Prepared Turkey in SF??

[Kitty]

I may (gasp) buy a prepared turkey this year rather than make it myself. I saw a list in the Chronicle of local stores that do this. Any suggestions on which one to choose? Or other places in the city that also do this? I'd like to just get the turkey a la carte rather than purchasing a full menu. Thanks in advance!

Here's the Chronicle list (I don't have a car, so only SF proper will work for me):

AG Ferrari
Albertsons
Andronicos
Mollie Stones
Safeway
Whole Foods

[Anne in SF]

Time to think outside of the box...

Lots of Chinese duck hanging in the window places offer roasted whole Turkeys during the holidays. You just have to place an order in advance. A couple places off the top of my head do this: Wing Lee @ 501 Clement, and that vietnamese/Chinese place next to Yum Yum fish on the corner of 23rd and Irving.

Also, lots of BBQ places will do deep fried turkey. Cliff's on Bayshore has done this in years past. I am sure other BBQ places do this as well, you just have to ask or look for signs. Same goes with the Chinese duck hanging in the window places. Look for the signs; order in advance, put a deposit down.

[Gary Soup]

Hing Lung in Chinatown (the deli on Stockton, not the restaurant on Broadway) also offers roasted turkeys to order at $2.95 per pound. In the past they've also given you the option of providing your own turkey and they will roast it for a flat fee (about $20.)

[Krys Stanley]

I asked this question two years ago and there was one response giving a thumbs up to Whole Foods.

Given that Whole Foods is roasting up Diestel turkeys, it is hard to mess up a Destel. After cruising the markets, I was going to go with Whole Foods. Things didn't work out, so I never personally bought the bird.

Other consideratons might be price and location. Obviously Safeway and Albertsons is the most economical and they both deliver if you order on line. This saves you from hauling around a turkey on the bus or taking a cab. Obviously you won't get a pedigreed bird. You get Safeway or Albertsons quality turkey. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Should you decide to have the turkey deliverd, Safeway is unreliable, especially at busy times ... and Safeway customer care ... doesn't.

Mollie Stone has that little bus that will deliver you to your door.

Then again you might live close to Ferrari or Andronicos so dragging the bird home might be convenient.

When I made my decision, I more or less based it on the pedigree of the bird and the market's deli selection. I like the Deli better at Whole Foods better than Andronico's.

Hope you will report back with whatever decision you make.

[Kitty]

Thank you for the responses. I ended up going with Krys Stanley's advice in terms of distance and price combo -- and ordered a turkey from Mollie Stone's for $45. I'm now nervous, but the birds on order so we'll see how it goes. I'll be sure to post after the results are in.

Thanks again to all the responses. Perhaps next year I'll go outside the box and get a Chinese duck.