The Ultimate Thanksgiving 2014 Dining Guide
Some people get tremendous pleasure out of cooking up extravagant, multi-course Thanksgiving meals from scratch, while others — due to lack of time, space, culinary skill or flat out interest — handle the food-centric holiday by making reservations. Now, we’re not certainly not advocating one over the other, but we definitely have more input to add if you decide to go the restaurant route; namely, which New York eateries are serving up exciting, affordable, and suitably scrumptious holiday feasts, perfect for sharing with the entire family!
wd-50
For the first (and last) time, Wylie Dufresne’s seminal temple of molecular gastronomy, wd-50, will be offering a Thanksgiving feast before their doors officially close for good at the end of the month. At $85 per diner, you’ll be treated to a traditional (by wd-50 standards, at least), three-course Thanksgiving dinner with all of the trimmings. Fun extra: you’ll even receive a leftover turkey sandwich to take home!
Read MoreMaialino
Although he’s been busy churning out thin-crusted, Roman-style pizzas at the just-opened Marta, chef Nick Anderer has taken the time to construct a delectable-sounding Thanksgiving menu for Danny Meyer’s Maialino as well. Expect a progression of homey Italian dishes, such as Chestnut Soup strewn with roasted brussels sprouts, Pumpkin and Sage Tortelli, Heritage Turkey with polenta, kale, cranberry mostarda and sausage stuffing, and an Apple Cake topped with an ethereal, eggy zabaglione.
Read MoreReynard
Score visiting family members rooms in the chic Wythe hotel, then reserve a Thanksgiving table at the sleek ground floor restaurant, Reynard, overseen by top Brooklyn restaurateur, Andrew Tarlow. Priced at $87 per person, the five-course meal will include an Oyster & Sausage amuse bouche, Spiced Carrot Soup with brown butter and pecans, Grilled Squash with apple butter and challerhocker cheese, Striped Bass, Turkey or a Grass-fed Rib Roast, served with sweet potatoes, grilled greens and cipollini onions, and Apple Honey Cake or Pumpkin Pie for dessert.
Read MoreSaxon + Parole
Talented Aussie Brad Farmerie handles the tasty eats at this equestrian-themed Bowery grill. And he’ll be making some his family’s favorite recipes for Thanksgiving as part of an $80 prixe fixe, such as Turkey with charred lemon, armagnac gravy and cranberry-kumquat sauce, Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing, Mustard Mashed Potatoes, and Crispy Brussels Sprouts with chili caramel. And be sure to save room for the “Tower of Treats,” including White Miso Sugar Cookies, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites, Lemon Meringue Tarts, and Cranberry Financiers.
Read MoreCookshop
This farm-to-table Chelsea charmer is all about cozy and comforting American cooking — an ideal spot, in other words, for a rustic Thanksgiving meal. You’ll start with a spread of Corn-Rye Bread with house-churned cultured butter, pickled fall vegetables, candied pecans and Finger Lakes table grapes, followed by your choice of Duck and Venison Sausage with sauerkraut and dried cherries or Maine Lobster Chowder with cutting celery and stone ground polenta, and Cayuga County Free-Range Turkey with all of the trimmings or a Heritage Breed Pork Tasting, accompanied by Roasted Baby Carrots with apple cider syrup, Baked Sweet Potatoes with black walnut-maple butter, and Cranberry-Orange Relish for the table.
Read MorePerilla
Now that he’s turned his attention away from his recently shuttered The Marrow, Harold Dieterle can concentrate his efforts on his original New York restaurant, Perilla. Check out the West Village favorite during Thanksgiving for a $75 prixe fixe, featuring appetizers such as Whiskey Hill Rabbit Terrine, Brown Butter Sweet Potato Soup with toasted cumin froth, Roasted Local Turkey with chestnut stuffing, sage gravy and cranberry gelée, and a savory Pumpkin Tart tasting (you can supplement your order with a shaving of fresh perigord truffles for $30). And pastry chef Laura Jackson will whip up a number of appealing seasonal desserts, including Pumpkin Pie with a root beer reduction and sassafras ice cream.
Read MoreThe Water Table
Especially if you have family visiting from out of town, what could be better than gobbling up your turkey while sailing past the Statue of Liberty? For $90 per person, you can all board The Water Table (a New England-style tavern housed in a restored, WW2-era Navy Yard Patrol boat) this Thanksgiving, for greenmarket-sourced snacks, Turkey with all the trimmings, classic side dishes like Mashed Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce and Roasted Root Vegetables, seasonal Pies, plus a three-hour tour of the glittering New York Harbor!
Read MoreURBO Loft
Located on the second floor of the over-the-top URBO — the brand new, 29 million dollar, 26,000-square foot restaurant complex and retail space in the Theater District — the Loft will offer a three-course dinner for $80 per person. Executive Chef Michael Gibney (yes, he wrote the much-talked about book, “Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line”), will add modern, new-school flourishes to classic dishes using autumnal ingredients, such as Venison Tartar, Potato Gnocchi with delicata squash and hen of the woods mushrooms, Roasted Turkey, and an Apple Tart with Sweet Potato Espuma.
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