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.
---
Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
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 the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
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.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
That picture of the turkey just made me HUNGRY! Good post. :)
Same to you, Elizabeth. Thankfully, I don't have to cook. I have a cousin that hosts Thanksgiving most years. Her husband loves to make fried turkey out in the driveway in the turkey fryer. It's something to see.
Hi Elizabeth, I'm wondering what they do with the dark meat??! Anyway, I'm getting hungry too just reading this, and I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow!
Happy Thanksgiving, Elizabeth!
Hi Jared and Amanda: I could smell the turkey by just looking at the photo, so I know what you mean.
Hi Chris Ann: Say, thank you for the card. That was very sweet. I don't believe I've ever seen a turkey in a turkey fryer.
Hi Mary: They don't order whole birds. Restaurants buy turkey breasts. Which have a slightly different taste when they're not roasted with the bird. But at least they don't dry out like white meat can when it's not carefully monitored in the roasting process.
Elizabeth - AMEN! Hubby and I spend the day with family and my MIL and I trade off years for cooking and hosting (this year is her turn). While the food is always good, it's the time with family that makes the whole day special. Our clan is a crazy bunch and we always have such a good time. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Elizabeth.
Elizabeth,
Thank you for the wonderful inspiration. I am so grateful for all the sharing that is going on and the love being expressed. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving where you are!
Elizabeth, I'm preparing a turkey for about the 40th time. I swear each year that I'm turning that job over to another one in the family. But it's all I have to do because others bring in the rest of the stuff. Have a great Thanksgiving.
I love the title of your blog Elizabeth ! It sums it up perfectly.
Enjoy your day my friend :o)
Elizabeth - I'll never forget when I was in my 20s, we went to another family member's home for Thanksgiving. There was no turkey, just all these little stuffed game hens. At first I was appalled there was no turkey - but quickly warmed up to the idea of something different! I know one thing, next year I'm getting a smaller turkey. I bought a 25 pounder this year, and it takes muscles to work with that thing.
I just want to take this opportunity to wish you and your husband a great holiday, no matter what you are eating. I can't think of a better restaurant in town to celebrate at, then The Firehouse!
Elizabeth - dark meat is also my favorite. I always cook, and I purchase a breast for my hubby (he likes those) ;-), and a thigh or two for me. We then have both. Truthfully, I've never understood by so many prefer the white meat. I always thought it was too dry. Today, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving - just the two of us - and we enjoy that. I didn't even put on makeup (which is a rarity). It's nice you found a good place to go out though 'cause the time it takes to prepare and to clean up is a LOT!!
Agreed it's not about the food, it's about the family, friends and thankfulness.
It was great to see my friend and her husband at dinner last night. But I can't say the same about the service at The Firehouse. They forgot about us and left us sitting at the table for nearly an hour before they even brought over a loaf of bread. We were so busy talking that we hadn't noticed the neglect. We were there for more than 3 hours.
The Firehouse gave us a free bottle of Champagne, but I would have preferred it if they had paid attention to us when we were seated instead.
Still, all in all, it was a good meal and great company. And I didn't have to clean up any dishes or worry about who was going to eat all those fattening leftovers in the 'fridge.