Thanksgiving Restaurant Recommendations Around the World: Take a Break This Year
Top 9 Wine Pairing Guidelines for Your Dinner at Home or Eating Out
I’m having a stress-free Thanksgiving this year. For those subscribers who have followed me for the last three years, you know that I usually do a wine-pairing menu and 10+ person dinner that includes 5 wine glasses at each place setting and at least 6 courses. See: “All-American Thanksgiving Wine Pairing 2023: Top 9 Wine Pairing Guidelines,” Wine Wanderings, Nov 2023. The clean-up for 50+ wine glasses takes a couple of days alone. Taking a break.
This year is different. Family is traveling and I am going to enjoy being served. We’re dining at Seasons 52 Plano, Texas this year. The General Manager at this Seasons 52 , Shane Dittman, is a good friend, and I have written about this restaurant group in the past and their “inspiring wines-by-the-glass” menu. Thanksgiving is one of Season 52’s most festive days of the year. They beautifully serve a traditional Thanksgiving dinner while also offering other a la carte main course choices. Seasons 52 is a great place to meet up with friends year-round as they offer over 52 wines by-the-glass and healthy cuisine options (with calories listed.) Need a carry-out Thanksgiving Day option? A 7-item, warm, ready-to-serve Thanksgiving dinner is available for 4-6 people.
Like this no-stress idea? Here are some recommendations for Thanksgiving dinner restaurants in the US and around the world.
Check out the new Travel Opportunities section below. I also have my traditional Wine Recommendations for wines for each course you may serve. Don’t miss the Top 9 Wine Pairing Guidelines, too.
Thanksgiving Dining Around the World
In the USA
Austin, Texas
Austin’s historic Driskill Hotel on the Grand Mezzanine offers their beloved Thanksgiving family buffet from noon to 3:00 CST features the classics including turkey and pecan pie. $149 for adults. A photographer can help you mark the occasion with professional family portraits.
Chicago, Illinois
Can’t decide between prime rib and turkey? This is for you. The Thanksgiving Grand Feast $105 includes it all with a carving station, a seafood bar, and lots of sweets.
New York City
This dining option includes a Prosecco holiday toast and 4-course traditional Thanksgiving menu for $85. A full a la carte menu is also available.
Philadelphia
Celebrate Thanksgiving at Fork which is located 3 minutes from the Liberty Bell. More than 20 years into its run, this James Beard Award-winning restaurant offers elegant, farm-to-table Thanksgiving fare. The four-course prix-fixe menu is Chef Ellen Yin’s seasonal interpretation of Thanksgiving classics. $100.
Kansas City
West 47th St.
Eddie V’s offers a full traditional Thanksgiving meal followed by Pumpkin Pie. Adults $55
Cape Cod, Hyannis, MA
38 minutes away from the Plymouth Rock where the pilgrims landed in America, celebrate a Thanksgiving buffet in the vintage-inspired dining rooms. $70 adults.
San Francisco
With sweeping views of the city, consider classing up your Thanksgiving dinner with a buffet here. $200 Adults
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles
This North Rodeo Drive spot offers a $55 per person Thanksgiving dinner which includes classics like roasted turkey, marshmallow yams, and cranberry sauce.
St. Thomas, Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands
A Prix-fixe choice Turkey dinner and many a la carte choices are offered with the exceptional, fresh, local cuisine.
International
Lisbon, Portugal
Whisk Café, €50 for Adults (Democrats Abroad dinner)
London, England, Sydney, Australia, Paris France: Hard Rock Café Welcomes You
The Hard Rock Café, Piccadilly, London, England
Offers a traditional two-course dinner with slow-roast turkey and creamy mash, stuffing and vegetables with cranberry sauce followed by pumpkin pie. There is a lil’ rockers menu too.
The Hard Rock Café, 14 Boulevard Montmartre, Paris
Enjoy turkey with chestnut stuffing and mashed potatoes, and Pumpkin pie with whipped cream follows. Rock on.
Dublin, Ireland
This Irish music pub has an annual traditional American Thanksgiving dinner and show which was voted best in Ireland. $10-$42. The entertainment commences with Ireland’s leading traditional Irish music group, The Merry Ploughboys, who own the pub.
