5 Thanksgiving Meal Alternatives

Let’s face it: Thanksgiving dinner is a lot of work. Between the preparations, inevitable family tiffs and the clean-up process, it’s a downright exhausting evening, especially if you’re the one responsible for the cooking. Though wine refills can help you get through it, #FrayLife has other ideas.

Save yourself from holiday trauma by dining out at any of the following DMV restaurants offering Thanksgiving dinner. The chefs will do the heavy lifting in terms of cooking and clean up, and the added bonus of being in public forces your family members to be on their best behavior.

Seven Reasons

2208 14th St. NW, DC

Getting a reservation here might be tricky given the recent attention Seven Reasons has gotten from being named “The Best New Restaurant in America” by Esquire just last week. But with most people leaving town for the holiday, you probably have a pretty good shot at securing a table here for Thanksgiving dinner.

From 4:30-9 p.m., Chef Enrique Limardo will offer a curated a special occasion prix fixe menu for $85 a person. The menu hasn’t been released yet, but expect Limardo’s artful dishes to include his signature Latin American-inspired contemporary flair. 

The Mansion on O Street

2020 O St. NW, DC

Not only is The Mansion on O Street serving a Thanksgiving feast for $70 a person, but they’re letting you work off the calories afterwards by exploring the hundreds of rooms in search of the mansion’s 70+ secret doors.

You get a lot for the price, and not just because it includes the mansion tour. Turkey options alone include traditional, fried, smoked and cajun. Turkey not your jam? There will also be a hot dog station, barbecue brisket, brown sugar ham, wild mushroom pasta and fresh whole salmon. And those are just the entrees!

Medium Rare

515 8th St. SE, DC

This choice isn’t exactly where you will get served a Thanksgiving meal, however, it’s worth noting because it sticks with the theme of “doing as little work as possible” on the big day. 

If you bring in a whole bird to the Barracks Row location of Medium Rare between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the team will fry it FOR FREE. Just make sure it’s fully thawed and weighs less than 10 pounds.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5IzsS_ByAq/

American Son

1201 K St. NW, DC

For $45 per person, American Son is offering a three courses for Thanksgiving dinner. In addition to turkey, its menu includes crab bisque, barbecued heirloom carrots, pork chops and pecan pie. Since American Son is located inside the Eaton DC hotel on K St., there’s always the option to stay the night in case you get of a sudden onset of food coma. 

Modena

1100 New York Ave. NW, DC

Modena’s chef John Melfi is offering a $60 prix fixe, Italian-inspired Thanksgiving menu with tantalizing options like foie gras ‘creme brulee’, marinated burrata and red bourbon turkey. Other options include grilled New York strip steak, risotto and crispy skin salmon. Desserts include warm amaretti bread pudding, chocolate mousse or honeycrisp apple and quince strudel. The Thanksgiving offerings will be served between 11:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Heading out for Thanksgiving? Let us know by tagging us on social using #DCFray and #FrayLife.