Looking for 2016s Dining Out on Thanksgiving Guide?
Thanksgiving is about family and tradition. But that doesn’t mean you have to endure your mother-in-law’s cloying sweet-potato casserole with marshmallows again. It doesn’t mean you have to be stuck in a hot kitchen elbow-deep inside a turkey while everyone else drinks wine and cheers endless football games.
This year, why not try an outstanding county restaurant instead? You certainly won’t be alone. Last year, The National Restaurant Association estimated that 15 million Americans had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, an additional 14 million ordered portions of their dinner from a restaurant, and another 4 million enjoyed a complete takeout Turkey Day dinner.
Once the purview of the single, divorced, elderly, or lonely, Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant was something to be depressed about. But these days, restaurant dining on Thanksgiving is becoming increasingly popular among people from every social strata, whether they’re having dinner with family, friends, or solo. Not only are they dining out—many are eschewing turkey and stuffing. And really, what if you don’t like turkey and stuffing?
Crabtree’s Thanksgiving dinner: roast free-range turkey with truffled mac and cheese, maple-syrup-braised Brussels sprouts, sautéed sweet potatoes, and cornbread stuffing
Fortunately, there are a lot of T-Day dining options right here in Westchester. Whether you prefer traditional turkey and stuffing with all the trimmings or something altogether different, there’s a place here where you can feel at home—without the dirty dishes, unbuttoned pants and unbuckled belts, and nonstop screaming at the TV.
Looking for a cozy place with great food and a sense of history? You might enjoy Peter Pratt’s Inn in Yorktown, which dates to 1780, boasts 200-year-old sugar-maple trees, and offers an à la carte menu with a diverse array of trendy and traditional starters and entrées (mains start around $25), as well as a wide range of desserts and a children’s menu. Hudson at Haymount House in Briarcliff Manor, in a 1900s mansion that “portrayed” the Tara plantation in some scenes in Gone With the Wind, is another gorgeous location with a fabulous menu ($65/adults, $32.50/children), the most recent of which featured roasted all-natural heritage turkey with sausage, pine-nut, and dried-fruit stuffing; house-made cranberry-orange sauce; green beans with toasted almonds; sweet-potato purée; garlic mashed potatoes; roasted Brussels sprouts with applewood-smoked bacon; and natural Madeira gravy. Not a turkey person? Try the pan-roasted salmon or wild-mushroom risotto. Yum!
And then there’s Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua, which has been serving Thanksgiving dinner for 30 years and whose building dates to 1790. The beautiful grounds, elegant dining room, and world-class wine list complement a meal with classy embellishments ($65/pp). Last year’s appetizers included pumpkin-pear soup, terrine of Hudson Valley duck confit, and house-smoked Scottish salmon with Yukon Gold blini and Meyer lemon crème fraîche; and entrées of naturally raised turkey or seared diver sea scallops, pan-roasted Chatham cod, Highland Farm venison osso buco, and filet mignon.
Trendsetter? Be one of the first to try a new restaurant for Thanksgiving. At Bedford Post’s Campagna (scheduled to have opened by November 1), Chef Michael White will oversee the Thanksgiving menu.
On a budget? Armonk’s Beehive, a rustically elegant neighborhood restaurant, does a $23.95 traditional prix fixe. City Limits Diner in White Plains doesn’t serve their regular menu on Thanksgiving, but a seasonal à la carte menu. Morgan’s Publick House in Tappan, New York, offers four courses for $18.95—what a deal!—with Miloski Farms turkey, striped bass, a children’s menu, and four seatings.
If you would prefer ethnic food on Thanksgiving, Chutney Masala in Irvington serves a few Punjab-inspired holiday dishes (Tandoori turkey chaat!), along with the regular menu. Aberdeen Seafood & Dim Sum in White Plains serves authentic Chinese food and, of course, dim sum, rolling carts and all.
But there’s also a choice in between dining out and a Thanksgiving dinner at home: takeout. Pick up all the fixings from Stew Leonard’s in Yonkers, Plates in Larchmont, Epstein’s Kosher Deli in Hartsdale or Yonkers, or even The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, in White Plains. Then, tie on your apron and use that takeout to augment your own dinner (or pass it off as your own). And be thankful that it’s okay to take it easy.