Who carves the turkey at Carmine's?
1.**'Inflation' of balloons (Balloon Inflation)**.
Forget the traditional Macy's Thanksgiving parade. That of getting up at six in the morning to find a gap between the more than three million people attending the second most-watched event in America (after the Superbowl) is boring and old-fashioned. The funny thing is to see how SpongeBob's body inflates up to 528 stories high or how Hello Kitty's bobblehead reaches 226 taxis wide.
On Thanksgiving eve, the Balloon Inflation tour begins at the Museum of Natural History (79 Street with Columbus Avenue), around 5 in the afternoon when the giants are already grown, and circles the entire Central Park until you see the 16 balloons. If you still want to see the parade, try to get a seat at 9:00 in the morning at the second floor of the Time Warner Center from Columbus Circle.
Escape the (too) popular Macy's Parade
two. The party is on the eve: Thanksgiving Eve.
The craziest night in New York. They say. Before catching a plane to spend the holidays with the family, or retiring to cook and eat for four days, New Yorkers, especially students, say goodbye to the City in style. A tradition is already New York Turkey Day Pub Crawl , which becomes our basic “go from bar to bar” . The route starts at Little Town Restaurant (366W 46th Street), once registered, follow the pilgrims and Native Americans to not miss any bar.
And if you prefer a more chic plan When Spider-Man finishes inflating, he goes up to the Rooftop of the Empire Hotel (44W 63rd Street). They also have a special Thanksgiving party and the views behind the mythical red neon lights are amazing.
Little Town Restaurant: Pre-Thanksgiving Pub Crawl Begins
Terrace of the Empire Hotel: watch the bulls from the sidelines (chic)
3. Lunch-snack-dinner… but always turkey.
"Either you dine at home or go to a Chinese." Dixit New Yorker The saying has its reasons, many restaurants close on Thanksgiving, but more and more (non-Chinese) are opening and serving a special Thanksgiving menu. Probably to satiate curious tourists. On Thursday you can have turkey breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner if you want . They serve the menu from 10 in the morning until 9-11 at night. Most of them take the opportunity to nail prices that are not very tight, but you can find from more than $100 per person to an affordable $28.
To pass for a true Native American, make sure the menu always includes turkey, ideally **cranberry sauce, and a pie (sweet potato, pecan, or pumpkin)**. These that we have selected comply with tradition. The classic restaurant among classics is the Fraunces Tavern. Favorite of the first president of the United States, George Washington, offers a menu for $49 if they can reopen in time after the disaster of Hurricane Sandy. If he doesn't open, the traditional second option is the John Woods Foundry , with a menu of $39 in the restaurant and $25 to go. At the other extreme is Reynard's hipster turkey , the hot spot restaurant still in Williamsburg , the Wythe Hotel . For $85 they include four courses (soup, entree, turkey with all its accompaniments and dessert tasting).
And between the founding father and the mustachioed moderns there are more popular options like the PJ Clarke's (for only $28) and more abundant like Carmine's and its family menu (groups of eight people): for $225 you have a turkey of more than eight kilos with all its possible accompaniments (the sweet potato with marshmallows and gratin maple syrup, promises). Of course, the last and by no means throwaway option is a quick visit to New York's organic supermarket-paradise, Whole Foods, and help yourself.
The most hipster turkey, in Williamsburg, of course!
Four. Dessert only, thank you.
Apple Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, Chocolate Pie, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Blueberry Pie… Stop by Magnolia Bakery , of course, to try their Thanksgiving specialties (pumpkin walnut cupcake, chocolate walnut cake)**. Or try the pecan pies from First Prize Pies** (the real-life version of Keri Russell's 'The Waitress') at the Brooklyn Flea the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Special 'Thanksgiving' Pumpkin Cupcakes
Apple and caramel tart. Just dessert. Definitely.
5. All Thanksgiving in a bun.
If you don't have time or desire to stop and eat a wedding menu head over to Momofuku Milk Bar, where just for these dates they make a very special croissant stuffed with all the typical ingredients of the fourth Thursday of November: turkey with cranberry sauce and thyme and celery butter. Buy one at their Upper West Side store (561 Columbus Avenue) and eat it while you watch the balloons inflate or rise over Central Park during the parade . A minimal, practical and different Thanksgiving.
*P.S. Do what you do on the eve of and during Thanksgiving, save strength to get up early on Friday 23 and fight for the best deals during the famous black friday , the great shopping day in the USA. Early in the morning, areas such as the Soho or Nolita They will be somewhat more passable than during the afternoon. Other places, like Macy's, are at war all day. The best, almost always, are the gadgets and electronics deals (Apple, Best Buy, Circuit City…).
On Black Friday EARLY!