Thanksgiving | Turtle Creek | Executive chef | Dallas The Restaurant The Mansion

The country's first Thanksgiving took place in Massachusetts, so where better to celebrate the holiday? Travelers who find themselves in Beantown for Thanksgiving - or locals eager to dine away from home this year - will be happy as (Boston) clams at the Federalist's Thanksgiving meal. With chandeliers, mahogany paneling, and crisp white linens, the understated setting of the restaurant is eclipsed only by the cuisine of executive chef David Daniels. A sampling of the three-course Thanksgiving menu includes sugar-pumpkin risotto or seared Nantucket Bay scallops, oven-roasted organic turkey with truffle-giblet gravy and traditional trimmings (as well as offerings of sautéed Alaskan king salmon or pan-roasted New Zealand venison), and pumpkin pie with homemade marshmallows or Federalist chocolate cake. Plus: a 34,000-bottle wine cellar, where you can find a reasonable $25 bottle to accompany your holiday meal. Price: $75 for adults and $35 for children under 12.

Dallas
The Restaurant
The Mansion on Turtle Creek
2821 Turtle Creek Blvd.
(214) 559-2100

The Mansion on Turtle Creek is one of ­Dallas's most beautiful settings for a Thanksgiving away from home, and the Restaurant is a favorite destination for ­families, many of whom return each year. Executive chef Dean Fearing, who is considered the founder of Southwestern cuisine, adds a Texas twang to his traditional feast with the restaurant's own barbecue sauce and plenty of spicy seasonings such as cumin and cayenne pepper. While diners can also have traditional tenderloin and lamb, the Maverick Creek Ranch tom turkey is generally a favorite, served with tortilla dressing with skillet chile-pecan drippings, green beans, whipped potatoes, and jalapeño-cranberry relish. For dessert: pumpkin-spice cheesecake. Seatings start at 11 a.m. and continue until eight p.m. Price: $95 for adults and $50 for children.

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