Ah, the day before Thanksgiving. When I was considerably younger, this used to be one of my favorite days of the year. Because it's not a school night. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was the one day out of the year I could stay out late without any consequences. Dance the night away if I wanted and sleep in late the following morning.
OK, I usually had to get up early to stick the turkey in the oven, but I could go back to sleep. Now that I've reached what is referred to as that "certain age," I no longer stay up late, and I get up early because that's when I wake up. I've also discovered that, at my age, it's easier to go out to Thanksgiving dinner with close friends and take home leftovers than prepare it myself.
One of the best places to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner in Sacramento is The Firehouse Restaurant in Old Sacramento. The ambiance itself is remarkable. This is a historic building, built in 1853, and it originally housed a firehouse. The setting is beautiful, ornate and relaxed, and each dining room is unique.
If I have anything bad to say about The Firehouse Restaurant for Thanksgiving, it's that it doesn't serve dark turkey meat -- no thighs or drumsticks -- but few places around Sacramento do. The menu for this Thanksgiving features a choice between baked brie or lobster pudding for the first course, a mixed green salad with dried cranberries, spiced walnuts, blue cheese & pear or potato bisque for the second course, and the third course is, of course, roast turkey breast, prime rib, monkfish or maple-smoked pork.
I'm getting hungry just writing about it. My husband and I have been going there for 3 years now. The first year we went to The Firehouse, I skipped the roast turkey and felt a little guilty. After all, where I grew up in Minnesota, Thanksgiving is supposed to be all about the turkey. So, the second year, I chose the turkey. Except for the apple-pecan stuffing, which I thoroughly enjoyed, the turkey was, well, white turkey meat. There's not much one can do a turkey breast to make it any better than it already is.
The way to compensate for eschewing the turkey portion of a Thanksgiving meal is to order pumpkin torte for dessert. Skip the pear and pecan crisp. In fact, have 2 servings of pumpkin torte. With pumpkin cream-cheese mousse, spiced anglaise and caramel. When all is said and done, though, the purpose of Thanksgiving is not to stuff one's face with mashed potatoes and turkey. It's to give thanks and celebrate with friends and family.
So, wherever you end up this Thanksgiving, I hope you enjoy your company and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
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Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout Sacramento. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available through bookstores everywhere and at Amazon.com.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
