Where to Drink This Thanksgiving (And Wednesday Night too)

by | Nov 26, 2013 | EAT DRINK

Thanksgiving Day, for many people, means cooking, eating, sleeping, watching parades, watching football, drinking, and if you’re that relative, facing a few bottles of wine and passing out, but not be

Thanksgiving Day, for many people, means cooking, eating, sleeping, watching parades, watching football, drinking, and if you’re that relative, facing a few bottles of wine and passing out, but not before making a spectacle we can all hopefully still be thankful for.

Drinking on Thanksgiving is still a totally classy move (and some of the bars below will be open for those of you who what to be thankful for your local bartender), and of course it’s all about context.

But this is besides the point, as what I’m really trying to convey is, Thanksgiving Day activities are particularly conducive to recovering from a pre-Thanksgiving night out. This is what we recommend and will likely do this Wednesday. Here are some local spots that honor the tradition of standing/sitting around with a bunch of friends and consuming things, on Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving eve.

NEW YORK DELI
All the usual specials on both Wednesday and Thursday, plus ridiculously cheap burgers Wednesday evening.

STAR-LITE
Star-Lite encourages a little carbo-loading for Thanksgiving day, they said, and are offering half-off pasta dishes Wednesday to fill that need. Usual drink specials.

THE CAMEL
The Camel is committed to bringing sweet live music constantly, and Wednesday and Thursdsay are no different. Jackass Flats, Sturgeon City, and James Justin and Company bring folk/bluegrass goodness (everyone gets down, even the in-laws) play on Thanksgiving Eve, doors at 8. Wednesday features Fear Of Music, a rad Talking Heads cover band, and the there will be a complimentary Thanksgiving buffet with cover.

HELEN’S
Long Jawns and Reid Waters will be DJing Wednesday night, if you wanna party before you eat too many mashed potatoes.

WEEZIE’S KITCHEN
Trivia night will happen as scheduled for tonight (Wednesday) so head on over and have a few drinks, laughs, and the chance to make your friends look like idiots.

LITTLE MEXICO
I’m grateful that their margaritas are always big, cheap and tasty. Better with the one dollar enchiladas on Wednesday.

HARDYWOOD CRAFT BREWERY
Hardywood just released their now-legendary seasonal, the Gingerbread Stout, and are having an “Old Time Music Extravaganza” at Hardywood Park this Wednesday evening at 6. This would be a cool way to start out your night, toe-tapping to the “all-star pickup band” and sipping on some delicious beers.

LEGEND BREWING CO.
Legend will be a great place to get craft beer on Wednesday and a solid option of the restaurants remaining open for turkey day. Try a vertical tasting (a tasting of the same variety of beer, but of different agings. Rare for beer, but it works for some of Legend’s finest brews) – they really encourage it.

DON’T LOOK BACK
Don’t Look Back has all the usual specials Wednesday night. They posted this to Facebook recently:

lunch: tacos
happy hour: beer. margaritas.
dinner: tacos. beer. margaritas. maybe a burrito, to change things up some.
late night: tequila. then tacos again.

[YOUR AGENDA FOR TODAY AND EVERY DAY, FOREVER AND EVER]

So that’s a solid option.

Visit one of these local spots the night before Thanksgiving and partake in a slightly different but equally as long-beloved form of social sharing of thanks (or airing of grievances, and feats of strength) and get right the next day with too many mashed potatoes.

(ed. note: We forgot En Su Boca, Bellytimeber, Sticky Rice, The Well, The Nile, Empire, Ipanema, and for those needing pizza tonight Belmont Pizza!)

Thank you to Sarah Walor for letting us use this picture!

Brad Kutner

Brad Kutner

Brad Kutner is the former editor of GayRVA and RVAMag from 2013 - 2017. He’s now the Richmond Bureau Chief for Radio IQ, a state-wide NPR outlet based in Roanoke. You can reach him at BradKutnerNPR@gmail.com




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