The Best Large Format Feasts in New York
Most holidays, Thanksgiving chief among them, are associated with sprawling, family-style feasts. But it’s become a pervasive trend in the restaurant world to offer large format dinners; whole fish or massive joints of meat that can be ordered ahead, and shared amongst four or more people. So why wait for the holidays to enjoy a communal meal with your crew, when you can make a reservation any time of the year for Fried Chickens at Ma Peche, Suckling Pig at MP Taverna, or a Skuna Bay Salmon at Rotisserie Georgette?
Resto
Along with its little sibling, The Cannibal, this nose-to-tail loving restaurant is a prime destination for carnivores. In fact, they offer large format feasts suitable for 8-20 people, which includes 10-12 courses featuring every possible part of the animal, with your choice of Beef (roasted marrow, beef heart tartare), Pig (pork liver mousse, crispy belly), Goat (buttered brains, goat shoulder tacos), Lamb (Merguez sausage, lamb ribs) or Fish — sliced into crudo, battered in beer, and whole salt roasted. Gloriously gluttonous, yes indeed.
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Not only are family-style meals an option, they’ve informed the entire concept of this East Village restaurant. Each seasonal, prix fixe menu requires full table participation, with current options including the “Forage Feast,” featuring Chestnut Soup with brown butter, Venison Chop with rosemary, Smoked Mushrooms baked in autumn leaves or a Seafood Bouillabaisse, and a “Market Feast,” an all-veggie assemblage of Roasted Beets with ricotta, Leek Wellington with truffled potatoes, and Candy Cap Mushroom Panna Cotta.
Read MoreMa Peche
Less than a year ago, David Chang did away with the 10-course tasting menu at the midtown addition to his Momofuku empire, and replaced it with a series of dim sum-style dishes, ordered off of passing carts. But if you’re not feeling especially impulsive, you can schedule a set meal at Ma Peche up to 48 hours in advance; choose either two Whole Fried Chickens, a Smoked Lamb Shoulder, or a combination of both, served with yellow rice, pita, sides and condiments, including iceberg lettuce, wheat berries, chickpeas, eggplant, tomato chutney, pickles, and white and red sauce.
Read MoreRotisserie Georgette
Modeled after rustic, yet unfailingly elegant restaurants in the South of France, the signature dish at Rotisserie Georgette is their spit-roasted, golden-skinned Poulet Roti for two. But shareable slabs of juicy, aromatic proteins, meant to serve 4-8, are a running theme on the menu; reserve 72 hours ahead to score Pennsylvania Rabbit with swiss chard, Salmon with fall greens stuffing, Suckling Pig flavored with pineapple and chorizo, or a Jamison Farm Leg of Lamb, enveloped in a Nicoise olive crust.
Read MoreMP Taverna
Celebrating special occasions by roasting whole animals is an important part of Greek culinary tradition, so make any day a holiday by scheduling dinner at MP Taverna; the Queens outpost of Michael Psilakis’ congenial, family friendly eatery. As long as you call five days ahead, you’ll be able to construct a joyous, Mediterranean-style party around a Spring Lamb, Kid Goat, Suckling Pig, Shank of Veal, Rack of Rib Steak, a Pork Butt, or a flaky, Whole Fish.
Read MoreDirty French
The first, non-Italian project from the Torrisi team, Dirty French nevertheless displays their penchant for unapologetic excess and showy, tableside presentations. And the dish that best exemplifies this is their Chicken and Crepes “pour deux,” which arrives, to great fanfare, in two separate services. A glass rooster appears first, cradling an assortment of condiments, followed by slow-roasted, mustard-sauced breast meat, char-grilled, kaffir lime and lemongrass-marinated dark meat, and a number of floury crepes, ceremoniously rolled with silver twist ties.
Read MoreThe Gorbals
It may not be for everyone, but it’s hard to take your eyes off the Whole Roasted Pig’s Head at The Gorbals, the Brooklyn outpost of Top Chef Ilan Hall’s L.A. hotspot. The piggy gets wrapped in plastic to create an airtight seal and cooked for 18 hours, before it appears, mahogany-skinned and grinning, at your table, presented on a gleaming silver platter.
Read More2 Duck Goose
One of a growing number of restaurants serving refined Chinese cuisine, this Gowanus newcomer offers a contemporary take on Peking Duck. Be sure to reserve 24 hours in advance for this Cantonese feast serving 4-5 people, which includes a whole roasted Crescent Farms bird, spicy cucumber, silken tofu, lotus root salad, sour plum compote and saffron rice.
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