Thanksgiving dining out  — and in — on Shelter Island

It’s a new day on Shelter Island when it comes to options for Thanksgiving dinner. Prior to the pandemic, Islanders had few local choices if they didn’t want to cook at home.

This Thanksgiving, there are more options, whether it’s to celebrate the holiday at a restaurant or have dinner catered.

The Chequit Inn —  631-749-0018 — will be hosting a Thanksgiving Eve party on Wednesday and will be open on Thanksgiving day with a bar menu only.

Eccentric Bagel — 631-749-5363 — will be open on Thanksgiving and preparing homemade pot pies and bread bowls for soup.

18 Bay — 631-749-0053 — now located at the Shelter Island House on Stearns Point Road, the restaurant will not be open Thanksgiving Day, but will be serving a four-course pasta tasting menu that Saturday night. The meal begins with handmade ricotta raviolo with truffles, followed by hand-cut fettucine frutta de mare. The third course is parsnip and artichoke rotolo and the fourth course, hand pressed corzetti with wild boar, chestnuts and smoked provola. A chocolate almond torte will cap the menu. Reservations can be made by emailing [email protected] or by calling 631-749-0053.

Leon 1909 — 631-749-9123 — is a newcomer to the Island, opening several months ago. The restaurant will be serving on Thanksgiving, with a menu that offers alternatives to traditional turkey dinners.

Guests can choose from trout en croute with fennel and dill sorrel; slow roasted guinea hen with black trumpet mushroom panade and sweet potatoes; or rosemary country ham with buttermilk mashed potatoes, and Japanese kabocha squash. The meal starts with a choice between French onion soup comte and sourdough bread with chives or chicory salad with apple cider, pear and pecorino cheese.

Dessert choices are an apple tart tatin with or without vanilla ice cream or cranberry pudding with cardamom créme anglaise.

The Pridwin — 631-749-0476 — looks forward to welcoming Islanders and hotel guests to its new Terrace restaurant and Crescent Bar lounge for its Thanksgiving festivities, which will include entertainment with dinner. This is the first time in the Pridwin’s 95-year history that the hotel has been open through the fall and winter holiday seasons.

Overlooking Crescent Beach, the restaurant will be serving a four-course dinner, including Martha Stewart’s maple-cinnamon-butternut squash pie. No, Martha won’t be in the kitchen, according to Pridwin publicist Scott Currie. But it’s her recipe that she’s shared with the Pridwin, one of her favorite places on the East End. 

For starters, the restaurant will offer a choice of an autumn salad of kale, arugula, apples, blue cheese, pecans and herb vinaigrette or butternut squash Velouté with toasted pumpkin seeds. The second course features pumpkin ravioli with chestnuts and sage noisette or Meyer lemon duck carbonara with smoked bacon, ricotta cavatelli and shaved broccoli.

The main course offers three choices — a heritage turkey plate with classic bread stuffing, haricot vert casserole, potato puree, cranberry relish and sage pan gravy; Montauk sea bass with sautéed smoked bacon, red chicory, haricot vert and red wine sauce; or maple roast holiday ham with charred broccolini and potatoes au gratin.

In addition to Martha Stewart’s squash pie, there will be an apple bourbon layer cake.

The Ram’s Head Inn — 631-749-0811 — will be offering a Thanksgiving buffet between noon and 6 p.m.

Diners can start the feast with a fall salad and cauliflower and artichoke soup. The buffet will be offering three kinds of turkey, creamy seafood newburg, chestnut stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes and many more options. Owner Aandrea Carter advises you save room for hand-crafted sweets and treats.

If you’re hosting your Thanksgiving dinner at home or going to the home of a relative or friend, you can include offerings from a number of businesses that are catering.

Kyle’s — 631-749-0579 — Kyle will be offering an array of appetizers, soups, sides and desserts. Orders should be in by Saturday and picked up by Wednesday. Appetizers can be ordered by the dozen with choices including crab cakes, bite size clam pies, stuffed mushrooms, and shrimp cocktail. Her soups, sold by the quart to serve four people, are butternut squash and creamed cauliflower.

Sides include Yukon gold mashed potatoes with rosemary butter; mashed sweet potatoes; sausage apple and sage stuffing; roasted Brussels sprouts with Dijon vinaigrette and maple glazed pecans, chipotle cranberry relish and gravy.

For dessert, Kyle will be baking apple and pecan pies.

Marie Eiffel Market — 631-749-0003 — is cooking sides and desserts for your holiday dinner. That includes Italian sausage stuffing and gravy for your turkey, including mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, string beans, wild mushrooms, butternut squash and broccoli to augment your main course. Desserts include what Marie calls the best apple pie with amazing crust, pecan pie, flour-less chocolate cake, ice cream and sorbets.

Stars Cafe — 631-749-5345 — Lydia Martinez Majdišová at Stars Café is ready for your pastry orders. Lydia’s baking hand-piped shortbread cookies with fall decorations and will offer them for sale at Stars, and also prepare your custom orders.

Apple strudel wreaths are available, but must be pre-ordered. Of course, there are her pies — again pre-ordered — and you can choose from apple, pumpkin, cherry, pecan, coconut custard and lemon meringue.

Get your order in by Sunday by email at [email protected] or phone 631-749-5345. Pickup is on Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. or Thursday between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Vine Street Cafe — 631-749-3210 — will be closed for Thanksgiving day, although open the day before when the plat du jour will be pastrami spiced ribs, according to Alejandra McCarthy, manager of the VSC Market. The Market is offering side dishes for your Thanksgiving table.

They can be purchased regularly at the Market or pre-ordered for Thanksgiving and picked up at the Market on Wednesday. The offerings include local apple crisp, creamed spinach, green beans almondine, roasted root vegetables, cranberry jelly, turkey gravy, vegan stuffing, cornbread sausage stuffing and, by pre-order only, Vine Street Café’s famous brie cheese cake.

The Market will also have some snack foods for your guests, including crackers, cheeses, cocktails to-go and chocolates. If you want to decorate your holiday table, the Market also has Mole Hollow candles with beautiful fall colors.