For those living in or around Manhattan, I’m sure you’ve come to terms with the fact that your 50 square foot kitchen isn’t ideal for cooking a large dinner. Thankfully there are an array of restaurants in Manhattan that have special Thanksgiving menus. While these restaurants and bistros are scattered throughout the city, I have to be biased and take you to my favorite neighborhood for your holiday treats, the lower east side.

One of the small hidden gems that offers a full 4 course menu on Thanksgiving is Sauce. Sauce happens to be a neighborhood favorite for many of my L.E.S friends so I can attest to the fact that the cuisine is quite tasty and pretty affordable. They also happen to have a special Thanksgiving menu for those who’d rather enjoy dining out on this special holiday. The menu is concise but worth it!

Image via saucerestaurant.com

To start you off, you can choose between the Wild Mushroom Salad or a Fall Parmigiano Salad. The Wild Mushroom Salad is stocked with wild mushrooms, peeled celery, italian parsley, fresh squeezed lemon, sea salt and Toscana cheese, the perfect combination ::ultimate food swoon:: The Fall Parmigiano Salad includes, ripe pears, endive, arugula, dried yams, shaved parmigiana and home cured bacon vinaigrette. As if this isn’t enough to ignite your taste buds into a frenzy, there’s a second course that’s equally decadent. Sauce gives you 3 options for the second course, these include Cappuccino Di Yucca, which is a light butternut squash soup mixed with mystery winter spices and cappuccino cream. Then there’s the Braised Short Rib Tortellini tossed in brown butter and sage, or the House made Cote chino with Umbrian lentils. This alone makes me want to skip my mothers fried turkey and hop on the F train. If there’s room left and if you’re so inclined, you must have the main course, the Turkey Oklahoma. This innovative dish is a porcini mushroom stuffed turkey breast smothered in gravy and served with cranberry apple relish, broccoli rabe, candied yams, olive oil mashed potatoes and sausage stuffing. To top it all off, Sauce has a delectable Homemade Pumpkin pie that’s served with whipped cream and cinnamon ice cream. By now you should all know that I love to eat well but I don’t love breaking the bank. With that being said, these 4 courses are only $50. A steal if you ask me, and as an added bonus you wont have to clear the table or roll up your sleeves to wash the dishes.

Keep in mind Sauce isn’t the only deal in town, you can also try Preserve 24 which has a Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet for only $35.00. If you’re not fortunate enough to be home on Thanksgiving eating turkey and homemade sides, then make your Thanksgiving a memorable yet trendy one by trying out one of these signature spots. Feel free to thank me later 😉

Oh yes, and don’t forget to wear your stretch pants and oversized wool sweaters, you’ll need them to hide the bulge.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM AAEL 😉