Thanksgiving Dishes Greenwich Village: The Italian Table

Every November the same question comes up around the Village: who is cooking this year? If you are searching for Thanksgiving dishes Greenwich Village friends can share without a single pot to scrub, this guide takes the classic holiday plates and translates them into their Northern Italian counterparts. Roast bird, a hearty stuffing, mashed potatoes, a squash side, an apple dessert. Every one of them has a cousin on the regular menu at Da Andrea, 35 W 13th St between 5th and 6th Avenues.

This is a guide to dishes, not to the holiday itself. It is meant for the weeks before Thanksgiving: a Friendsgiving with roommates, a Thanksgiving-week dinner with visiting family, or simply a “we are not cooking this year” night out before everyone scatters for the long weekend.

Northern Italian food suits the season. Emilia-Romagna, where Da Andrea’s Bolognese roots lie, is famous for filled pasta and for family holiday tables built around handmade pasta.

Key Takeaways

• Most classic Thanksgiving dishes have a Northern Italian counterpart on Da Andrea’s regular Greenwich Village menu, from Galletto Arrosto (roasted Cornish hen) to Tortino di Mele (homemade apple tart).
• Pappardelle with sweet sausage ragout plays the role of stuffing, and the Butternut Squash contorno stands in for the sweet-potato side.
• The Greenwich Village dining room is a few minutes from Union Square and Washington Square Park, which makes it an easy Friendsgiving spot for NYU students and Village neighbors before the holiday.
• Groups of up to 25 guests hold a booking with a credit card; 26 to 30 guests need a non-refundable deposit.

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Thanksgiving Dishes Greenwich Village Style: The Classics, Translated

The easiest way to plan an Italian take on the holiday table is to start with the dishes everyone expects and find the plate that does the same job. Here is how the familiar spread maps onto the Greenwich Village menu.

Thanksgiving classic	Da Andrea counterpart	Why it works
The roast bird	Galletto Arrosto: roasted Cornish hen, roasted potatoes, spinach, pearl onions, rosemary mustard sauce	A whole roasted bird on the plate, with the trimmings built in
The showpiece roast	Stinco di Agnello (braised lamb shank, saffron risotto) or Filetto di Manzo (filet mignon, spinach, mashed potatoes, truffle butter)	Slow-cooked comfort or a celebratory centerpiece
Stuffing or sausage dressing	Pappardelle with sweet sausage ragout and truffle oil	Sausage, richness and a carb that soaks up every drop
Mashed potatoes	Mashed potatoes with the Filetto di Manzo and Scaloppine di Pollo; Roasted Potatoes contorno	The comfort side, served two ways
Sweet potato or squash side	Butternut Squash contorno	The flavor of the season, simply prepared
Green bean side	Spinach Garlic & Oil or Sautéed Broccoli Rabe	Something green and garlicky to cut the richness
Apple and cranberry notes	Braciola di Maiale: grilled pork chop, corn, golden apple and mushroom sauce	Fruit with roasted meat, the way the holiday likes it
Appetizers while the bird rests	Tigelle Modenesi con Prosciutto, Polpettine di Vitello, Burrata, Barbabietole	Plates to pass while everyone settles in
Soup course	Zuppa del Giorno, the soup of the day	A warm start that changes with the market
Apple or pumpkin pie	Tortino di Mele: homemade apple tart with vanilla ice cream	A slice of autumn with something cold on the side

None of these are holiday specials. They are the dishes Da Andrea serves through the season, which is exactly why they work for a Friendsgiving: you can come any evening in the weeks before Thanksgiving and order the whole spread.

The Main Event: Roast Hen, Lamb Shank and the “Stuffing Course”

Galletto Arrosto, the Italian answer to the roast bird

If one plate has to stand in for the holiday centerpiece, it is the Galletto Arrosto: a roasted Cornish hen with roasted potatoes, spinach and pearl onions, finished with a rosemary mustard sauce. Herbs, a savory sauce and sides already on the plate. Because each guest gets their own, nobody fights over the drumstick.

Stinco di Agnello and Filetto di Manzo for the showpiece

Some tables want something slower and richer. The Stinco di Agnello is a braised lamb shank served over saffron risotto, the kind of dish that fills a dining room with warmth on a cold November evening. Chef Meliano Plascensia, who brings more than 40 years of experience to the kitchen, has a well-known love of rice dishes like risotto, and the saffron risotto under the lamb is a good place to taste it.

For a celebratory centerpiece, the Filetto di Manzo pairs grilled filet mignon with spinach, mashed potatoes and truffle butter. It is the plate for the friend who always carves.

Pasta as the stuffing course

In many Italian homes the holiday meal includes a pasta course before the mains, and at Da Andrea that is the most natural place to start. Pasta is handmade in-house every day, and the Pappardelle with sweet sausage ragout and truffle oil does what stuffing does at an American table. It brings sausage, savory depth and something to soak up the sauce.

Order one or two pastas for the table to share, then move on to the hen or the lamb.

Sides, Meat-Free Plates and an Apple Tart Instead of Pie

Contorni that play the side-dish role

The Greenwich Village contorni read like a holiday side board in miniature. Butternut Squash takes the place of the sweet potato casserole, Roasted Potatoes cover the comfort starch, and Spinach Garlic & Oil or Sautéed Broccoli Rabe brings a garlicky green to balance richer plates. Order two or three for the table and pass them around.

