Christopher Healey
Just give up. There are plenty of restaurants serving on turkey day. You know you want to.
Two lavish spreads will be on hand at the Edgewater Hotel: Thanksgiving brunch (11 a.m.-3 p.m., $52/adult, $46/senior, $24/children 5-12) features all kinds of breakfast fare as well as turkey, ham and prime rib. If it is food, they have it. A four-course prix fixe dinner will also be served in the Statehouse restaurant (3-8 p.m. $64/adults, $18 kids 12 and under). Reservations: 608-535-8167 (buffet) or 608-535-8230 (prix fixe).
CIRC at the Concourse Hotel will serve traditional and not-so-traditional Thanksgiving fare (noon-6 p.m.; $40/adult, $35/senior, $15/kids 5-10) with plenty of salads and roasted vegetables, and an almost endless list of desserts served buffet style. There’s a choice of one plated entree — turkey, ham, salmon, duck, or sage and garlic roasted pressed tofu.
Reservations at circmadison.com/thanksgiving-dinner.
The Hilldale and Fitchburg locations of the Great Dane Pub will both hold a Thanksgiving buffet (Hilldale runs from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. with last seating at 3:30 p.m.; Fitchburg’s runs 11 a.m.-7 p.m., last seating at 5:30 p.m.; $25/adults, $10/children 6-12.) Is the whole buffet thing too much? Give further thanks: The Dane will also serve a plated turkey dinner ($15/adults, $9/kids) in the evening at all locations: Downtown, east, Hilldale and Fitchburg. Reservations are strongly suggested.
The Green Owl Cafe will again hold a five-course vegan dinner on Thanksgiving (one seating at noon; $44/adults, $22/children under 12, $40 takeout). Buy tickets in advance through the cafe’s website, greenowlcafe.com. Appetizers, parsnip soup, tofu turkey, spinach salad and other vegetable sides join pumpkin not-cheesecake on the menu.
Because there is not enough on the usual Thanksgiving table, of course you want to heap on a selection of Brazilian grilled meats at Samba Brazilian Grill (11 a.m.-7 p.m.; $40). If you’re Googling this, don’t get confused by the Eventbrite ticketing page for a similarly named restaurant in California that’s already sold out. Call 608-257-1111 to make a reservation.
The Essen Haus has its family-style dinner with a turkey you carve at the table yourself, dressing, mashed potatoes, and the rest (11 a.m.-7 p.m., $23/adults, $9/children 6-10.) Reservations: 608-255-4674.
Erin’s Snug Irish Pub will have a traditional Thanksgiving buffet with ham, prime rib and Irish favorite Shepherd’s pie as well as turkey (11 a.m.-4 p.m.; $22/adults, $14/kids 12 and under).
Fleming’s will serve a three-course Thanksgiving dinner (11 a.m.-8 p.m.; $42/adult, $19 kids 12 and under) with turkey breast or beef tenderloin (+$15) as the main event.
The Dorf Haus in Roxbury does a special spin on giving thanks. The restaurant donates 15 percent of its proceeds to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to honor restaurant founder Betty Maier. The buffet, featuring all the expected dishes as well as ham and chicken, runs 11 a.m.-2 p.m., $19/adults; $8/children 5-l2 and $4 for all other tots. Reservations: 608-643-3980.
Other restaurants serving on Thanksgiving include Rare Steakhouse, the Old Feed Mill in Mazomanie, Capitol Chophouse at the Monona Terrace Hilton, Lake Windsor Golf Resort, Rex’s Innkeeper, Heartland Grill and Tully’s II.
