What are you doing about Thanksgiving this year? The holiday presents a wonderful opportunity to share a meal with loved ones and focus on the things we are grateful for. But where? If wanderlust has hit you hard this year consider traveling solo or with your whole gang to these delicious dining destinations. We’ve got the intel on where to travel for a luxury gourmet meal for Thanksgiving 2023. We have curated a list of the 5 best foodie destinations in America for the fall and Thanksgiving this year.
it’s time to make Thanksgiving 2023 plans
Where are the best places to go for luxury travel and a gourmet meal this Thanksgiving 2023?
So what’s the right way to approach Thanksgiving dinner in 2023? Dear reader, the good news is that there’s no one answer and no one right way. We’ve been exploring all the options, including lovely places for a Thanksgiving getaway. Now we’re doubling down and sharing our top picks of the travel destinations best for foodies this Thanksgiving. Because it is one of the most important meals of the year – so why not make it one of the most delicious you’ll have all year?
Whether you opt for a delicious escape to the luxury-chic wilderness of Lenox, Massachusetts, where Michelin-starred French chef Daniel Boulud serves French cuisine at a beautiful 18th century, Tudor-style mansion in the Berkshires. Or head down to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia’s wine country. Or decide to explore the floating restaurant at the confluence of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River in Northwest Idaho. There are so many ways to make Thanksgiving a foodie festival this year!
The best luxury travel destinations for foodies this Thanksgiving.
So, in lieu of hosting the Turkey Day feast this year, consider relishing these food-focused travel destinations for Thanksgiving instead. And by the way, you can do this earlier in the fall, too – there’s no need to wait for late November to hit the road and have a marvelous meal.
The 5 Best Foodie Destinations for fall and Thanksgiving This Year
1. The Point Resort, Saranac Lake, New York
The Point Resort is a boutique property in Upstate New York’s Saranac Lake, built by the Rockefellers as a retreat during the Adirondack Great Camps.
It’s now home to some of New York City’s most acclaimed chefs, with alumni from restaurants like Le Bernardin, The Modern and Marta working in residence.
Chef Loic Leperlier creates a seasonal menu with ingredients that are often located nearby or on the property. A four-course meal is prepared five nights a week with wine pairings in the Great Hall. However, on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, the Great Hall serves a seven-course tasing menu with wine pairings. It is a black-tie affair.
Guest rooms are nestled in log cabins on the serene short of Upper Saranac Lake where the simplicity of the wilderness merges with luxury art and antiques. After dinner, guests can enjoy lake-front campfires and, when the weather gets colder, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
2. The Inn at Willow Grove, Orange, Virginia
The backdrop of the charming colonial Inn at Willow Grove, with its Manor House dating back to 1778, is the stunning Blue Ridge Mountain range in Virginia’s wine country.
Guests are served fresh-made beignets in the morning in cottages that feature a private porch and fireplace. The on-property restaurant, Vintage Restaurant & Pub, features fall-forward dishes like roasted butternut soup with apple vinegar and brown butter; spice-rubbed bone-in pork with grits and grilled apples served in a honey mustard sage sauce and mains like filet mignon with bacon-chili jam.
Wine lovers may be inclined to check out the Barboursville Vineyards for a sip of Barbera Reserve with a history lesson on the side. The historic Landmark Ruins, on the property of the mansion Thomas Jefferson built for Virginia Governor James Barbour, are just a stroll away.
3. White Barn Inn, Kennebunk, Maine
Seafood is the main event at the quaint White Barn Inn, located in the coastal Maine town of Kennebunk.
Chefs cook up dishes with ingredients from local Maine fisheries and nearby farms. The White Barn Inn Restaurant has an entire menu devoted to lobster: chilled sweet corn lobster soup; lobster tagliatelle pasta with Calabrian chili, mushrooms and crunchy chicken skin; and rack of lamb served with a lobster-based French bordelaise sauce.
Travelers looking to stay the night can choose from the Inn’s selection of private rooms, cottages or suites with views of the Kennebunk River.
4. Coeur d’Alene Resort, Idaho
Of course, you can always go West for autumn and Thanksgiving joys this year. The lakeside resort in Northwest Idaho gets its name from the Coeur d’Alene lake, featuring attractions like camping and golf for warmer months and ten restaurants in the town.
Dine on the water at The Cedars, the resort’s floating restaurant at the junction of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River. The eatery is buoyed by 600,000 pounds of concrete-encased styrofoam.
Eaters can take in breathtaking views of Lake Coeur d’Alene while savoring specialties like Biergarten Filet and Cedar Plank salmon. Try not to gawk too hard at the boats pulling straight up to the dock.
5. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Westchester County, New York
Chef Dan Barber’s farm-to-table dining destination Blue Hill at Stone Barns is just 30 miles north of New York City, near Tarrytown in Westchester County. It’s one of the best kitchens on the East Coast, and known for its innovative approach to plant-forward cuisine and farm-to-table dining.
According to its website, the eatery and farm complex is offering outdoor private events on-site for between 20 and 50 guests at Stone Barns. Off-site catering is available through its program Blue Hill on the Road.
Those who want to experience the farm have something to look forward to. The restaurant is opening up its kitchen to four chefs as part of a seasonal residency program next year. The aim is to allow for more cultural diversity in the kitchen while providing employment opportunities for chefs who may be out of work as a result of the pandemic.
Best Foodie Destinations for fall and Thanksgiving This Year
Those are our top picks for the best places to travel for a gourmet meal this fall or on Thanksgiving Day. Where are you headed?
