Thanksgiving is all about the food, but that doesn’t mean slaving over a stove or even a hot fire.
It’s 2016, not 1616, and an array of local restaurants will be open and waiting to serve you Thanksgiving dinner.
From upscale to down-home, from roasted venison to cheddar-bacon mac and cheese, there are options for even the pickiest eater, based on a release from James City County.
Here’s a rundown of some of the possibilities, arranged from least expensive to most.
Honey Butter’s Kitchen at the Candle Factory
This restaurant with two Williamsburg locations offers a mix of Southern comfort, classic American and soul food, according to its website.
The Thanksgiving menu includes roasted turkey and gravy, smoked pork tenderloin, two types of stuffing (turkey giblet and cornbread), mashed potatoes and gravy, whipped sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cream corn, butternut squash soup, warm bacon salad, corn bread, pumpkin pie, butter-pecan bread pudding and Oreo cheesecake.
For all you can eat, the cost is $20 apiece. Take out is also an option.
Call 757-903-2874 to make a reservation.
Opus 9 Steakhouse
If straight-up classic abundance is your vision of holiday feasting, check out the Thanksgiving buffet at Williamsburg’s Opus 9 Steakhouse, 5143 Main St.
A carving board will feature roasted turkey and rosemary giblet gravy, salt-cured Virginia ham and slow-roasted prime rib with demi-glace.
Side dishes include cheddar-and-bacon macaroni and cheese, collard greens, roasted artichokes and scalloped potatoes.
For dessert, there will be a chocolate fountain, caramel pecan pie, pumpkin pie and Southern buttermilk pie, to name a few.
Check out the complete menu here.
The buffet will be available on Nov. 24 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations are a must. To make one, call 757-645-4779.
Adults cost $38.95 each and children between the ages of six and 12 are $15.95. Children aged five and younger are free.
Café Provencal at the Williamsburg Winery
Here, think locally sourced – with a menu inspired by the first Thanksgiving on the James River in 1619.
To start, there will be butternut squash bisque or endive salad with Goat Lady Dairy chèvre.
Next, roasted venison with Autumn Olive Farms pork or roasted game bird with truffle stuffing.
Side dishes, known as “accompaniments,” include roasted red potato, sautéed brussel sprouts, smoked and roasted whipped sweet potatoes, green beans, and baked oysters with arugula, duck bacon, absinthe and Four Fat Fowl triple cream.
Dessert means apple tartlet with cheddar tuile and vanilla truffle gelato, as well as pumpkin cake with carmelized cinnamon ice cream.
The cost is $65 per person. To make a reservation, call 757-941-0317.
