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Where to Dine Out or Order Your Thanksgiving Meal on the UWS

By Emily Frost | November 25, 2013 7:04am
 If your kitchen can't handle a big feast, eat out at one of these neighborhood restaurants. 
Best UWS Spots to for Thanksgiving
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UPPER WEST SIDE — Staying in the city for turkey day can mean catching a glimpse of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, enjoying the hum of the holiday season and avoiding flight delays among other travel downers. 

It also means tiny kitchens and dining areas designed more for TV dinners than family feasts.

The tradeoff is the bevy of neighborhood restaurants happy to feed you for the holiday.

Plus, eating out means less work for you, says Bruce Kravetz, an owner at bar and restaurant Barley & Grain.

"Every year, my wife and I spend a lot of time shopping, prepping and cooking, then afterwards cleaning up into the wee hours of the morning," he said. "This leaves us little time to spend with our guests."

If the idea of having someone else do the cleanup is appealing, check out our guide to where to eat out — and also where to cheat with premade Thanksgiving meals. 

Barley & Grain

421 Amsterdam Ave.
$49 per person for prix fixe menu, plus glass of sparkling punch
3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

If turkey isn't your thing, Barley and Grain, the neighborhood's new whiskey and dinner spot, offers other options in addition to the bird for its main course, including an apple-and-brown-sugar braised short rib or roast salmon and scallop mousse with a ginger beurre blanc. 

In addition to greens, soup, an onion gruyere tartlet and the main course, each party (up to 10 people) is provided a series of sides including orange ginger cranberries, roasted root vegetables, candied sweet potato puree and cornbread sausage stuffing. The meal is capped off with either pumpkin mousse or apple raisin crisp. 

Reservations are reccommended and the restaurant can accommodate groups of up to 10 people. 

Boulud Sud

20 W. 64th St.
$95 per person prix fixe/$35 per child 12 and under.
12 p.m to 9:30 p.m.

One of the main problems with dining out on Thanksgiving is the lack of leftovers. Sometimes, the next day turkey sandwich, doused in gravy and stuffing, is tastier than the original. Boulud Sud has attempted to solve that problem, sending each diner home with a turkey sandwich for the next day. 

Its menu features a more modern take on the holiday, with a Middle Eastern inspired salad of kale, beets, medjool dates, labneh and berbere-spiced walnuts. There's a traditional turkey in the middle of the meal followed by gingerbread with a yogurt cardamom mousse, spiced quince and lemon ginger sorbet. 

Bar Boulud

1900 Broadway
$65 per person prix fixe/$35 for children 12 and under
12 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Bar Boulud has a wide variety of options for its Thanksgiving prix fixe, some of which won't feel classic at all, like a crab salad with curry, ravioli, or sea scallops with potato gnocchi. While some diners will appreciate the culinary variety, there will be plenty for the traditionalists including pumpkin and pecan on the dessert menu and sides like Brussels sprouts and cornbread. 

Jacob's Pickles

509 Amsterdam Avenue
$35 per person for a five-course meal
Seatings at 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Given that an appetizer and a main course could easily run you $35 at this Southern and soul food spot, the $35 five-course menu is a steal. 

Dinner starts with deviled eggs and pickles — not your typical turkey day fare but a standard at this restaurant — followed by potato leek soup with crisped leeks and bacon, and a beet salad with apples, toasted walnuts and Roquefort. While turkey is available, diners can also choose ham or salmon entrees instead. And here's something you definitely won't get for dessert at Aunt Betty's house: pumpkin-fried Oreos. 

5 Napkin Burger

2315 Broadway
Open Thanksgiving day, 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m. 

If you want to forgo all the fuss and just chow on a burger, this restaurant chain — known for its messy, overflowing burgers — has created a Thanksgiving-themed burger. 

Its new turkey burger, available all of November at $14.95, is stuffed with herbed goat cheese, topped with cranberry ketchup, shallots, lettuce and tomato, and served with a side of sweet potato fries. 

Wash it down with a pumpkin-spiced milkshake, made of vanilla ice cream, pumpkin spice and a graham cracker puree for $6.

Ouest

2315 Broadway
$85 per person/$45 for 12 and under
2 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

This lauded restaurant is open for Thanksgiving, and foodies will appreciate its free-range turkey with a unique take on stuffing that features sausage, oysters and pine nuts.

Like other restaurants, Ouest will also have steak, salmon and a pork chop on its menu to those who don't care for the roasted bird. 

Nice Matin

201 West 79th Street
$36.50 prix fixe

Nice Matin invites you to choose a soup, salad or even escargot, then a meat or fish dish and finish with a traditional pumpkin pie or apple crisp (or go the richer route with a chocolate cake or cheesecake).

For those who enjoy the boozy side of Thanksgiving, Nice Matin is introducing a new tea-based hot toddy that day — the Lord-Bergamot Hot Toddy, with Bacardi eight-year rum, Earl Grey tea, fresh citrus and spices, for $13. 

West Side Market

2840 Broadway and 2171 Broadway

If you want to sit at your own table or not have to worry about bringing less-mobile folks out in the cold, several grocery stores in the area offer traditional fixings ready to reheat.

West Side Market has a dinner that serves six to eight people for $140, including a 12-14 pound cooked turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, steamed vegetables, mashed or sweet potatoes, and a holiday pie. Turkey carving is $10 extra. A Murray's free-range turkey is $2 extra per pound. 

If you want to cook the turkey yourself, the price for the whole dinner drops to $120.

A slightly healthier version that serves only four to six people is also available for $80, including a cooked 6 to 7 pound turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, butternut squash with kale, baked yams and a pie. 

The market will deliver within a 10-block radius and orders must be placed by Wednesday. 

Épicerie Boulud

1900 Broadway 

This French market is offering Thanksgiving packages and a la carte items that can be picked up and brought home to reheat. (Orders should be place by Nov. 27)

Traditionalists will enjoy the way the menu sticks to the script but has gourmet flair. 

The dinner package includes a butternut squash soup with toasted pumpkin seeds and cinnamon marshmallows, and a parmesan pumpkin loaf and small rolls as an appetizer. The roasted turkey is free-range and 14 to 17 pounds for six to eight guests, and 17 to 20 pounds for 10 to 12 guests. The stuffing features glazed chestnuts, cornbread, cippolini onions, fine herbs and turkey stock. Whipped potatoes with butter, cranberry sauce, turkey jus, and roasted fall vegetables accompany the bird. 

The package is $295 for six to eight people and $395 for 10 to 12 people.