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pot luck

“A Guide to Thanksgiving Eats”

It's that time of year again: time to give thanks that you live in New York and have so many great Thanksgiving Day options that you don't have to shop, clean, pluck, wash, stir, scrape, simmer, bake, or scrub in your tiny, inadequately-kitchened apartment.  Below are the best options this season, according to the Strong Buzz, for enjoying your holiday instead of working through it:

Eleven Madison Park

Have you ever had a four-star four-course prix fixe Thanksgiving dinner from one of the city's most celebrated chefs? This could be the year. Executive Chef Daniel Humm has created a Thanksgiving menu mixing traditional favorites and Modern French dishes like: celery root veloute with diver scallops and black truffles; foie gras with honey crisp apples and cinnamon meringue; roasted organic turkey with butternut squash and cornbread stuffing with chestnuts; dry aged Black Angus beef seared with bone marrow and served with saffron Soubise and braised shallots; potato mousseline, and cranberry chutney. Pastry Chef Angela Pinkerton's desserts include a caramel apple with roasted fuji apple ice cream, walnuts, and toffee. The meal is $150 per person, and seating is from 12:00 pm until 8:00 pm.

Eleven Madison Park is located at 11 Madison Avenue (212-889-0905).


Locanda Verde
 
From 2:00pm until 9:00pm on Thanksgiving Day, Locanda Verde is offering its regular dinner menu of Executive Chef Andrew Carmellini's spectacular rustic Italian food, and also serving additional Thanksgiving specials like pumpkin agnolotti with brown butter, sage, and amaretti, and pancetta-wrapped turkey with citrus and sage. For those who plan to stay home, pastry chef Karen DeMasco is baking all kinds of pies, cakes and breads to take out and savor in private (graciously giving license for you to eat the whole pie by yourself).
 
Locanda Verde is located at 377 Greenwich St. (212-925-3797).


Blaue Gans

Blaue Gans has the rare qualities of both cozy haven and nightlife destination; basically, you can either bring the kids or get sauced at the bar on the great beer selection. Or both. Why not straddle that line with Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner's Austrian take on Thanksgiving dinner? The Tribeca favorite is offering a three-course prix fixe Thanksgiving menu (in addition to the regular la carte menu) featuring butternut squash gnocchi with crème fraiche and sage; pork wiener schnitzel with potato cucumber salad and lingonberries; and pear strudel with concord grape sorbet ($49 per person; $35 for a children's turkey plate with dessert). Seating is from 11:00 am - 12:00am.

Blaue Gans is located at 139 Duane Street (212-571-8880).


BLT Restaurants

All of chef Laurent Tourondel's BLT restaurants will be serving a three-course prix fixe menu ($85 per person) focusing on fresh, seasonal ingredients with dishes like: aged goat cheese beignet and duck confit salad with watercress and honey mustard dressing; roasted turkey served with chestnut-sausage stuffing and cranberry-grenadine sauce, rosemary gravy, garlic mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts; dry-aged roasted prime rib with confit garlic jus and caramelized onion and bacon popovers; and for dessert, hazelnut-pumpkin pie served with pumpkin spice ice cream and honey whipped cream. Call to check on seating times, which vary depending on the location; most run from 2:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
 
BLT Steak is located at 106 East 57th Street (212-752-7470); BLT Prime is located at 111 East 22nd St. (212 995-8500); BLT Market is located at 1430 Avenue of the Americas (212-521-6125); BLT Steak-Westchester is located at 221 Main St., White Plains, NY (914-467-5500).


Five Points
                
Five Points' wonderful and slightly twisted take on American comfort food seems like a perfect fit for Thanksgiving. Chef Marc Meyer is offering a three-course prix fixe menu ($60 for adults and $32.50 for children 12 and under) for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Seating is from 2:00 pm until 8:00 pm.                   
 
Five Points is located at 31 Great Jones St. (212-253-5700).
 
 
Classic Harbor Line Cruise

Classic Harbor Line at Chelsea Piers is offering one of the most unique ways to stuff yourself on Thanksgiving -- while cruising down the Hudson River. The four hour tour (2:00 pm to 6:00 pm) aboard the 1920s style Yacht Manhattan features American cuisine and wine pairings for each course for $225 per person. Dishes include: deep fried New Orleans style turkey; northwestern roasted squash with rosemary, sage and cider glaze, southern corn bread stuffing with pecans, apples, and bacon, and New York green bean, portabello mushroom casserole with sherry butter sauce; desserts feature fresh baked fruit pies and artisan cheeses. 

For tickets, go to http://www.sail-nyc.com/


Inside Park at St. Bart's

For a traditional Thanksgiving in a heavenly setting, come feast on Chef Matthew Weingarten's greenmarket menu inside the historic landmark church. The three-course family-style meal ($45 per adult and $25 per child; tax and tip not included)  includes dishes like wood-roasted apple and squash chowder;  a whole herb-roasted heritage breed turkey with chestnut stuffing, giblet gravy and cranberry sauce; roasted string beans, and heirloom polenta with mushrooms, as well as pumpkin pie and apple pan dowdy with cider cream and caramel.

You can also order a complete Thanksgiving meal to go: place your order by November 18th and pick up the whole shebang at the restaurant on Wednesday, November 25th.

Inside Park at St. Bart's is located at 325 Park Avenue (212-593-3333).


Clinton St. Baking Co.

You might be cooking a turkey (and gravy and side dishes and vegetarian options . . .), but that doesn't mean you have to contend with pie crust, too. Clinton St. Baking Co.'s Thanksgiving-to-Go features apple crumb pie ($24), maple-bourbon pecan pie ($26), pumpkin butterscotch pie ($24) and mini buttermilk biscuits (!) ($10 for a dozen; $18 for 2 dozen; $25 for 3 dozen).  Orders will be taken by phone (646-602-6263) or email (dede@clintonstreetbaking.com - be sure to write "pie order" in the subject line) through November 24th at noon. You just have to pick up your pie by 10:00 pm on Wednesday, November 25th. Walk-ins are welcome to test their luck until the last pie is sold.

Clinton St. Baking Co. is located at 4 Clinton Street (646-602-6263).

-- Susan Kane Walkush

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Posted: November 13, 2009

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