Thanksgiving Dishes Upper West Side

Planning Thanksgiving dishes Upper West Side style starts with a hard truth: your prewar apartment has gorgeous crown molding, a radiator with opinions and an oven that fits one turkey and nothing else. So let the turkey have the oven and hand the sides, starters and plant-based plates to someone with bigger ovens. At Two Boots on 70 W. 71st St, a few steps from Central Park West, the regular menu covers a surprising amount of a holiday table.

To be clear up front: Two Boots doesn’t have a Thanksgiving menu, and we don’t make turkey, stuffing or pumpkin pie. What we do have is a lineup of named pies, garlic knots, sliders, salads and Bombinis that slot into the roles every Thanksgiving week or Friendsgiving spread needs. Here’s how to cast those roles, how much to order, and how to keep the vegans, the kids and the cousin who “doesn’t do casseroles” equally happy.

Key Takeaways

• Two Boots has no Thanksgiving menu, but its regular menu can cover the sides, starters, greens and vegan plates of a Thanksgiving week or Friendsgiving table.
• In a small Upper West Side kitchen, let your main dish own the oven and order savory pies like The Buckminster, Tony Clifton and Larry Tate as sides.
• Bombinis, our savory Cajun hand pies, are sold only at Manhattan shops, so they make an easy passed appetizer for a UWS apartment gathering.
• Decide what guests are bringing first, then order online for a small group or use the Upper West Side catering page, with 24 to 48 hours of notice, for a bigger Friendsgiving.

Check Out Our Menu!

Why Upper West Side Hosts Outsource Half the Table

Anyone who has hosted Thanksgiving in a classic UWS apartment knows the drill. The kitchen is a galley, the counter is a cutting board balanced on the dish rack, and once the bird goes in around midday every other dish is fighting for a rack. Experienced hosts cook the one or two dishes that matter most to them and outsource the rest: a friend brings the pie, an aunt brings the sweet potatoes, and someone orders pizza and knots to land just as the early arrivals walk in from Central Park West.

There’s a real link between our menu and the holiday table, too. The name Two Boots comes from the two “boots” of Italy and Louisiana, and we’ve mixed Italian and New Orleans Cajun flavors since opening on Avenue A in the East Village in 1987. Cajun and Creole cooking shows up on plenty of Southern holiday tables, and our crisp cornmeal crust brings a little cornbread-style crunch. A Cajun-Italian pie on a Thanksgiving week buffet isn’t as random as it sounds.

Thanksgiving Dishes Upper West Side Tables Need, Mapped to Our Menu

Every spread has the same cast: a bread basket, a stuffing-style savory, a green dish, starters, something for the kids, something for plant-based guests and dessert. Here’s how a host on West 71st Street can cast each role from the regular menu, leaving the turkey and cranberry sauce to the guests.

Classic dish role	Two Boots stand-in	Why it works
The side everyone fights over	The Buckminster (marinara over organic spinach, roasted garlic, parmigiano, provolone, mozzarella)	Spinach and roasted garlic read like a holiday side
The earthy, stuffing-style savory	Tony Clifton (wild mushrooms, vidalia onions, sweet red pepper pesto, mozzarella)	Mushrooms and sweet onions are classic autumn flavors
The green dish	Larry Tate (organic spinach, plum tomatoes, fresh garlic, white pie) plus a Caesar Salad	Covers “something green” without another pot on the stove
The passed appetizer	Bombinis (savory Cajun hand pies, Manhattan only)	Easy to hold while you take a coat with the other hand
Warm bites before dinner	Chicken Parm, Meatball Parm (andouille meatballs) or Eggplant Parm sliders on house-made garlic knots	Something hot for guests who arrive starving
The bread basket	Garlic Knots (3 per order)	They play the dinner-roll role and soak up gravy
A Southern main for Friendsgiving	The Dude (ground beef and andouille, tasso ham, cheddar, mozzarella)	Our Cajun bacon cheeseburger pie anchors a turkey-free table
The plant-based plate	Vegan Tony Clifton or Earth Mother	Vegan guests get a full dish, not just salad
Dessert	House-baked chocolate chip cookie	A handheld sweet beside whatever pie your guests bake

Our sides lean vegetarian on purpose: if the main is a turkey or a roast, the table doesn’t need another heavy meat dish. And dippers make a fine gravy boat stand-in. Set out Marinara, Basil Pesto, Sweet Red Pepper Pesto, Blue Cheese and Cajun Ranch in little bowls. Jalapeño Pesto is marked spicy on the menu, so label it for the cautious.

The sides lane, up close

If you only order two pies for a classic Thanksgiving week dinner, make them The Buckminster and Tony Clifton. The Buckminster is the closest thing we have to a garlicky spinach side, built top-sauce so the marinara sits over the cheese. Tony Clifton brings the woodsy, slightly sweet notes of a mushroom-and-onion stuffing. Cut into small squares, both sit happily next to mashed potatoes. Larry Tate, a lighter white pie, balances the richer dishes guests carry in.

Bombinis as the Passed Appetizer for a UWS Apartment

Upper West Side gatherings have a rhythm. Guests buzz up, squeeze down a narrow hallway, pile coats on the bed and then stand in the kitchen doorway because that’s where the action is. You need something they can eat standing up while you’re still basting.

