This Thanksgiving, we did something a little different. We celebrated with family at The Smith on Thursday, then did our usual home cooked vegan feast with my sister on Friday. This is the first time I’ve done Thanksgiving out, and $62 seems reasonable for 3 courses and sides. At the end of the meal, we rolled out the door with very full bellies.
I’ve been meaning to check out The Smith, so I’m glad that Leslie suggested it. The space feels very American. Think upscale diner with dark wood and white subway tile. Very spacious, but warm, cozy, and inviting. Seems very fitting for Thanksgiving.
John got the butternut squash soup topped with spiced pepitas and creme fraiche. Very tasty and creamy. It was a very generous serving too.
I realize it’s slightly lame to order a salad at Thanksgiving dinner, but I did it anyway. Kale and quinoa with tasty sun dried cherries, ricotta salata, toasted almonds, and dijon vinaigrette. I’ll happily chow down on this any day.
The burrata and tuna poke both looked decent. The ricotta gnocchi with truffle cream was definitely the splurge appetizer. I may need to return to The Smith for that one.
The mac and cheese was a glorious skillet of salty, cheesy perfection. So glad we asked for a box and took the leftovers home before the servers took it away.
The jalapeno corn bread was another hit at the table, and I normally don’t even like corn bread. The crispy brussels sprouts were so crispy you could barely tell that they were brussels sprouts. Not necessarily a bad thing, especially on Thanksgiving. I, unfortunately, missed the broiche stuffing and cranberry orange jam.
Omnivores were spoiled for choices, and the menu had three turkey dishes: traditional roasted turkey, turkey pot pie, braised turkey leg. That turkey leg was horrifyingly large.
The meatless entree was a roasted pumpkin risotto with shaved brussels sprouts, mascarpone, parmesan, and sage. Considering this was the only meatless option, if they were going to offer a veggie entree at all, they could have tried a bit harder. It was decent, but not amazing and needed more salt and pepper. Another generously sized portion.
For dessert, I foolishly ordered the hot fudge sundae. It was very good and took me right back to the days when I obsessed over sundaes as a child, but it was a foolish choice as I couldn’t get it to go! The hot fudge was oh so chewy and yummy over the ice cream. The almond bark and flourless chocolate cake were good too.
John should win some kind of special award for having a squash appetizer, squash entree, and squash dessert. He got the pumpkin cheese with gingersnap crust, cranberry gelee, and spicy pepitas. Delightful and not too rich! Nice mix of fall flavors and textures.
4 Comments
annie lee
athope you had a lovely thanksgiving waz! :) sad we don’t celebrate that here :( it seems like a great time to feast without feeling guilty… at least for the day lol!
wazwu
atThanks Annie! Aww, sounds like you should just make up your own excuse for feasting! ;) It’s the most gluttonous holiday, lol.
Mitzie Mee
atJohn must really like squash? Or maybe he will not be able to eat anything with squash until next Thanksgiving? That mac and cheese looks just perfect.
wazwu
atI was really surprised he ordered so much squash as we’ve already been eating a lot of it at home thanks to the CSA! Squash overload!