For guests who skip the meat

Every Friendsgiving has at least one guest who passes on the roast, and the menu has several dishes with no meat listed. The Cappellacci Tartufo e Porcini are spinach ravioli filled with truffle mushroom and ricotta. The Gnocchetti di Patate pair little potato gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce and arugula (our gnocchi guide goes deeper on that plate). The Tortino di Melanzane is grilled eggplant filled with mozzarella, tomato and basil. If anyone has a specific dietary need, ask your server about any dish before ordering.

Desserts: Tortino di Mele and friends

Apple pie’s closest relative on the menu is the Tortino di Mele, a homemade apple tart served with vanilla ice cream. It is warm, fruity and familiar, and it is the dessert most likely to please the guest who insists it isn’t the holiday without pie.

For a table that likes to share, add Tiramisu, the Panna Cotta with amarene cherries and a cinnamon tuile (a little holiday spice), the Tortino di Ricotta cheesecake with mixed berries, or an Affogato for the guest who wants coffee and dessert at once.

A Village Friendsgiving: From the Greenmarket to West 13th Street

Thanksgiving week in Greenwich Village has its own rhythm. The Union Square Greenmarket, a few blocks east in Union Square Park, fills with squash, apples and root vegetables, and home cooks line up for whatever they still plan to roast themselves. NYU students organize Friendsgivings before they head home for the break. Neighbors host out-of-town relatives and look for a place to take everyone the night they land.

Da Andrea’s dining room sits right in the middle of all that, on West 13th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. A few ways the neighborhood and the menu fit together:

• For the cooks: shop the Greenmarket in the morning for your own sides, then let someone else make dinner. The Butternut Squash contorno is a reminder of what you just bought, with no peeling required.
• For NYU Friendsgiving: gather the group after a walk through Washington Square Park, under the arch and up Fifth Avenue, and order a spread of pastas to share before everyone catches a train or a flight.
• For visiting family: a sit-down Northern Italian dinner is a gentle welcome after a long trip.

There is a little history in it too. Da Andrea began in the early ’90s as a narrow storefront on Hudson Street serving Bolognese pastas, and it has been a Village favorite for more than two decades. The New York Times “$25 and Under” column once featured its tigelle, warm Modenese buns with Parma prosciutto, still the perfect plate to pass while everyone finds a seat.

One starter is unique to this location: the Calamaretti alla Griglia, grilled squid with a corn and cucumber salad and lemon dressing. It is bright and light, a welcome counterpoint before a braised lamb shank or a roast hen. Our guide to dinner in Greenwich Village has more ideas for planning an evening around the room.

Planning a Friendsgiving Dinner in Greenwich Village

A Friendsgiving works best when you decide on the shape of the meal before you sit down. Here is a simple way to build the table by group size, using dishes from the regular menu.

Group size	Start with	Pasta to share	Mains	Sides and dessert
2 (a cozy pre-holiday date)	Calamaretti alla Griglia	Pappardelle with sweet sausage ragout	Galletto Arrosto and Stinco di Agnello	Butternut Squash; Tortino di Mele
4 (roommates or a small family)	Tigelle Modenesi con Prosciutto and Burrata	Pappardelle and Cappellacci Tartufo e Porcini	Galletto Arrosto, Filetto di Manzo, Braciola di Maiale	Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli Rabe; Tiramisu and Panna Cotta
6 to 8 (an NYU Friendsgiving)	Tigelle, Polpettine di Vitello, Barbabietole	Spaghetti Bolognese, Pappardelle, Gnocchetti di Patate	A mix of Galletto, Stinco and Tortino di Melanzane	Butternut Squash, Spinach Garlic & Oil; a round of desserts to share
A bigger group (up to 30)	Several plates of tigelle and Polpettine	Two or three pastas, served family style at the table	Each guest orders a main	Contorni for the table; Tortino di Mele and Tiramisu

A few practical notes for groups:

• Booking: reservations go through OpenTable from the reservation page.
• Up to 25 guests: a credit card holds the booking.
• 26 to 30 guests: a non-refundable deposit is required. Details are on the large group events page.
• Timing: the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving are busy across the Village, so book your Friendsgiving early.
• Holiday hours: for the holiday week itself, check Google or call the restaurant.

The Weekend After: Brunch and Skip-the-Dishes Nights

Once the long weekend arrives, nobody wants to see another casserole. Weekend brunch runs on Saturdays and Sundays, with French Toast and caramelized apple, Benedict Parma, Polenta Funghi with mushrooms and poached eggs, Cavatelli alla Bolognese, and the Insalata di Pera with poached pear, gorgonzola and walnuts for a fresh reset.

On nights when you would rather stay in, pickup ordering is available through daandreanyc.com/ordering, and delivery runs through Grubhub, UberEats and DoorDash.

Conclusion

The classic holiday spread translates beautifully into Northern Italian cooking. Galletto Arrosto stands in for the roast bird, Pappardelle with sweet sausage ragout plays the stuffing, Butternut Squash and Broccoli Rabe cover the sides, and the Tortino di Mele brings the apple pie. All of it is on the regular menu, ready for a Friendsgiving or a Thanksgiving-week dinner with the people you are grateful for.

In Greenwich Village, that table comes with a little extra: a walk past the Greenmarket stalls or through Washington Square Park, a room with roots on Hudson Street, and handmade pasta made fresh every day. Find directions and details on our Greenwich Village location page, browse the full Greenwich Village menu, or reserve your table and gather your friends on West 13th Street.

Frequently Asked Questions