Featured Dining: Statewide

Thankful for Reservations

Among the many blessings for which
I am grateful this Thanksgiving is the privilege of not having to cook dinner. For once, I plan to relinquish all the laborious tasks of preparing Thanksgiving dinner—the planning, shopping, chopping, pie baking, turkey stuffing, potato mashing, table busing, dishwashing, and figuring out what to do with all those leftovers. This year, I am making reservations, thank you very much.

If that sounds good to you, too, here are four notable restaurants around the state where you can dine in carefree festivity and a suitable degree of elegance on the holiday.

When it opened 75 years ago, Doc Martin’s Restaurant in the Historic Taos Inn quickly became the hub of Taos’ social, intellectual, and artistic activity, serving the likes of author D.H. Lawrence and actress Greta Garbo in its warm and welcoming dining room. The Thanksgiving meal remains one of Doc Martin’s enduring traditions, thanks to the inspired cuisine of Executive Chef Zippy White, an award-winning wine list, and festive harvest decor. Organic turkey will be just one of many choices on the à la carte Thanksgiving menu slated for this year, which features wild game, rack of lamb, shrimp, scallops, and local, seasonal produce. After dinner, head into the popular Adobe Bar for live music.

A rich history also distinguishes Las Fuentes at Bishop’s Lodge Ranch Resort and Spa, nestled among the Sangre de Cristo foothills a few minutes north of Santa Fe. The farolito-illuminated, 1800s-era retreat of Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy is an idyllic setting for a family holiday meal, and it’s guaranteed that no one will go home hungry after visiting the overflowing food stations that comprise the grand buffet. It’s rumored that Santa Claus may even pay a visit for photo ops with the kids.

Fall is prime time to feast on the sweeping views of the Santa Ana Golf Course and the Sandía Mountains, so Thanksgiving dinner is served before dark at the Prairie Star Restaurant in Bernalillo, just north of Albuquerque. Kiva fireplaces warm the cozy adobe mansion, setting the stage for Executive Chef Darrin McHale’s “traditional with a Southwestern twist” cuisine. The four-course, prix-fixe Thanksgiving menu is composed to showcase seasonal dishes such as pheasant, quail, and savory squash soup; each course can be paired with specially selected wines for an extra $20.

Sip a glass of bubbly amid the opulent surroundings at the Double Eagle in Mesilla, just outside Las Cruces, an 1840s mansion filled with an eclectic mix of Victorian antiques, Baccarat crystal chandeliers, gold-leaf ceiling, French mirrors, and museum-quality artwork. Their Thanksgiving champagne grand buffet is equally wondrous, featuring everything from beef tips to a decadent chocolate fountain. After a refill or two of champagne, you may even catch a glimpse of the resident ghosts rumored to haunt this historic building.—Michele Ostrove

Doc Martin’s: Dinner served from 1 to 9 p.m.; reservations required. 125 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos; (575) 758-2233; www.docmartinsrestaurant.com. Las Fuentes: Seating from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; reservations required. 1297 Bishop’s Lodge Rd., Santa Fe; (505) 819-4035; www.bishopslodge.com. Prairie Star: Served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; reservations recommended. 288 Prairie Star Rd., Santa Ana Pueblo; (505) 867-3327; www.mynewmexicogolf.com. Double Eagle: Seatings at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.; reservations recommended. 2355 Calle De Guadalupe, Mesilla; (575) 523-6700;
www.double-eagle-mesilla.com.

Featured Dining: Statewide

Thankful for Reservations

All in the Family

Alpine Escape

Another World

Art Fare

Brewhaha

Road to Recovery

Cowboy Classic

Southern Comforts

Valley High

Whistle Stop Cafes