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Dining Out on Turkey Day a Growing TraditionBy Tammy Daniels - November 22, 2007
 | | Chef Tony Falco puts out roast beef for the Thanksgiving Day buffet at the Bounti-Fare this morning. |
At the Bounti-Fare in Adams this morning, they started popping the turkeys into the ovens at about 5 a.m.
By the end of the day, about 500 people will have feasted on some 300 pounds of the Thanksgiving poultry - not to mention all the pounds of potatoes, dressing, squash and cranberry sauce that make up the traditional spread.
Owner David Nicholas said it takes a couple of days to put on a buffet of that size, from the food preparation to reorganizing the restaurant to handle the hundreds of diners.
But he's not too stressed. "We do twice that number on Mother's Day," he said.
Up at the Golden Eagle in Clarksburg, they were preparing for at least 150 for a sit-down, family-style meal.
The restaurant has been doing Thanksgiving dinner since the early 1980s, said owner John Morris. "Some people we've only seen a couple of times, others every year for years and years."
Bounti-Fare owner David Nicholas, right, talks to staff behind a plethora of pies. |
It may seem odd that a holiday so vividly portrayed by Norman Rockwell as a time for family is spent breaking bread among strangers. But after all, the first Thanksgiving was more than a family affair - it was a village feast with lots of guests.
The National Restaurant Association says more than half of this year's Thanksgiving dinners were made all or in part outside the home. Nearly 11 percent, or one in 10, of Americans were dining out today.
Marilyn Faulkner, owner of the Williams Inn in Williamstown, puts it down to the work involved.
"Women, in particular, don't want to cook all day and be in the kitchen away from everybody else," she said.
For Phyllis Norcross of Clarksburg it wasn't just the kitchen work - it was her job that made it hard to put together a Thanksgiving meal (an incredibly time-consuming endeavor as most women know).
"I used to do it at first. I would have 17 people," she said. But when she had to work on Thanksgiving Day, the family started eating out at the Golden Eagle. "It was really excellent, it's the place to go."
But today, for the first time in nearly a decade, she won't be eating out - or at least not at the Golden Eagle - because her daughter and daughter-in-law were putting on Thanksgiving.
Bounti-Fare employees Barbara Falco, left, and Tony Armstrong chat. |
There's definitely a demand for holiday meals, say the restaurant owners. Nicholas began offering a full Thanksgiving take-out meal for eight this year and got 15 orders.
"It's almost becoming the norm," he said.
Plus, diners don't have to stick to the traditional offerings; all three restaurants will have a variety of items - from shrimp stir fry to seafood to steak specials.
Overall, small households, younger couples and single men are more likely to dine out on the holiday, according restaurant association.
"Families are spread out all over. Some people don't have the energy," said Morris. If relatives are coming in for the holiday, "you don't want to spend half the day cooking and the other half cleaning."
Faulkner agreed. "Sometimes kids come to see their grandparents [for the holiday] and they want to spend time together."
The Williams Inn was preparing "a lot" of turkeys for some 600 seatings today (it also offers Christmas dinner), with a full traditional spread along with a variety of other items. The inn will serve into the evening with meals in the pub from 6:30 to 8:30.
The Golden Eagle will be going late, too, because all the workers' families are invited to dinner after everyone else has been fed. 
Barbara Falco holds onto a hot buffet dish as Maggy Landy makes room for it. |
"They worked all day so it's only fair they get eat with their families," Morris said.
T. Joseph Hoczela and his wife and daughter were among Morris' repeat customers. They've been going out for Thanksgiving for quite awhile, the Adams resident said.
"The family is pretty well scattered," he said, with only his daughter still living in the area. "It's too much to cook for the three of us."
"And there's no leftovers - except for what you want to take home with you." |
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