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The Food Maven Diary [Previous Entry] [Diary Home] [Next Entry] 11/05/2003 Archived Entry: "Thanksgiving Restaurants" If you don’t feel like cooking this Thanksgiving, but have no idea where to take your family, I can help. I’ve been making some phone calls, and here are some suggestions.
VERY DOWNTOWN Capsouto Frères might be a good choice for diners who want something different this Thanksgiving. Besides a traditional roast turkey three-course pre-fixe, guests can order off the regular à la carte menu. Good wine list, too.
This Union Square chef-and-wife-owned restaurant is elegantly spare, and absolutely of the moment, while still appealing to those looking for a quiet, sophisticated room and meal. The menu is generated by the nearby Greemarket and the freshest, best meats, fish and shellfish. On the table for Thanksgiving is fresh ham, Chatham Cod, and roast turkey. One tempting dessert will be the flourless chocolate soufflé cake.
The most affordable option that has come to our attention so far this year is the three-course menu from the Comfort Diner. And what could be more American that eating in a diner? Choose from a butternut squash soup or green salad to start. Then move on to traditional turkey, or take salmon or ham. Wash it all down with a great big diner slice of apple, pumpkin, or pecan pie. TURKEY WITH A FIREPLACE The Chelsea Bistro and Bar is having their Thanksgiving Harvest Dinner “by the glow of the fireplace.” Indulge in frenchy-American dishes like filet mignon au poivre, grilled salmon, or roasted free range turkey. Desserts include: crème brûlée, profiteroles, and tarte tatin.
Have a very glamorous Thanksgiving in the uber-modern, uber-chic dining room of Brasserie. Start your meal with one of the Frenchy offerings like terrine of Long Island duck or onion soup gratinée. Move on to the more American main courses like a traditional plate of turkey, salmon, or prime rib. Finish with slice of classic apple, pumpkin or pecan pie.
The equally glamorous brother of the Brasserie also has a great looking menu. They’re offering some alternatives to Turkey (which, is of course, available) including: truffle crusted loin of lamb, braised short ribs, and grilled salmon. To finish, there’s maple poached apples in puff pastry, chocolate profiteroles, or a pecan and cranberry tart. It’s enough to make you want to skip the turkey altogether.
What could be more festive than a Rockefeller rink-side seat this Thanksgiving? Starters run the gamut from a salad of greens, celery, fennel, and roasted tomatoes, through New England clam chowder, to saffron risotto crabcake. For a main course you could have roasted Vermont turkey with all the fixings or one of six other choices. End your meal with a slice of apple crumb cake, Bartlett pear tart, or a refreshing sounding chocolate peppermint cake. Then, get your skates on and burn off all those holiday calories.
Just as expected the other, more formal, ringside restaurant at Rockefeller Center is serving great seafood dishes in addition to all that turkey and pumpkin pie (very much on the menu). Nice to know you can have the choice of Atlantic salmon, redfish, or a grilled whole daurade, not to mention rack of lamb (for hopeless land lubbers) this holiday.
Marika and Stuart Somerstien want you to be a part of their family this year for “Thanksgiving by the river.” Chef Masraff’s food is always as fabulous as the view toward Midtown Manhattan. The choices are too numerous to mention here, but just know that they’ll be elegant, plentiful, and delicious. Yes, turkey is one of them. Note: The Water’s Edge free private water taxi from East 38th Street in Manhattan will run every half hour on Thanksgiving.
This floating restaurant is starting their festivities with a hearty appetizer buffet. Then they’re offering guests a choice of traditional turkey, grilled Atlantic striped bass, grilled Filet mignon, or a Niman Ranch loin of pork for their main course and a choice from a great selection of traditional desserts. Celebrate Thanksgiving quite festively with an ever-changing view.
Beacon will be serving organically raised heritage turkeys through a partnership with Slow Foods and Chef’s Collaborative. Sounds important, huh? Other important things: Pumpkin and apple soup, wood roasted oysters with shallots, filet mignon with wild mushrooms, and a grilled venison steak and chop with chestnuts, cipollini (onions) and red cabbage.
The Carlyle dining room is offering their very elegant take on Thanksgiving classics this year. Start with an appetizer, move on to a choice of two soups, then to a main dish choice of free range Vermont turkey, Pan seared Atlantic Salmon, or a tenderloin of prime beef. End your meal with a sophisticated dessert like crème brûlée or chocolate Delicacy with raspberry coulis, or a more traditional pumpkin pie with Brandy butter sauce. A service of coffee, tea and petit fours follows.
That’s three Bay Ridge-size courses. Chadwick’s is definitely the place to go if you have some big eaters in your family. Not only does Thanksgiving promise to be abundant here, but of great quality. You’ll have a choice of four appetizers, including their famous crabcakes, or a fall-flavored (think pumpkin-filled) ravioli. Then you’ll be able to choose from a pork loin (cooked on the bone to ensure moistness), a fish selection, a steak, or a classic turkey dinner. Oh yeah, and if you can even face it, you’ll be offered a choice of traditional dessert.
Celebrate Thanksgiving New York-style in one of the oldest restaurants in the city. Relax in the 1879 dining room still ceremoniously lit by gas lamps. This is a good opportunity to sample Gage and Tollner’s classic she-crab soup or crabcake (among many other choices) as a first course, then something form the selection of American favorites like prime rib of beef or roasted pork loin, or turkey with chestnut stuffing. For dessert, there’s chocolate cake, carrot cake, or creamy pumpkin cheesecake.
Nothing says Thanksgiving more than the cozy dining rooms and Americana décor at the Milleridge Inn in Jericho, Long Island. The exact menu is not yet set, but will include many of the Inn’s traditional favorites, and, of course, turkey with all the trimmings. After dinner, stroll the grounds and peek into the many quaint shops adjacent to the Inn.
Yura could be your one-stop shopping for Thanksgiving this year. They have a very full menu from soup to nuts (literally). You can order things like mashed potatoes by the pound and parlkerhouse rolls by the half-dozen. They’ll even deliver for a charge with a minimum order of $150. Don’t forget to order lots of pies and cakes for dessert.
If you live in Westchester county or southeast Connecticut, the City Limits Diner is offering an extensive catering menu this holiday. Choose from all the traditional favorites and a selection of pies and cakes or choose their complete diner package which feeds 12 people abundantly for $279.
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