Will be in New York on thanksgiving day. Please recommend several excellent restaurants, nice ambiance, excellent food, (kid-friendly) for thanksgiving meal
thanks,
W.Townsend

THe most touristy place is tavern on the green, although it's probably already sold out for Thanksgiving. Try Windows on the World, the Four Seasons, or the Plaza. If you have kids, you might be better off at one of the hotels that serves Thanksgiving - all the top hotels do.

For Thanksgiving, I like Fraunces Tavern , I think it's on Pearl St. It is down in lower Manhattan by Wall Street and not far from South Street Seaport. It's quiet down there that day, however it is a small historic restaurant and you need reservations in advance because they really pack you in. But the food is really good and in an quaint historical atmosphere.

We spent Thanksgiving in NYC 2 years ago with our kids. I tried for a month before we left to get reservations at some of the better restaurants (at that time) and all were "booked". We were staying at the Plaza and decided to have our Thanksgiving dinner there. They have certain times to seat and they do prepare quite a spread--very fancy but I have a hard time justifying the price for our kids---but when you're on vacation...spent the afternoon at Statue of Liberty--just had a fabulous time! Kids were welcome everywhere. Have fun, we're planning on another trip soon.

A few years ago we were in NYC on Thanksgiving and saw how packed everything was after the parade was over so we went into the Hilton, I believe, and they said no wait for their Thanksgiving buffet, so we went in. The food was great; they had ice sculptures, etc., and you could take the kids. We were very pleasantly surprised.

Check out the restaurant in the Mayflower Hotel near Lincoln Center. We've had a very pleasant dinner there on Christmas Day. I think they're also open on Thanksgiving.