When you think of fine dining restaurants, you don’t think of takeout. That is, until the COVID-19 pandemic caused the governor to close down restaurants. While you can’t get a night out, you can still have a romantic dinner, or excellent family meal, at home. Not only can we pick it up, most prices are discounted from the dine-in experience. It’s the perfect time to try some of our fine restaurants without a reservation.

Zydeco

When sampling the takeout experience, I focus on those restaurants that haven’t had take away options before. Zydeco and Bistro 28 would be in my list of fine dining places but have previously offered delivery using Door Dash and other delivery services. Currently, curbside takeout is available as well. If you’ve never tried their Barbecue Shrimp (shrimp and grits), House Smoked Trout Dip, or Jambalaya, it’s time to treat yourself. You’ll be helping to support two great local restaurants. And, don’t forget the Homemade Carrot Cake. It may be the best in town. You can order online at zydecokitchen.com

Red Martini

If you are looking for a romantic “candlelight” dinner, Red Martini in Redmond has you covered. The takeout dinners, available Thursday through Saturday nights, are designed for the perfect date night. The food comes with a little red bag that includes mints and a votive candle with glass candle holder.

I called in the order and drove to Redmond for curbside pickup. My son and I shared a plate of the Maple Whiskey BBQ Meatballs. The five large ground beef and pork meatballs could be a meal in itself. It’s a perfect balance of sweet and savory. We also shared stoneground mustard honey glazed lamb chops rubbed with bread crumbs. The tender chops get a slight sweet flavor from the glaze. Perfectly cooked green beans and mashed potatoes with the right hint of truffle oil rounds out the meal.

Bos Taurus

There’s never a better time to try Bos Taurus. The restaurant is offering aged and specialty beef from around the world at heavily discounted prices. Bos Taurus has a take-away menu along with a Butcher’s menu. When you order a steak, it comes vacuum sealed with a cook-it-yourself kit. The kit includes smokey salt, pepper and a steak butter to put on top. Chef George Morris wrote an instruction sheet that describes the process and the temperature at which meat should be removed from the skillet.

My choice was the Allen Brothers Chicago Filet Mignon ($17). I cooked it in 15 minutes. I dropped some steak butter on top as I plated the steak with a side of winter greens. (It’s no longer on the menu, but you can order the sautéed spinach in shallot, garlic, and olive oil.) We also got a freshly baked sourdough baguette with wild bay leaf honey butter.

My son chose the wild mushroom lasagna. As it serves 2 people, we had leftovers for lunch the next day. Shitake, maitake, hon shimeji, and trumpet mushrooms are layered with mornay sauce — béchamel and gruyere cheeses —and topped with a spattering of bread crumbs. It is rich, sumptuous, and a treat to have the next day.

Red wine is the perfect complement to a steak. Along with deals on meats, all wines have been discounted, plus you’ll get another 20% when you order.

Because they have a limited quantity of meats, you’ll want to order in advance. Bos Taurus recommends ordering and paying online at bostaurussteak.com. You can order from five days in advance until 3 p.m. on the day you are picking up your food. A server wearing gloves will bring the food to your car curbside. You can call to order if online isn’t an option. Call 541-241-2735 when you arrive if they don’t see your car.

Jackalope

Escargot-to-go is probably the least expected dish you could imagine for takeout. I was compelled to try it from Tim Garling’s Jackalope Grill. The amazingly tender escargot were served in a paper container smothered in the perfect French-style garlic butter. A round of fresh-baked sourdough bread is a must to soak up the butter. The daily split pea soup special also called to me. Big chunks of quality ham and carrots flavored the thick, creamy soup. I picked up my order curbside, but Jackalope will deliver for free on Friday and Saturday nights. Wine to go is discounted.

Joolz

Typically, most nights Joolz has a packed house and a wait if you don’t have reservations. To give the best service to their dine-in guests, they don’t allow ordering takeout nor deliveries. During the shutdown, their high quality focus is on takeout orders available Wednesday through Saturday 4 to 7:30 p.m. They’ll bring it to your car in the alley behind the restaurant. It felt illicit, like a speakeasy.

The Middle Eastern fusion restaurant has been a date night favorite for me. I usually have the Forbidden Black Rice Chicken Bowl—Morrocan barbecue braised chicken atop forbidden black rice with tangy tzaziki on top. This time, I tried the lamb kebabs on rice. A tzaziki dipping sauce complements the tender chunks of lamb with Middle Eastern spices. On the side was roasted broccoli and cauliflower side dish. The preparation brought out the sweetness of the cruciferous vegetables.

Clam chowder is not usually offered at the restaurant. Knowing Chef Ramsey Najib Hamdan’s background as a highly talented chef that was an instructor at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland for 13 years, I was curious to try something other than Joolz’s Middle Eastern cuisine. Of course, it was wonderful. Its stocked full of seafood and vegetables in a thick, creamy base. Thick cut bacon pieces gave it a smokey flavor.

Wine and growler fills are available.

During the shutdown, you don’t have to forgo date night, plus you can order an extra bottle of wine, because you are already at home.