Feast fit for a Saint

For an experience you can take the whole family to, McMenamins Edgefield will serve a holiday buffet and a sit-down holiday dinner for Thanksgiving this year in addition to having their entire facility open.

The buffet will take place in the Blackberry Hall from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Highlight of the buffet will be a herb-roasted turkey with apple-sage dressing in addition to classic Thanksgiving dishes like yams and green beans. The buffet is $25 for adults, $14 for children 5-12 and free for children under 4 years old.

For a fine dining experience, the Black Rabbit restaurant and bar will host its annual Thanksgiving dinner. A roasted hen turkey with apple-hazelnut dressing, mashed potatoes, old-fashioned giblet gravy, roasted winter vegetables and cranberry-orange relish for $19 will highlight the menu. The

Black Rabbit Thanksgiving menu will be available from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are required for both locations.

Jeff Bryant, the administrator of McMenamins Edgefield, said Edgefield has been hosting a Thanksgiving meal since the owners bought the property in 1991.

Bryant said there is no dress code to attend either meal. “This is Portland. I mean, there’s no real dress code anywhere you go. Some people like to dress up because it is the holiday, but we have no formal dress code,” he said.

The menu is designed both for people who want the traditional meal and for people who don’t have Thanksgiving in mind, Bryant said. “Maybe some people aren’t here to celebrate Thanksgiving and they want to get a steak or some fish,” he said.

For those who like to have a little wine with their turkey, Bryant recommends a chardonnay and said the wait staff is versed at wine pairings.
Even a month removed from the end of harvest season, Bryant said that food grown in the property’s garden makes it onto the menu. “It’s an organic garden. Not certified organic, but we use as many of the natural processes as we can,” he said.

Bryant said the reservation list fills quickly. “We get calls two or three months in advance for people who want to make reservations,” he said.

Because Edgefield is also a hotel, Bryant said the entire facility is open year round. The winery has live music every day and will have non-holiday related music Thanksgiving Day, Bryant said.

The facilities of McMenamins Edgefield are a century old and are worth visiting just for their historic value, Bryant said. The property was originally the second Multnomah County poor farm where people who had lost jobs could live in a self-contained community, he said.

For reservations, call 503-492-3086. The full menu is available at www.mcmenamins.com.

The number of restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day is limited, but amongst the brave few is Sizzler.

Sizzler will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving, closing two hours earlier than normal, according to General Manager Brian Williams.

The menu will be the regular dinner menu, with the addition of a traditional turkey dinner. This dinner will feature turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, corn, cranberry sauce, salad bar and pumpkin pie. The kids’ version will also include a beverage as well. The price for the meal is $12.99 for adults, $9.99 for seniors and $6.99.

“The food comes from the kitchen, with re-orders. Our menu has come a long way since we started serving Thanksgiving dinner. We used to have turkey loaf with a gel that we’d have to wash off and instant mashed potatoes, but now we have real turkey and mashed potatoes,” said Williams. He added that his favorite part of their meal is the stuffing, which he said he’d put up against anybody else’s, including his mother’s.

The employees are all required to work short shifts, according to Williams, and will receive free turkey dinners. Williams added that about 75 percent of the employees take part in this deal, citing that he eats two full plates himself.
“The rest the 25 percent who don’t eat at work) have some family, so they work their shift and then go home to their families,” said Williams.

Nationally, Sizzler has been serving Thanksgiving dinner on and off for about 20 years, according to Williams. It was decided by the company owners that after some restaurants in California started making money by staying open, the other restaurants would as well. The Gresham restaurant has been open since September 2003 and has been open every Thanksgiving since then.

They don’t accept reservations, but keep about a dozen tables set up for bigger parties said Williams.

If you are looking for a quiet, relaxing Thanksgiving out of the house, Trufflehunter, as every year, is open during Thanksgiving and is offering a set menu for the day, which adds ham to the menu in addition to their regular dishes.

“We’ve always been open for Thanksgiving,” said owner Carla Walter, or at least for the last six years, she added, which is when she became the owner.

“We roast our own turkey and peel our own potatoes,” said Walter, adding that those have always been on the menu.

A few of the dishes they offer are roast turkey, mashed potatoes, ham, pot roast, pumpkin pie and chocolate chip pecan pie.

Asked why they open for the holiday, Walter said, “We just choose to open for the public.”

The roast turkey and chocolate chip pecan pie are popular even when it’s not during the holiday season, she said.

Both regulars and newcomers show up for the Thanksgiving meal, she said.

Regulars come because they are fans of the food and many new faces also show up because it’s one of the few restaurants open.

The small, homey restaurant is located at 225 W. Powell Blvd., tucked between trees on Powell Boulevard across from a church.

The atmosphere is cozy and the building is essentially a home turned into a restaurant, with the entrance leading into a hallway and separates into three dining areas, one with a fireplace.

There are no dress codes, she said. They are open the same time as usual, from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Thanksgiving is the time of year when families come together and eat to their hearts content. But for those who want to go somewhere to get away from the traditional Thanksgiving feast and to catch up on the day’s game, Geno’s Sports Bar and Grill comes to the rescue.

Geno’s, located across from the MHCC campus at 3035 NE Kane Drive, will open at 4 p.m. on the holiday and will remain open until around 1 a.m., according General Manager Scott Belknab.

Belknab said they’d be open for the people who “have family they don’t want to put up with all day. They can leave and get some drinks.”

Geno’s gets away from the stuff-yourself theme of Thanksgiving by just offering their regular menu, consisting mostly of an assortment of pizzas, burgers, wraps and salads.

Belknab jokingly said, “We offer more than one dessert, unlike Grandma.”

Currently there are six different desserts to choose from.

The limited staff working on Thanksgiving Day volunteered to work the holiday while the decision to stay open was based on business opportunity and the fact that there aren’t a lot of places open like Geno’s, according to Belknab.

Belknab described the location as casual and more comfortable than other places.

Geno’s also has four large screens and multiple televisions for patrons to enjoy watching the Thanksgiving Day football games.

Geno’s has been advertising on its menu that it will be open on Thursday and telling the same to their regular customers. Belknab said a lot of people already knew they would be open because they were open last year.

Geno’s also plans on being open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Reservations are available for large parties and can be held at no cost.

According to Belknab, Geno’s offers a 10 percent discount per check to MHCC students with a valid student I.D.

Advocate Staff