Thanksgiving in NYC : Traditional & Non-Traditional Options

When I was little, there were several years that we went out for Thanksgiving dinner and it was awesome! My mom and I had lived in a small apartment – and many of my family members also didn’t have the room to host. We knew we all wanted to be together, so we’d find a restaurant that was serving Thanksgiving dinner. Being from the NYC area, I can give you many suggestions on restaurants for nice dinner on a regular night out, but for Thanksgiving, I had to find some info on where to get the best traditional (and nontraditional) meals.

Thanks to NewYork.com this information was right at my fingertips!

Traditional Thanksgiving Feast in NYC

1. The Smith: With Natural Heritage turkey done in three ways—pot pie, roasted breast or osso buco with pumpkin risotto—you can’t go wrong at The Smith.

2. Red Cat: For dessert at this Chelsea bistro, you can expect to fill up on fresh apple crostada and pumpkin pie elevated with maple crème fraiche and ginger snap cookies.

3. Sarabeth’s: Think pumpkin soup, beet and apple salad, crab cakes with fennel and filet mignon. Of course there will be turkey, and at Sarabeth’s the bird is free-range and comes with leek-and-sausage stuffing and brown butter-whipped potatoes.

4. Meadowsweet: This quaint Brooklyn eatery serves up an epic three-course feast, offering vegan and vegetarian courses as long as they’re requested in advance. Indulge in homemade cinnamon-sugar doughnuts with hard cider ice cream for dessert.

5. Bouley: David Bouley is offering a lavish six-course Thanksgiving meal in his namesake eatery. The menu won’t be released until the day of, but you can expect the same great eats as last year—a list that showcased organic Colorado lamb, Pennsylvania turkey, gnocchi with chestnuts, squash soup, local Brussels sprouts, black walnut-sage pudding and more.

Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner in NYC

1. Rosemary’s: Yes, turkey is a part of the Thanksgiving Day lineup at Rosemary’s, but at this West Village enoteca and trattoria the common bird has a Pugliese spin on it—served in the form of meatballs with maple gravy and cranberry mostarda.

2. Boqueria SoHo: Cider and Turkey may be a Thanksgiving tradition, but at lively Boqueria SoHo, sherry and tapas are what fuel the meal.

3. Miss Lily’s: Vibrant Miss Lily’s and Miss Lily’s 7A, in SoHo and the East Village, serve a Thanksgiving meal, Jamaican-style.

4. Aldea: Enjoy cauliflower-apple soup and foie gras terrine as starters at George Mendes’ Iberian-inspired Aldea.

5. Maialino: For an Italian-American Thanksgiving experience, expect chestnut soup, pumpkin-sage tortelli and heritage turkey with polenta, kale and sausage stuffing.

Pre-Order Your Thanksgiving Turkey in NYC

Want to try cooking – pre-order your Thanksgiving Turkey so that you know you have the freshest, best quality turkey:

1. DiPaola Turkey Farm: Place an order for a free-range and antibiotic-free turkey at one of the farm’s many Greenmarket locations.

2. Heritage Meat Shop: Founded in 2001, the Brooklyn-based Heritage Foods USA is dedicated to promoting small family farms. Many chefs rely on Heritage, and for the year’s most important meal, you can too.

3. The Meat Hook: This Williamsburg butcher shop gets its broad-breasted white turkeys from Interlaken, New York. If you need sausage for stuffing or bacon for Brussels sprouts, they’ve got you covered as well.

4. Dickson’s Farmstand Meats: This butcher shop in Chelsea Market is one of Manhattan’s best. For the holidays, Dickson’s is bringing in birds from Amish farms in Lancaster, PA.

5. Fleisher’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats: Fleisher’s is well-known as a butcher shop of the highest order; for Thanksgiving, it’ll be selling fresh, not frozen birds.

Gluten-Free?

For those of you with dietary restrictions, learn how to create tasty gluten-free Thanksgiving dishes while gaining culinary skills at the Institute of Culinary Education. Register online at recreational.ice.edu for a one-time intensive that will teach you how to cook a gluten free, six-course Thanksgiving meal.