Are you visiting NYC for Thanksgiving? Or a local and you’re sticking around for Friendsgiving? Maybe you’re tired of being the host with the most? (read as: NO cooking for once!)
Any reason is a good reason to be in the Big Apple for the holiday. And we’re here to help! Below are our top picks for Thanksgiving Day feasts – mostly pre-fixe menus with two takeout options thrown in. Get ready for a mess-free, stress-free holiday with plenty of extra time to explore this amazing city!
For an Italian twist on traditional: Rafele
Rafele is offering up a delicious menu for Thanksgiving. They’ll have a roasted heritage farm organic turkey with amazing Italian-style stuffing (made with pork belly, polenta, cranberry sauce – wow!). The added bonus here is delicious pasta and antipasti to start. Butternut squash lasagna with burrata. Drooling. And don’t forget about dessert – a pumpkin ricotta twist on their famous cheesecake is sure to send you off in a festive mood.
Let the heat from the restaurant’s wood-fired oven and the smoke from Chef Raffaele’s good looks warm your heart and soul this year.
$67 per person
http://rafele.com/images/menus/Thanksgiving2017.pdf
29 7th Ave S, New York, NY 10014 – rafele.com – (212) 242-1999
Blow your diet, in style: Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria
Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria is doing a beautiful Thanksgiving menu, with decadent family-style sides and your choice of antipasti and main courses. Smashed Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes, carmelized brussel sprouts, filone stuffing – traditional sides done way better than I could manage at home. Traditional meets unique with your choices – you could go with a salad and turkey or switch it up and go with bison tartare and king salmon or leg of lamb And beautiful extends to the space as well. In short, Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria does everything right. Both the cuisine and the space are reminiscent of a rustic market straight out of Tuscany.
$90 per person (Children $40)
http://www.ilbucovineria.com/content/menus/Thanksgiving%20Menu.pdf
53 Great Jones St, New York, NY 10012 – ilbucovineria.com – (212) 837-2622
How the hip and happening do the Holiday: The Smile
The Smile is a beautiful space in Nolita offering a LOT of food to satisfy all of your deep Thanksgiving day desires. Alongside their apple-cider brined turkey, you’ll get a delectable array of sides from sourdough stuffing to clementine cranberry sauce to brussel sprouts with shallots and bacon. The classics leveled WAY up. Top it off with a bourbon pumpkin pie or a chocolate ganache tart and you’ll be guaranteed to roll home full and happy. P.S. Only the cool kids need apply: This place is hipper than Brooklyn.
$60 per person, vegetarian and vegan options available
https://www.thesmilenyc.com/location/the-smile/#menus/
26 Bond St, New York, NY 10012 – thesmilenyc.com – (646) 329-5836
If ambiance is your angle: Palma restaurant
Viewing this amazing converted farmhouse is a must for any NYC visit. But come for the Thanksgiving fare and you’ll have an experience you’ll never forget. Fresh flowers adorn every inch of this 1810 carriage house, embracing you with warmth and a familial spirit. Tuck into fabulous antipasti and then either spinach and ricotta dumplings or butternut squash pasta, before choosing turkey or branzino as your main. An heirloom apple crostata completes your delectable dining experience at Palma.
$95 per person
http://www.palmanyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2017-Thanksgiving_Palma.pdf
28 Cornelia Street, New York, NY 10014 – palmanyc.com – (212) 691-2223
Live like a local: Cornelia Street Café
At this cozy neighborhood staple, traditional options abound OR change it up with foie gras terrine and roasted pork loin. Finish it off with a Kentucky bourbon and chocolate pecan tart before walking it off in the tree-lined streets of the Village.
http://corneliastreetcafe.com/menus/Thanksgiving.pdf
$65 per person, children’s menu $25
29 Cornelia Street, New York, NY 1014 – http://www.corneliastreetcafe.com/restaurant.html – (212) 989-9319
BE THE FAMILY HERO
Get Thanksgiving to Go! More time to socialize with friends and family, run that Turkey Trot, watch the parade and/or football – really just do WHATEVER you want instead of prep and clean all day long.
The Smile TO GO
Plenty of traditional and unique options sure to impress (you’re going to pass it off as your own cooking, right? Pro tip: Just throw the containers far, far away ahead of time!). Artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, rosemary goat cheese to start, traditional turkey and sides for the main course, pear and cranberry crisp pie to close it out. Home run holiday!
http://www.smiletogonyc.com/location/howard-street/#thanksgiving
Il Buco Vineria TO GO
A la carte: sides, a fully cooked or ready to roast turkey, delectable homemade breads, cheese and salumi platters, and dessert. Salted chocolate hazelnut tart or fairytale pumpkin pie – I want to be a part of this fairytale!
OR
The whole she-bang – turkey and sides feeding 10-14 people for $250.00. Worth it to not have to cook AT ALL? Yes!
http://www.ilbucovineria.com/content/menus/Thanksgiving%20Catering.pdf
Place your order online, over the phone, or by email www.shop.ilbucovita.com
(212) 837-2622
[email protected]
After you feast, come visit us over the holiday weekend to walk off your meal and learn a bit about the city with a Foods of NY Tours Food Tour! (And there will still be food – it’s Thanksgiving weekend after all!)
Enjoy! Let us know what you decide. Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours!
Love,
The Staff at Foods of NY Tours
