year (last count: three remaining), while the Meat Hook still has some up for grabs. The birds, from an upstate farm near Ithaca, are sold in limited quantities — only 50 are smoked each year. $185; order here. Orders accepted until November 21 or until sold out.

The Bread: Lafayette’s “Famous” Parker House Rolls
Skip the sourdough on Thanksgiving in favor of puffy, buttery rolls that are engineered to be yanked apart and dragged through gravy. Here’s the other reason to go for Lafayette’s rolls: They’ll be perfect for leftover sandwiches on Friday when they start to toughen up and dry out. $22; order here. Order at least three days ahead.

The Potatoes: Marlow & Daughters’s Potatoes Gratin
Waiting in line at Marlow & Daughters has become a Thanksgiving pastime for some New Yorkers. The chance to get this casserole — burnt, baked cheese from Jasper Hill Farm on top, a heart-halting blend of butter, cream, and potato slices below — is the reason why. Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes? You might be surprised. $39; order here. Order at least three days ahead.

The Stuffing: MisiPasta’s Tortino di Pane
Missy Robbins is known for sheep’s-milk agnolotti and whipped ricotta toast. She can do Thanksgiving, too. Her café’s stuffing — based on torta di pane, an Italian bread pudding — hits all the marks. It’s made with sage, fennel, hunks of sourdough, and pork sausage that’s made in-house. Because this is an Italian kitchen, chestnuts, Parmesan, and Pecorino get tossed in, too. $68; order here. Order at least two days ahead.

The Wild Card: Winner’s Mac and Cheese
Every Thanksgiving needs a couple of choose-your-own-adventure sides. Some families go for green beans. Others opt for cranberry sauce. I say triple-down on carbs. This Park Slope bakery’s mac and cheese is made with twirly cavatappi pasta and an Avengers-like lineup of add-ins: sharp cheddar, Gruyère, butter, heavy cream, and white pepper. $16; order here. Order at least three days ahead.

The Home-y Pie: Supermoon Bakehouse’s Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
This Lower East Side bakery offers a pie every Thanksgiving. No matter the flavor, it seems to sell out. One reason might be their outsize reputation for selling some of the city’s most-posted croissants. Or, maybe people just like how they look: This pointy, pumpkin-spiced pie has layers of chocolate short-crust, caramel, and pumpkin mousse. On top: torched meringue, dark chocolate shards, pumpkin seeds, and more caramel. $60; order here. Orders accepted until until sold out.

The Status Pie: Hani’s Bakery’s Chocolate-Hazelnut Cream Pie
Even if you don’t make dessert, you still get to show off: Hani’s, the Cooper Square bakery from former Gramercy Tavern pastry chef Miro Uskokovic, hasn’t even opened yet. No matter. Uskokovic is selling three Thanksgiving pies, priced around $60 each. The one to watch is the hazelnut cream pie with a chocolate cookie crust. The filling — part pudding, part praline cream — is topped with halved hazelnuts and a cloud of whipped mascarpone. $65; order here. Orders accepted until November 24 or until sold out. 

The Salad: Kellogg’s Diner’s Strawberry Pretzel Salad
This is actually just more pie. After Brooklyn’s decades-old Kellogg’s Diner changed hands this year, chef Amanda Perdomo’s version of the South’s strawberry pretzel salad became one of the most talked-about dishes in the city: It has three neat layers of pretzel shortbread, vanilla cheesecake, and wobbling strawberry Jell-O. For Thanksgiving, you can order the whole tray with whipped cream and a pretzel crumble to garnish. $75; order here. Order by November 20.