Pass the Cranberry Sauce . . . Off to Somebody Else: How Washington Restaurants Are Celebrating Thanksgiving

Comments () | Published November 18, 2009

• Jackson 20

Comfort food is the focus of this Southern-accented restaurant’s three-course, family-style meal.

On the menu: Frisée salad with candied walnuts, goat cheese, and cranberry vinaigrette; butternut-squash soup with sherry gastrique; roasted turkey with collards, candied yams, and cornbread stuffing; and sweet-potato and pecan pies.
When it’s available: Noon to 8.
What it costs: $45 per person; $20 for children under 12, and free for children under six.

• Legal Sea Foods

A banquet-style meal at all area locations will be surprisingly lacking in seafood.

On the menu: Slow-roasted turkey breast with sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, gravy, and cranberry sauce.
When it’s available: Noon to 9 at the Penn Quarter location; noon to 8 in Crystal City and Bethesda; 2 to 8 at Tysons Galleria.
What it costs: $21.95 per person.

• The Majestic

Chef Shannon Overmiller’s family-style holiday dinner is being served all month.

On the menu: Stuffed turkey breast with cranberry sauce and gravy; whipped potatoes; creamy bean casserole; and pumpkin pie.
When it’s available: Through the end of November during regular dinner hours.
What it costs: $22 per person.
• Navy Memorial

Active-duty sailors, marines, and coast guardsmen and women working here and away from their families can enjoy a free Thanksgiving dinner from 11 to 4.

• The Oval Room

Chef Tony Conte is planning for a creative seasonal three-course meal with accents such as liquid gingerbread.

On the menu: Begin with autumn-vegetable salad with pomegranate and warm-bacon vinaigrette; and move onto charred-foie-gras ravioli with ice-wine reduction and liquid gingerbread; free-range turkey with chestnut stuffing and sweet-potato purée; and pork with cranberry-miso and salsify-and-celery gnocchi.
When it’s available: Noon to 8.
What it costs: $50 per person.

• Rasika

This hot Indian restaurant will serve its regular menu plus a special ($16) of pistachio-and-cranberry-stuffed turkey breast with saffron-and-cashew sauce, butternut-squash bharta, and chili Brussels sprouts. Seatings are between 11:30 and 2:30 and 5:30 and 10.

• Redwood

This Northern California-chic American restaurant is serving lunch and an early dinner.

On the menu: Start with shrimp cocktail; Caesar salad; or butternut-squash soup.
The main course is roasted turkey and baked ham served family-style with mashed potatoes, sweet-potato gratin, leek-and-brioche stuffing, and roasted vegetables.
Dessert is pumpkin or pecan pie.
When it’s available: Noon to 6.
What it costs: $59 per person; $29 for children under 12.
• Restaurant 3

Diners here get three for the price of one when chef Brian Robinson takes on turducken (yep, that’s a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken) as part of his three-course, Southern-influenced prix-fixe menu.

On the menu: Start off with cornbread and sweet butter, then choose between butternut-squash soup and a green salad for an appetizer. For the main event, guests can choose between a traditional turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and vegetables; stuffed pork loin with apple/sausage stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes, and green-bean casserole; Southern-fried catfish with Hoppin’ John and greens; and turducken with mashed potatoes and creamed corn.
A dessert bar with homemade pumpkin pie and apple cobbler will complete the meal.
When it’s available: 1 to 6.
What it costs: $33 per person.

Tags: Dining Guides