Restaurants talk turkey

Growing number of Americans are eating out on Thanksgiving

By Valerie Phillips
Deseret Morning News

Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News

Traditionally, Thanksgiving dinner is eaten in a home. Folks who have never hosted even a Tupperware party will throw a turkey in the oven and haul out their best china for a dozen guests. Others will dig around the cupboards for long-lost rolling pins and potato mashers in order to make their assigned dishes.

But a growing number of Americans are thankful to let someone else do all the cooking and cleanup. (Or maybe they're just tired of arm-wrestling Uncle Bill to turn off the football game during dinner.) According to 2002 data from the National Restaurant Association, nearly 11 percent of Americans ate Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, up from 8 percent in 1996.

Here in Utah, Little America serves about 2,500 diners — that's 200 breasts of turkey, 65 prime ribs, 8,000 rolls, 600 pounds of mashed potatoes with 40 gallons of turkey gravy and 250 pumpkin pies.
In the past three years, Thanksgiving has become one of the busiest days of the year at the local Marie Callender's restaurants, says Gordon Rogers, the company's area supervisor.

"We always sell pies from 8 to 11 a.m., but we started doing the dinners about five years ago," he said. "We've been amazed at how fast it has grown."

Peggy Pillmore of Park City went with a friend, Manette Manz, to a buffet at The Cabin last year. Her parents couldn't come from their Nevada home, and her husband was traveling.

"It was the first time I've eaten out on Thanksgiving. I enjoyed it because I didn't have to cook. It was wonderful — the food was a lot better than anything I could prepare. There's a reason why we pay chefs."

She even got leftovers to take home; the only drawback was missing her family, she said. "But, friends are great, too."

Instead of dragging out the china, setting the table and cooking a turkey with all the trimmings, some people prefer to eat out on Thanksgiving. [Photodisc Inc.]

For the past six years, Suzanne Loritz and 12 to 14 members of her extended family have gone out to eat on Thanksgiving. Their situation is typical of many modern-day families. Her parents are divorced, her father is remarried, and her mother's condo is too small for a crowd. Some family members often end up going with their in-laws, "so we never know for sure who's going to be there. If we have it at a restaurant we can say, 'We're going to such and such a place, and we'd be pleased if you can join us.' It's less uncomfortable for everyone, because it's not on anyone's home turf or in too tight of headquarters."

Often, the group heads back to someone's home for dessert. And Loritz still roasts her own small turkey because she enjoys having leftovers. She says the restaurant dinner costs about the same as fixing dinner at home because the host doesn't have to buy all the little extras like nuts, pickles and olives.

"My preference would be to have the Norman Rockwell kind of Thanksgiving," she said. "But it's not like the olden days where mom and dad stayed together for 40 or 50 years and everyone went back to the big homestead. You've got people living in small condos or moving away."

But it's not as easy as throwing on your coat and heading to your favorite restaurant. Many aren't open.

"Our restaurants are usually closed on Thanksgiving, since we've found that most people in our marketplace seem to like to have a feast at home," said Marianne Farrier, spokeswoman for Gastronomy Inc., which includes the Market Street restaurants, New Yorker, Baci and Cafe Pierpont.
Chains such as Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Applebee's, TGI Friday and Chili's will also be closed.

Some places, such as International House of Pancakes, Denny's, Famous Dave's and Dee's Family Restaurants, stay open but serve their regular menu. (A Dee's employee pointed out that a turkey dinner is always on their menu anyway.)

Restaurants with a first-come, first-serve policy can attract a long waiting line. And if you're making reservations — "the sooner the better," advises Rogers. "The reservations for noon to 3 p.m. fill up quickly. After 3 p.m. it's usually a little thinner. The large tables get reserved pretty quickly, but if someone doesn't have a reservation we'll still try to accommodate them. If it's a large family they may be able to split up in different booths."

You'll also want time to comparison shop. Some places may be out of your price range if you're hosting a whole family (or two or three families). You can spend anything from $8.49 per person at Cracker Barrel or Chuck-a-Rama, to $48 per person at The Grand America's Garden Cafe. Some have sit-down service and others are buffets. Everyone usually offers turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, but the menus vary.

For instance, L'Avenue's guests can choose among a breast of turkey confit stuffed with figs & ginger, a braised Morgan Valley leg of lamb or pan-seared salmon. Instead of pumpkin pie, you'll get upside-down pear tatin with pumpkin ice cream and caramel sauce, or pumpkin and chocolate mousse. Usually, the more expensive buffets have lavish spreads that include seafood, upscale salads, side dishes and desserts.