Budget dining on Thanksgiving, somewhere/anywhere!?

[VBeatso]

A last minute change of plans have us in NYC on Thanksgiving. I have been searching about what "Thanksgiving esk" specials in the $20-35 and under price range meals are available to make a reservation for 5 on Thanksgiving day. (we have some budget constraints but still want to go where the food is what it is all about)

Came up with these:
Kefi
Ponty Bistro
The Smith

After reading about these on this site they don't sound like solid options.

I have been on several sites to see Thanksgiving specials and checked opentable. All these restaurants are just names to me and getting restaurant rec's on an everyday basis doesn't help because they may not be open or no reservations left. I would prefer to have a reservation set up before the trip. Any neighborhood in Manhattan is fine.

Any help is appreciated! Open to ideas that might be unusual/untraditional.

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Kefi
505 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024

Ponty Bistro
218 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10003

[msny98]

Check opentable.com there is a specific link on the site for Thanksgiving options. There were a few at 29.99, I am sure that is before wine, tax, tip... but it is a good one stop resource to see what your options are

[rose water]

the direct link to NYC thanksgiving options is here: http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=8&ref=551&pid=1 By my quick scan, I didn't see anything that fits into the OP's exceptional food, reasonable prices specifications, did you/others? The Jean Georges restaurants, which seem to have a $26 lunch and $38 dinner are an option for affordable upscale, http://www.jean-georges.com/ but I'd check the boards for recent reviews, many of which have been disappointing.

[VBeatso]

I actually started with Open Table and while many options I had to look up reviews on each one that fit my budget and many were mediocre/mixed reviews and it became very time consuming to look up many had little more info than a name/type of a restaurant. Plus nothing on there was really standing out from the rest. It is likely the standouts are already booked at this point...

[kathryn]

Just saw this on Twitter:
Jean-Georges' Spice Market is offering a 4-course tasting menu for $30/person. Vegetarian menu available.

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Spice Market
403 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10014

[UES Mayor]

Tony Di Napoli doing traditional meal-might fir the bill.

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Tony's Di Napoli
1606 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10028

[Pan]

Kefi is excellent for a restaurant in that price range, in my opinion. I've never had a meal there that wasn't tasty and a good value, and their ingredients are very dependably good and fresh (excellent fish dishes, for example). But it can be pretty loud.

As for Chinatown, my favorite is South China Garden, and they do take and honor reservations, but it has a somewhat lived-in appearance that it sounds like you'll find off-putting. Do the Chinese members of your party (or, for that matter, any other members) have any favorite Cantonese banquet places, themselves?

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South China Garden
22 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

[VBeatso]

No one in our party is from NYC - only one is living there now but they haven't had enough time to know this.

South China Garden might just work -we don' t need fancy. I think I have given up on making reservations! I might just play it by what everyone is feeling like that day and the time we are ready to eat and call some places recommended here to see if we can get in. If all else fails we could probably get into a chinese restaurant that day and I found Amy Ruth's and Charles' in Harlem that don't take reservations that could work also. Thanks!!

A lot of these websites don't feature the thanksgiving meal on their websites. Example, Tony's doesn't.

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South China Garden
22 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

Amy Ruth's
113 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026

[Pan]

At least call before showing up to see if you have any chance of getting in.

[rose water]

Charles's is amazing, and the staff are incredibly lovely, but there's not a ton of space or ambiance. Still, you'll get an incredible meal (much tastier than Amy Ruth's, which is solid, but not in the same tastiness league), and a ridiculous amount of food for your money.

[rae305]

Cafe Espanol on Carmine is doing a $24.95 dinner and The Black duck has a $45.00 dinner.
Both good places.
Rae305

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Cafe Espanol
78 Carmine St, New York, NY 10014

[kathryn]

Anything here jump out? The Bubby's one looked good to me.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/745700

Also if you are willing to go to Brooklyn, Prime Meats is having a deal but I don't know if they have space left.
http://frankspm.com/thanksgiving.html

[VBeatso]

Hmmm I was thinking that if it were a prix fix meal/and or all food together would be $35 max per person so tax/tip wasn't included. We might just skip drinks to save.

Chinatown could work, what is your favorite in this price range and do they take take/honor reservations at any of these restaurants? (It would have to be authentic, clean and not all szechuan/spicy - we have one pregnant and two chinese people attending.)

[AubWah]

I would think outside the box and eat in Chinatown

[gutsofsteel]

You want to spend max of $35 per person...does that include tax, tip, and wine/drinks?

[janeh]

When we lived in New York our fall back was always Chinatown. You can probably find someplace lively and festive, order as many courses as you like and totally over do it (that's the Thanksgiving-esque part), then walk it off. Have a happy holiday!