10 great spots for Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving is perhaps the greatest of all American traditions: we gather at a familiar location with our nearest and dearest, and stuff our faces in honor of a historical event, the details of which are fuzzy and questionable. But for stranded students, the job-bound, family outcasts and oven illiterates, home and a home-cooked meal aren't ready options. For them, we’ve gathered a selection of Boston restaurants dead-set on recreating Mom’s turkey and Grandma’s pumpkin pie, sans Mom’s histrionics and Grandma’s unfortunate choice of conversation topics. These purveyors are also more than willing to provide you with all the refreshments you need to reenact Uncle Bob’s legendary wine dance of ’98.
 
The Fireplace
The Fireplace is just as warm and hearth-oriented as it sounds. Its Thanksgiving menu offers an extensive variety of non-traditional plates (duck pâté with pistachios, dried apricots & port cherry sauce) as well as a twist on all the backwoods New England staples. Three different kinds of stuffing are on offer (traditional; cornbread, sausage and New Hampshire bacon; brioche stuffing with apples, sage and caramelized onions), in a dish built for two. A gluten-free menu is also available. A la carte; 11am–10pm; 1634 Beacon St, Brookline (617-975-1900, fireplacerest.com)
 
Eastern Standard
For $50 per person, Kenmore’s bustling Eastern Standard will serve you a three-course meal that will make you give thanks to the Neo-American bistro tradition. Appetizers range from roasted squash soup to baked oysters; entrees include free-range turkey and a succulent lobster pot pie; for dessert, there’s classic pecan pie and Honeycrisp apple tart on tap. $50, $20 for children; 1pm–8pm; 528 Commonwealth Ave, Kenmore Square, Boston (617-532-9100, easternstandardboston.com)
 
Restaurant Dante
In addition to the traditional turkey et al, Dante will offer a three-course menu that would get Italy’s non-Thanksgiving-celebrating stamp of approval. The lineup: chestnut porcini soup with pear mostarda fruits to start, followed by an entrée of either turkey, duck, steak or an impressive vegetarian option that includes chestnut stuffing, potato puree, sweet potato fries, maple Brussels sprouts and vegetarian gravy. And for dolci? Choose from four pies—apple, pumpkin, chocolate pecan or ricotta. $65; 1pm–9pm; 5 Cambridge Pkwy, East Cambridge (617-497-4200, restaurantdante.com)
 
Beacon Hill Bistro
For Thanksgiving with a French bistro twist, give merci at Beacon Hill Bistro. They’ll present a three-course Thanksgiving spread for $55 per person, with the option (necessity, we say) of accompanying wine for $27. Not feeling turkey? Skip ahead a holiday and order smoked Tamworth ham, or red wine-braised beef shanks. Joyeux Noel! $55; 1pm-9pm; 25 Charles St, Beacon Hill, Boston (617-723-1133, beaconhillhotel.com)

Asana
If Thanksgiving brunch is more your speed, Asana will be serving a family-friendly à la carte buffet that includes a raw bar, hot buffet, carving station, omelette station, dim sum selections and various desserts. A more traditional prix fixe Thanksgiving menu will be offered as well, with a wine pairing option. Featured items include butternut squash tortellini, chilled Maine lobster and, naturally, turkey. Brunch $85, 11am–3pm; Dinner, $58, wine pairings $31, 5:30pm–11pm; 776 Boylston St, Back Bay, Boston (617-535-8800, mandarinorientalhotel.com)

Upstairs on the Square

Upstairs on the Square is preparing something almost impossible to find—a vegan-friendly Thanksgiving feast. Four courses worth, to be precise: roasted pumpkin soup to start, followed by supremes of orange and grapefruit with avocado on butter lettuce, then baked butternut squash with every imaginable fixin'. And for dessert: chocolate fudge cookies with pumpkin mousse. Who needs meat? Well if you do, Upstairs still has you covered with roasted turkey, grilled ribeye, poached Atlantic salmon and sage-rubbed pork loin. Opt for a wine pairing or order a cider (with or without rum). $68; 1pm-8pm; 91 Winthrop St, Harvard Square, Cambridge (617-864-1933, upstairsonthesquare.com)

Red House Restaurant
What could be more fitting than celebrating this beloved American tradition in an actual Colonial house? The Red House Restaurant, a historic spot occupying a restored 19th-century home (1802, people), will have an affordable three-course Thanksgiving dinner that’s firmly rooted in tradition. Feast on squash to start, then dig in to roasted turkey with chestnut-cornbread stuffing, and home-baked apple pie for dessert. $45; noon-6pm; 98 Winthrop St, Harvard Square, Cambridge (617-576-0605, theredhouse.com)
 
Meritage
Give thanks in scenic style at Meritage, a wine-savvy fine dining establishment located inside the Boston Harbor Hotel on Rowes Wharf. Meritage is planning a four-course meal with a bit of an upgrade—who wants “turkey” when you could have kale and caramelized onion-stuffed organic turkey breast with date, onion and Andaman bread dressing? We thought so. $85; 4:30pm-10pm; 70 Rowes Wharf, Waterfront, Boston (617-439-3995, meritagetherestaurant.com)

ArtBar
The Royal Sonesta Hotel’s ArtBar will serve T-Day to you straight-up with a sweet twist, all at a price to be thankful for. Organic turkey with chestnut stuffing, and all the traditional holiday vegetables are just $26. And if you’re feeling crazy (ay! it’s a holiday!) take a trip to the $12 dessert bar. Check out ArtBar’s titular decor while you’re there, as well as the swell views of the Charles and the Boston skyline from the patio. $26; 11:30am-10pm; 40 Edwin Lane Blvd, East Cambridge (617-806-4122, artbarcambridge.com)
 
Clio
This time of year, Clio shows its guests gratitude by getting almost suspiciously generous with portions—word has it that seconds are free. Famed Boston chef Ken Oringer and his protégées present updated staples including sourdough sausage stuffing as well as dishes a bit (or a lot) more on the wild side, like duck fat-poached halibut with black truffles, forest mushrooms and green onion fondue. Maybe tradition isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. $85; 370 Commonwealth Ave, Back Bay, Boston (617-536-7200, cliorestaurant.com)