TLC Austin

A family-friendly indoor-outdoor space serving coastal Texan fare and over 30 beers on tap, TLC is all the Southern comforts rolled into one restaurant. Expect large portions, great prices, sports on the screens, and patrons in casual attire. Bring your party to TLC’s boil experience, where you’ll choose from fresh catch like Texas Gulf Shrimp or Littleneck Clams, customize it with your choice of flavoring and sauce, and devour it alongside Texas corn and red potatoes. Other menu highlights include Candied Bacon Deviled Eggs, Mac & Cheese and Redfish & Crab. For dessert, sweet spots go to the Giant Milkshakes or their brownie.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating or order takeout via Toast.

If the thought of ten family members simultaneously preparing dishes in your small apartment kitchen makes you break out in anxiety-driven hives, let the folks behind South Austin’s TLC sweat it out this year. Its Christmas Family Meal, which feeds eight to ten, is tailor-made for large gatherings. Savory selections include Nueske's applewood-smoked bone-in ham, rosemary fingerling potatoes, country green beans, and honey-glazed carrots. Plus, the package also lets you pair pre-made desserts, such as chocolate pecan pie and white chocolate peppermint bark, with a DIY cookie-decorating kit—so you can still get in some family baking time (with a little help, of course).
Cost: The Christmas Family Meal runs $299
How to order: Order pick-up via Toast.

If you want to pull a fast one on your friends and relatives, there’s no better option than picking up a Thanksgiving to-go pack from TLC—and pretending you made the meal yourself. Not only can you impress your crew with the centerpiece of a honey-sage whole roasted turkey, but they will rave over such sides as rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, mac ‘n cheese, citrus-vanilla cranberry sauce, and giblet gravy. Be sure to emphasize how you “slaved in the kitchen” over perfecting the pecan pie. Should your poker face be less than exceptional, you can skip the charade and take your Thursday crew directly to the source instead; the South Austin restaurant will also be open on Thanksgiving Day for dine-in.
Cost: To-go meals run $299 and serve eight to ten people, while dine-in plates run $38 per person.
How to book: Order to-go packs online for pick-up on November 23. For dine-in, seating is first come, first served.

TLC is a fun, casual space on South Lamar, specializing in large portions of Southern comfort food washed down with beers on tap. The star attraction here is The Boil, where a fresh catch of the day (Texas gulf shrimp, Maine lobster, Littleneck clams and the like) is customized with your choice of flavor and sauce, with corn and red potatoes for company. Share this with the gang and expect to get your fingers very wet. Other menu items worth adding to the table include the raw Gulf oysters, redfish, and shrimp ceviche. And, because this spot is all about Southern comfort, go ahead and throw on a piping hot side of mac & cheese.