That’s the job for Bombinis. They’re savory Cajun hand pies sold only at our Manhattan locations, including West 71st Street. No plate required, and they buy the host a solid stretch of goodwill. Set a tray on the counter with a bowl of Cajun Ranch beside it and let the doorway crowd graze. For a second passed bite, add sliders: the Meatball Parm uses andouille meatballs, the Eggplant Parm covers vegetarians, and all three come on house-made garlic knots, so they double as rolls.

Feeding a Mixed Friendsgiving Table

Friendsgiving on the Upper West Side is rarely a single-diet affair. One roommate is vegan, a coworker is vegetarian, two friends just want meat, and someone brought a seven-year-old.

Guest at your table	What to order	Note for the host
Vegan friends	V for Vegan, Super Vegan, Vegan Larry Tate, Vegan Cleo or Vegan Mr. Pink	All use Daiya non-dairy cheese
Guests who skip cheese entirely	Earth Mother	Marinara, spinach, roasted garlic, peppers, mushrooms and red onion, no cheese
Vegetarians	The Buckminster, Tony Clifton, Larry Tate, Grandma Bess	Grandma Bess is a thin, square Sicilian crust, easy to cut small
Meat lovers	The Dude, Mr. Pink (Creole chicken), Cleopatra Jones	Mr. Pink brings Creole flavor without a kick
Guests who like heat	The Bayou Beast or Hot Knots	Both are marked spicy on the menu
Kids	Pizza Face (small only), a cheese pie or Create Your Pizza	Pizza Face is a kid-friendly face pie
Calzone fans	Vegan Calzone or Classic Calzone	Easy to slice into wedges for a buffet

Two tips for tight spaces. Label the boxes with masking tape (“VEGAN,” “MEAT,” “KIDS”) so nobody has to open every lid. And put the vegan pies at the front of the line so they don’t vanish onto omnivore plates first. If a guest eats gluten-free, the honest note is that a gluten-free brownie is on the menu; check the menu before planning beyond that.

How Much to Order for a Thanksgiving Week Party

Since guests are bringing dishes too, you don’t need to order as if pizza were the whole meal. Think of Two Boots as about a third of the table: starters, a couple of sides and the plant-based plates.

Group size	Pies	Knots and starters	Extras
4 to 6 (roommate Friendsgiving)	2 pies: one sides-lane, one vegan or meat	1 to 2 orders of Garlic Knots, a few Bombinis	1 salad, a couple of cookies
8 to 12 (classic apartment dinner)	3 to 4 pies across the sides, vegan and meat lanes	2 to 3 orders of knots, sliders, Bombinis	2 salads, dippers, cookies
15 to 25 (building or office gathering)	5 or more pies, plus a calzone or two	Several orders of knots, sliders for the room	Salads, dippers, desserts
25 and up	Use our catering page	Packages built by group size	Ask about vegetarian and vegan options

If guests are bringing heavy hitters like stuffing and mac and cheese, lean low. For a “bring whatever” potluck, add one extra pie so nobody leaves hungry.

Late November on West 71st Street

Thanksgiving week has its own weather on the Upper West Side. The trees along Central Park West turn copper, folding tables come up from basement storage, and every lobby seems to be holding a delivery for someone’s Friendsgiving.

Then there’s the big one. The day before Thanksgiving, the Macy’s parade balloons are inflated in the streets around the American Museum of Natural History, a few blocks north of our shop. For many UWS families, walking past the half-inflated giants is as much a tradition as the dinner itself, and the kids talk about the balloons long after the leftovers are gone.

The rest of the month brings its own crowds. Holiday-season performances fill Lincoln Center a few blocks south, and concertgoers line up outside the Beacon Theatre on Broadway. Visiting relatives want a Central Park walk, which starts at the end of our block. And plenty of neighbors host Friendsgiving the weekend before or after, when the apartment is free: a Saturday dinner in a one-bedroom on West End Avenue, an office potluck near Columbus Circle, or a weeknight dinner when nobody wants to cook two nights running. If your crowd is mostly there for the bread basket, our guide to garlic knots on the Upper West Side goes deeper.

Ordering Ahead and Catering for Thanksgiving Week

1. Pick your roles first. See what guests are bringing and fill the gaps.
2. Order online through Toast. Use the Order Online button on our Upper West Side location page, timed so food lands as guests arrive.
3. Use catering for larger groups. Our Upper West Side catering page handles drop-off delivery with packages by group size, plus vegetarian and vegan options. Give 24 to 48 hours of notice and include your headcount.
4. Grab a host gift. Two Boots gift cards are sold through Toast, a handy thank-you for the neighbor who lent you folding chairs.

Conclusion

The smartest Thanksgiving dishes for an Upper West Side apartment are the ones that don’t need your oven. Let the main and the family recipes take the stove, then fill the table with The Buckminster and Tony Clifton as sides, Bombinis for the doorway crowd, knots in the bread basket and vegan pies for plant-based guests.

Ready to build your spread? Visit the Two Boots Upper West Side page to find us at 70 W. 71st St and order online, or browse the full menu to start casting your table.

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