Not Just Turkey: Where to Eat in Miami for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Feast at Toro Toro Miami
Suddenly the thought of shopping for and preparing the whole Thanksgiving meal seems a bit daunting, and if you are like my family not everyone eats turkey, so suddenly you are faced with preparing a menu to please the vegan, the vegetarian and the “Turkey and Stuffing” guy. Many of the hotels are offering traditional and not-so-traditional Thanksgiving menus, but here a few we found pretty enticing.
So ditch the roasting pan and massive cleanup and dine out on Thanksgiving Day. We are!
Osteria Morini- Priced at $75 pp, The Miami Beach West Avenue restaurant is offering a three-course Thanksgiving dinner with several options. Starters served family style include burrata with pumpkin seed crumble, fig agrodolce, and crispy sage, or polpettine made with prosciutto and mortadella along with Pomodoro and whipped ricotta. Main course choices of a tacchino herb roasted turkey breast with potato puree, focaccia rosemary stuffing, turkey gravy, and cranberry mostarda, or the grilled Branzino with crispy Brussels sprouts, or gnocchi ricotta dumplings with butternut squash.
Le Zoo- $69 pp includes starters of Salt Baked Beet Salad of salade verte, goat cheese, Butternut Squash Soup of roasted squash, sage brown butter. The Main Course (served family style) of Traditional Roast Turkey with sage & onion dressing, turkey gravy, potato purée, roasted brussels sprouts, candied yams, cranberry sauce. plus many items a la carte, including raw bar, salads, pizza, salads and Filet Mignon au Poivre.
Orno- $85 pp includes Chef Niven Patel’s Thanksgiving feast consisting of a plated 4-course prix-fixe menu . Guests can indulge in a Wahoo Crudo-cranberry tartare with mint as a first course, a Pumpkin Soup-crème fraiche with Pepitas as a second course and share family style the third course which includes, Wood Roasted Tilefish with Farm Beans and Saffron Aioli, Herb Crusted Turkey Roulade, Farm Creamed Spinach and Roasted Yams with honey butter. Orno’s usual a la carte menu will also be available.
The Key Club- $72 pp, Located inside Cocowalk in Coconut Grove features a four-course dinner beginning with a butternut squash soup and then followed by tortellini with black truffle butter. The main event will be a whole roasted turkey with various sides, including green beans, mac and cheese, sourdough stuffing, and more. For dessert, enjoy pumpkin and chocolate pecan pie.
Toro Toro- Chef/restaurateur Richard Sandoval’s acclaimed Pan-Latin steakhouse inside the InterContinental Miami has an a la cate menu for including Toro Toro favorites and vegetarian specialties. Start your Thanksgiving feast with Roasted Butternut Squash & Kale Salad with dried cranberries, figs, Bulgarian feta, pumpkin spice, pepitas and walnut dressing ($22); Crispy Cauliflower served with carrot-pumpkin purée, cashew aioli and topped with chopped walnuts; ($21); and Confit Turkey Empanadas with cornbread stuffing, Mezcal gravy and cranberry-chili sauce ($24). Entree highlights include Roasted Turkey Roulade with creamy mashed potato purée, cranberry gel, roasted heirloom carrots and turnips and Mezcal gravy ($42); Wagyu Calotte De Boeuf served with tri-colored roasted potatoes, charred shallots, plantain chip crumble and guajillo bordelaise ($95); Aji Amarillo Honey Glazed Sea Bass with spaghetti squash, pumpkin foam and crispy burdock root; and Stuffed Baby Pumpkins loaded with farro, black lentils, pomegranate, crispy cous-cous and smoked pumpkin sauce ($38).
Lightkeepers- Celebrate Thanksgiving while overlooking the Atlantic at Lightkeepers, the casually elegant restaurant housed at The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami. On Thursday, November 24 with seatings from 12:30PM to 4PM and 5PM to 8:30PM, Lightkeepers will feature action stations for $175++ per adult and $59++ per child (ages 5 – 12). The feast will offer an array of favorites including Chilled Seafood & Raw Bar, Thanksgiving Entrées & Sides and Sweet Treats, as well as stations featuring breakfast specialties, artisan cheeses and cured meats, freshly baked pastries and breads, salads and soup, and a special Kids Corner Menu.
Le Jardinier- $135 pp. The Joel Robuchon vegetable forward restaurant in the Design District Thanksgiving meal includes FIRST COURSE options of golden beet salad, red beet mostarda, goat cheese, granola, cocoa nibs, sunchoke veloute, glazed salsify, toasted pine nuts, chili oil or diver scallop, shitake chutney, tarragon, vermouth emulsion add10g royal kaluga caviar $35. SECOND COURSE of ōra king salmon, dill glazed carrots, spiced labneh, ginger scallion, or bavette au jus, variations of eggplant, broccolini and mushrooms, or organic turkey, roasted root vegetables, stuffing and cranberry. Sides for each table: fried Brussel sprouts, mushroom stuffing, mashed potatoes.
Contessa Miami- $150 pp - Major Food Group’s gorgeous new newcomer in the Design District has a family-style Thanksgiving dinner. The four-course meal begins with a choice of meatballs Aldo, squash carpaccio, or chopped salad, followed by ricotta gnudi di pecora pasta with black truffles. The roasted turkey with sage gravy will be accompanied by stuffing, whipped potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta, and cranberry mostarda.