Note: List is in alphabetical order.

BIG WOODROW'S BAR & GRILL This Galleria-area icehouse is opening up at 4 p.m., and they will be showing the LSU at Texas A & M football game at 6:30, as well as the Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers at 7:30; they plan on closing down early after the games. Aggie fans take note: this place is LSU and Saints headquarters, but will make you feel welcome anyway. Do try the Cajun food while you're there.

3111 Chimney Rock, bigwoodrows.com

DIRT BAR Dirt Bar is open 365 days a year, making it the ideal place for hard rock and metal fans to gather after they're done gulping down turkey and dressing and ready for a few drinks. It opens at 6 p.m. and has some TVs above the bar where you can catch the late NFL game; bring a few extra bucks to rock out on the Internet jukebox. Check out the Ace Frehley with cowboy hat statue thing while you're there.

1209 Caroline, dirtbar.com

FLYING SAUCER DRAUGHT EMPORIUM Opening at 5 p.m., this downtown bar is the perfect place to take beer loving relatives in town for turkey day. If you're not too stuffed from Thanksgiving dinner, try one of the 12-inch pizzas or other bar food served up here. An employee we spoke with says they will have St. Arnold's Pumpkinator on draft; the Houston brewery only releases a single batch each year. Their Web site calls it "the perfect end to a Thanksgiving meal from a flavor standpoint."

705 Main, Web site

FRONT PORCH PUB Front Porch opens at 5 p.m. and is a good option for beer lovers in Midtown, as they have more than 40 beers on tap and plenty of TVs to catch the second half of the Cowboys/Eagles game as well as the 49ers/Seahawks late game. There are some pool tables and darts to challenge any competitive friends or relatives visiting for the holiday, and it's Steak-n-Bock Night if there's any room left in your stomach.

217 W. Gray, frontporchpub.com

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KHON'S WINE DARTS COFFEE ART Khon's is opening up at 7 p.m. and is having a pot-luck dinner, so bring a dish to share if you want to participate. This is a good place to play some darts, as the name implies, and in addition to the wine, coffee and tea selections, you can also sample the craft beers from Texas and Louisiana breweries available. The owners are very friendly and support local artists, so check out the work on display when you drop in.

2808 Milam, khonsbar.com

LA CARAFE La Carafe is opening up at 4 p.m. and is another great place to take out of town guests visiting for the holiday, as it is located in Houston's oldest commercial building dating back to 1847. Enjoy the bar's selection of wine and beer while you look through the old Houston photos, newspaper clippings, and paintings from bygone years hanging on the walls; also check out the eclectic jukebox. Its dim lighting and candles also make La Carafe a nice romantic spot for couples who want to get away from a house full of noisy relatives.

813 Congress, read this

LOLA'S DEPOT It will be business as usual on Thanksgiving at Houston's ultimate dive bar, aka "The Home of Reality. The bar will open at 4 p.m. and most likely have football on its one TV; patrons can bring in food to eat and share with others, but that is the norm here every day of the year. The legendary backyard patio does seem like a cool place to share a Thanksgiving meal.

2327 Grant, Facebook page

MANGO'S This Montrose live-music venue that specializes in hosting indie-rock, hardcore and extreme-metal bands is opening at 8 p.m. for a pot-luck Thanksgiving dinner event called "Thanksgiving for the Disenfranchised," for those alienated from their families or who just want to get away after spending the day with them; everyone is invited, actually. Host Brandon Bowers tells us that a "crusty dbeat polkagaze playlist" will be played over the PA system for your listening pleasure.

403 Westheimer, mangoshtx.com

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NICK'S PLACE ITALIAN SPORTS BAR & PIZZERIA Nick's was named Best Sports Bar in our 2014 Best of Houston poll, as well as one of the best place to watch the Texans. It is also the best place to watch football on Thanksgiving this year (that isn't your couch), as it opens at 11 a.m. and has plenty of TVs so you can watch any or every game that is on. In addition to the tasty Italian food, enjoy the drink specials: $3 PBR tallboys, $4 Goldschläger shots and $5 Hopadillo IPA pint drafts.

2713 Rockyridge Dr., nicksplacehouston.com

RICHMOND ARMS PUB This British pub plans on opening up at 1:45 p.m., probably because two football games, or soccer games as we Americans call them, are scheduled to start at 2:05 p.m. All of the NFL and college American football games will be shown here as well later in the day. The kitchen will be closed, but the draft beer and full bar will be served up as per usual. This is a cool place for British expats and friends to gather on this American holiday.

5920 Richmond, richmondarmsonline.com

RUDYARD'S Like most of the bars on our list, Rudyard's is opening up later in the day than usual, at 5 p.m. It calls itself "the living room of Houston's Montrose since 1978," and what better place is there to hang out after a big Thanksgiving meal than your living room? No special events are scheduled for the holiday, but you can come out as usual and eat one of Rudz's famous cheeseburgers or other bar food (if you have saved some room in your stomach), go ahead and wash it down with a few of the many craft beers sold here, local and national.

2010 Waugh, rudyardspub.com

WEST ALABAMA ICE HOUSE Mild weather is forecast for Houston this Thanksgiving, with a high of 70 degrees, so heading on over to this legendary Texas icehouse with its outdoor seating seems like a good idea; they probably won't have to worry about putting up the plastic walls or bringing out the space heaters. No special plans are scheduled for Thanksgiving, but they do open up at noon and you can bring your meal with you and share it with others if you like.

1919 W. Alabama

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