Thanksgiving is the foodiest holiday on the American calendar, one which we have imbued with Rockwellian visions of beautifully bronzed turkeys and bountiful bowls of sides served to doe-eyed family around a festively adorned table. But let's be honest: Not all of us have the wherewithal to turn out massive meals in our tiny urban kitchens or serve buffets in our studio apartments.
Luckily, plenty of restaurants around town are jumping on the Turkey Day bandwagon and serving forth feasts so you don't have to dirty a single pan. Whether you've got family visiting from out of town, or are just on your own for the day, here are a few of our picks.
Get (Michelin) Star Treatment
If the idea of a hotel restaurant gives you pause, relax. Some of the city's finest and most interesting restaurants just happen to be in hotels; these are no HoJos. Luce, in the gleaming InterContinental in an otherwise unremarkable stretch of Howard Street, has boasted a Michelin star for five years running, having retained their star for 2014 as of the announcements last month.
As is de rigueur around these parts, Chef Daniel Corey's approach relies heavily on what's fresh in the market, so look for lots of squash, persimmons and mushrooms in their three-course tasting menu, all with modern, artistic presentations.
Things kick off with apple "puffs" as a snack, with the first course offering a choice between fall squash and fuyu persimmon with whipped ricotta, olio nuovo and sunflower, or diver scallops with sunchoke, maitake mushrooms and citrus meringue. Local turkey breast and leg boudin with medjool date and watercress is the nod to the holiday in the mains, with alternatives of Pacific tai snapper with baby octopus, green olive and smoked potato, or rib eye of prime beef slow-cooked with herbs and garlic with wild mushrooms. Wrap it up with a butternut squash tartlet with fall spice and caramel, or a caramelized chocolate panna cotta with brown butter ice, chocolate cremeaux and spiced almonds.
You can opt for preselected wine pairings, or sommelier John Wight will expertly navigate you through the expansive wine list. If you're looking for a digestivo to finish the evening, don't miss out on Bar 888's exceptional selection of grappas and grappa-based liqueurs, by far the most expansive of any in the city.
Luce, 888 Howard Street
(415) 616-6566 www.lucewinerestaurant.com
11am-3pm and 5pm-9pm
$72 per person, $105 with wine pairings, exclusive of tax and tip
Go West
Perched on the northwestern tip of the city, the Cliff House has had many incarnations, from a humble abode to a Victorian phantasmagoria, and back to the more modern, low-slung building that exists today. This is classic San Franciscana, and a must if you've got visitors from out of town. Even Anna Madrigal of our most beloved tome, Tales of the City, waxed rhapsodic about the views:
"There's the best example I know anywhere." Beyond the dark trees, Seal Rock gleamed eerily against the ocean, white as an iceberg under the moon.
"Magic," she said, squeezing his arm. Edgar nodded.
"That's what I mean," she winked. "In the right light even seal shit looks good."
Since the 2003 renovation, the Cliff House has been home to two restaurants, Sutro's and the slightly more casual Bistro. Both are offering Thanksgiving menus. The Bistro is serving up a "Pilgrim's Feast" designed to satisfy the traditionalist, with roasted turkey, giblet gravy, sausage-cornbread stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh cranberry sauce and autumn vegetables. For dessert, pumpkin pie, pecan pie or a warm ginger spice cake continue the theme.
Sutro's marries their typical Cal-continental menu with some tips of the hat to holiday fare, kicking up the typical turkey with a chestnut-stuffed leg and confit breast, truffle gravy, sourdough stuffing and bourbon orange cranberry sauce. But if you want to eschew the old school ways, the menu offers other fare, like dungeness crab and artichoke ravioli with meyer lemon beurre blanc, or red wine braised short rib with lacinato kale.
Or, for a more casual affair, the Cliff House is reprising their Sunday champagne buffet brunch on Thursday.
Cliff House, 1090 Point Lobos
(415) 386-3330 www.cliffhouse.com
Sutro's, 11am-9:30pm
Entrees $32-39. Reservations required
Terrace Room Champagne Buffet
Seatings at 11am, 1 pm, 3pm and 5pm
Reservations required, by phone only
The Bistro, 9am-12pm and 1:30pm-9:30pm
Entrees $32-36. Walk-ins only
Stay in the Gayborhood
Speaking of bistros, the Castro's own bistro Bisou will be open on Turkey Day, offering everything on their standard menu, as well as a special Thanksgiving menu that can be ordered as a five-course tasting menu, or a la carte. Cozy up in one of their tables in the groovy wraparound resembling a Virgin America fuselage and settle in for a Franco-American holiday meal that's more Le Petit Trianon than Plymouth Rock.
The menu brims with luxe, with a tarragon pumpkin soup with truffled duck leg confit and shaved truffle; turkey breast rolled in pork crepinette with polenta fondue, pumpkin confit in apricot glaze, pumpkin spaetzle, caramelized pecans and a smoked volaille sauce; Sonoma duck breast with butternut squash gnocchi, pumpkin velout�, chestnut and onion-veal reduction; a duo of shellfish, with dry scallop with pumpkin b�arnaise and zucchini roll stuffed with dungeness crab and topped with caviar; and a "Southern charm" dessert, a rum raisin bread pudding with roasted pear butter, candied pecans, praline chantilly and cinnamon sugar crunch.
Bisou, 2367 Market Street
(415) 556-6200 www.bisoubistro.com
3pm-9pm
Five-course prix fixe $60 per person (exclusive of tax and tips)
Entrees $25-32
Don't Be a Stranger
Celeb chef Tyler Florence's Wayfare Tavern's dark and rustic interior evokes the feel of Colonial New England, so what better place to spend the day? The restaurant will be serving its standard menu (their fried chicken is among the best in the city), as well as a prix-fixe family-style Thanksgiving menu that plays off the classics with a refined twist.
Start with a sweet potato soup shooter with toasted marshmallow, pepitas and marjoram to set the mood. A salad of dainty Little Gem lettuces goes autumnal with pickled butternut squash, pears, beets, pine nuts, ricotta salata and a vinaigrette infused with baking spices. They double down on nouveau traditionalism with turkey breast and leg crepinette with Eagle Rare bourbon gravy, plus all the kicked-up trimmings: Whipped Yukon Gold potatoes, crispy stuffing, fried brussel sprouts leaves, bacon-wrapped green beans and cranberry sauce. A pumpkin genoise with cream cheese mousse, cocoa nibs and chai ice cream rounds it out.
Wayfare Tavern, 558 Sacramento Street
(415) 772-9060 www.wayfaretavern.com
11:30am-10pm
Prix fixe $48 per person, exclusive of tax and tip
For more of Sean Timberlake's food features, visit www.punkdomestics.com