Tokyo, Japan
A chic restaurant in Daikanyama, Ivy Place starts their Thanksgiving menu with creamed roasted butternut squash soup followed by smoked salmon, roasted turkey, and a pumpkin butterscotch pudding for dessert. ¥7,500 per person.
Vienna, Austria
American chef Chelsea Frischknecht opens the doors of Café Caspar for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Tickets are advance sales, 28th and 29th of November 2024.
If You Are Having Thanksgiving Dinner at Home
Top 9 Wine Pairing Guidelines
Here are my Top 9 wine pairing suggestions for Thanksgiving. Remember, these are not hard and fast rules, just guidelines:
Tip # 1: Serve what you like to drink, not what you think you must serve.
Tip # 2: Be festive. Serve a sparkling wine as a welcoming aperitif.
Tip # 3: Match the weight of the food with the weight of the wine.
Tip # 4: Use bridge ingredients in a recipe (cheese, fruit, nuts) to make wine more compatible with vegetables, salad dressings, and spices. A Sauvignon Blanc or still rosé wine works well with lighter ingredients.
Tip # 5: Avoid heavily tannic wine with turkey and spicy casseroles. Pinot Noir is always a good choice for roasted white meats as it has lighter tannins. Dry Rosé works well, too. Keep that special Cabernet Sauvignon in the cellar/shelf, as the tannins will fight the spiciness of the food.
Tip # 6: Red Zinfandel’s flavors of plum, pepper, jammy blackberry, and tobacco can hold up to a smoked or deep-fried turkey.
Tip # 7: A Garnacha/Grenache based wine, domestic or international, works well with ham, especially those honey-based hams, or if served with cherry sauce. The raspberry, baked cherry, and spice notes are a perfect pairing.
Tip # 8: Full-bodied white wines like Chardonnay and Viognier pair well with heavier sauces, root vegetables, or cheese.
Tip # 9: Dessert wines should be sweeter than the dessert, or the wine will taste flat/sour.
Wine Recommendations: Thanksgiving Favorites
For Appetizers:
2014 J Schram Noirs – Schramsberg Sparkling Wine, (Reserve of Pinot Noir), $150
Wine Enthusiast, 2013 vintage, 95 Points
2020 Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc, North Coast, $42
Wine Enthusiast, 93 Points, 2019 vintage.
2023 Adelsheim Rose, Willamette Valley, OR $32
Wine Enthusiast, 90 Points
With the Salad
2022 Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc, North Coast, Sonoma, $16
James Suckling, 90 points
2022 Bending Branch Estate Picpoul Blanc, Camledge Vineyard, Texas Hill Country, $34.
For Side Dishes
2022 Rombauer Vineyards Proprietor Selection Chardonnay, Napa Valley, $99
Robert Parker, 93 Points for 2021 vintage
2021 Chateau Montelena, Chardonnay, Napa Valley, $75
Robert Parker, 93 Points for 2020 vintage
With the Main Course Turkey
2018 Gary Farrell Pinot Noir, Martaella Vineyard, Sonoma County, $90
Wine Enthusiast, 95 Points
2019 Stoller Reserve Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $57
James Suckling, 91 Points
2021 Bread and Butter Reserve Pinot Noir, Russian River, $23
Wine Enthusiast, 90 Points
With a Smoked or Deep-Fried Turkey, Ham, Beef
2020 Rombauer Zinfandel, California, $47
WW, 90 Points
2021 Charles Krug Limited Release Petite Sirah, Napa Valley, $80
Only 350 cases made.
2019 Chappellet Merlot, Napa Valley, $ 55
Wine Enthusiast, 94 Points
2018 Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, $85
Wine Enthusiast, 93 Points
With Dessert
Charles Krug Lot XXII Late Harvest Zinfandel Dessert Wine, Napa Valley, 375ml bottle, $40
Blandy’s 5 Year Malmsey Rich Madeira, Portugal $34
Wine Spectator, 92 Points
“Malmsey Madeira and pumpkin pie is a perfect pairing.” – Tricia Conover, DipWSET
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PTO next week with links to recent, popular newsletters
Love Season's 52! Enjoy Thanksgiving! - CW