Looking for an Easter meal in Fresno? Here are your takeout, indoor dining options
Where can you get an Easter meal in 2021?
With the coronavirus pandemic still going, but a light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines and potential loosening of restrictions, planning an Easter meal might seem a little complicated this year.
So let’s look at who’s doing what.
Many restaurants are offering takeout Easter meals to be eaten at home. We detail those below. Outdoor dining is allowed now and there’s a good chance indoor dining will be allowed by Easter, too.
But, as always on busy holidays, you need to make a reservation – especially this year.
Here’s what else you need to know.
Indoor dining
As of late March, Fresno County was on track to graduate from the most restrictive purple tier to the red tier of COVID-19 restrictions. If that happens, indoor dining would be allowed at 25% percent capacity.
The last metric it needed to meet was two weeks of staying under 10 new cases of coronavirus per 100,000 people and so far it appears to be doing so.
It’s not a sure thing, but we may know Tuesday if indoor dining will be allowed.
It’s a similar story in Madera and Kings counties. Tulare County is already in the red tier and allowing some indoor dining.
Expect restaurant reservations to book up quickly since demand is high, said Chuck Van Fleet, president of the Fresno chapter of the California Restaurant Association.
Also, be aware that some restaurants may do dine in or takeout, but not both. His kitchen at Vino Grille & Spirits, for example, can’t handle both, and Max’s Bistro is doing only its take-home meal on Easter.
“Some people have to choose one or the other,” he said of local restaurants.
To make things even more tricky, many restaurants aren’t ready to say yet whether they’ll be open for dine in on Easter. They’ll likely know more by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.
That said, Van Fleet has one request of customers: “Just be patient. We’re all trying to do the best we can with the restrictions that are out there.”
One restaurant that is taking Easter reservations indoors, assuming indoor dining gets the OK?
Campagnia. The restaurant has planned an Easter brunch from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and an Easter buffet dinner from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Reservations: 559-433-3300.
Take-home meals
If you don’t want to bother with eating out, plenty of restaurants are offering take-home meals that can be reheated at home.
Here’s a sampling, but not a comprehensive list. If you’re wondering if your favorite restaurant is doing something, give them a call or check out their social media.
BooBoo Bean Bakery & Cafe is offering Easter brunch, dinner and pies.
The little bakery at Bullard and West avenues, has a $125 dinner serving four to six people and a $185 option serving eight to 10 people.
Its full menu is online, but features a choice of turkey breast, ham or both, and a choice of four sides.
Its brunch options include a pastry box for $30 and two brunch options for $75 serving six people.
The quiche brunch comes with bacon, sausage potatoes and fruit, and a breakfast burrito brunch comes with potatoes and fruit.
Eleven kinds of pie are available, most for $16.
Order by Friday, March 26 for pickup April 3 by calling 559-570-8093 or emailing booboobeancafe@yahoo.com.
Erna’s Elderberry House, the central San Joaquin Valley’s only four-star restaurant, in Coarsegold is offering curbside meal pickup.
Its curbside brunch menu costs $65 per person and includes pastries, an asparagus frittata, wild salmon (chicken and vegetarian options are available), and a chocolate Easter egg dessert.
Orders must be made by Saturday, April 3 and picked up between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. April 4.
Max’s Bistro & Bar is offering a take-out prime rib dinner or a spiral ham Easter dinner, along with individual dinners – but will not be open for indoor or outdoor dining.
Both dinners include a strawberry-spinach salad, dinner rolls, potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and cinnamon-raisin bread pudding.
The prime rib dinner feeds four and costs $200, with individual prime rib meals for $50. The ham dinner feeds eight and costs $280, with a single meal for $40.
Call 559-439-6900 to order and pick up on Easter between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Pardini’s Catering is offering a take-and-bake Easter meal serving four to five people.
Options include a quiche Lorraine brunch, a prime rib dinner, a smoked ham dinner and a leg of lamb dinner, ranging from $60 to $150.
Extras like scalloped potatoes, and a mimosa kit are also available.
The full menu is on its website. Order by Thursday, April 1 and pick up in the back parking lot Saturday April 3 from noon to 4 p.m.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 9:38 AM.
