Area restaurants continue to adjust to the to-go reality

Whether it’s planning now for the April 12 Easter family dinner or stocking up on soup for comforting stay-at-home meals, area restaurants have us covered with carryout.

Cellphones and social media make updates and pick-up easy.

Eating together has been stymied by the new reality of social distancing to eliminate the spread of COVID-19.

Here’s our plan: Each of us in my group will order carryout from the same restaurant for the same time, arriving in separate cars to pick up our food. We’ll then form a circle with our cars, positioning them like numbers on a clock with windshields in to face each other. We’ll talk by speaker phone as we eat.

Some places are keeping their servers to deliver orders to folks in their cars. Once you order and pay by credit card, you’ll call again when you arrive, and your meal will come to your car hot and ready to eat.

That’s the case at L’Albatros, in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood and one of my favorite special-occasion dining rooms. Order from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The menus, which change daily, can be found at facebook.com/albatrosbrasserie. At the time of this writing, its three soups are carrot-ginger, split pea and a mushroom bisque, all priced at $12 per quart. I want to try the chicken liver and foie gras mousseline, also priced at $12, while my husband wants the seared sea scallop with mashed potatoes and roasted poblano coulis ($28). L’Albatros is at 11401 Bellflower Road. Call 216-791-7880.

The Lounge at Red Wine & Brew in Mentor is open for carryout seven days a week from 4 to 8 p.m. Check redwineandbrew.us for the carryout menu, which is missing only a few things from its regular menu. We love the hot Bavarian pretzel with a pair of dipping sauces. The business accepts orders starting at 3 p.m. You must go inside to pick up your food. The beverage store part of the business at 9629 Old Johnnycake Ridge Road is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. but has reserved the first hour for seniors. Call 440210-0024.

Noosa Bistro, also in Mentor, serves much of its menu for carryout and has added a trio of dinners for four ($56) to its mix. Sliced roast prime rib, chicken parmesan and chicken marsala dinners all include a starch and salad. Because they already are set up to deliver meals to those staying at the surrounding hotels, they’ll deliver your order within a few miles. Noosa’s online menu (NoosaBistro.com) is especially easy for ordering. The restaurant is at 9500 Diamond Centre Drive. Call 440-953-1088.

Pickle Bill’s Lobster House, 101 River St., Grand River, is another with an extensive carryout menu, offered from 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 1 to 6 p.m. Sundays. Orders get a 25 percent discount. Hankering for a deepfried pickle, some lobster dip with housemade tortilla chips or a perch dinner? Give them a call at 440-352-6343 and they’ll walk you through the process.

Verdi’s Italian Market & Deli, 8720 Mentor Ave., Mentor, is serving its full menu for carryout, curbside and catering. Bread is made daily, and Verdi’s is fully stocked with Italian specialty groceries. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Call 440-266-8400.

Tavern Six in Kirtland offers carryout and local delivery to addresses in Kirtland and Willoughby Hills from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Find its menu online (TavernSixKirtland.com) and the restaurant at 7592 Euclid Chardon Road (Route 6). Call 440-2561100.

Just back from their annual getaway to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, chef Nick Kustala and Michelle Kuchinic are changing the way they do business at their Farmer Butcher Chef Bistro in Austinburg Township. Seeds already have been planted for the harvest of spring crops, and the business is making available to the public fresh steaks, chicken, pork and other provisions usually sold only to other restaurants. Find that list, which will be updated weekly, at facebook. com/TheFarmerButcherChef.

They also are taking orders for family-style Easter dinner for pick up on April 11. Orders will be accepted until April 9. Their place is at 1591 Route 45, about a mile south of its interchange with Interstate 90. Call 440-4296133.