Where will you be dining next Thursday? Though Thanksgiving Day is not the No. 1 day for dining out, millions of Americans will be letting the pros do the cooking. For Chattanooga chefs, it will be a busy day. Here’s a partial list of what restaurants will be offering. Make reservations now, as most restaurants will be booked full.
* Broad Street Grille at The Chattanoogan: This feast will be served from noon to 4 p.m., starting with a fall harvest salad bar, antipasti tiers and iced seafood station. A chef’s carving station crowns the buffet with turkey, ham and roast pork steamship. Chefs will also man a pasta station preparing roasted garlic porcini pasta with blistered thyme tomatoes, wild mushroom glace, chiffonade red stem spinach and shaved reggiano cheese. Numerous side dishes round out the meal, with a magnificent selection of desserts as the grand finale. Price: $32.95 adults, $15.95 children; free for children under 4. Reservations: 424-3700.
* Back Inn Cafe and Renaissance Commons: Enjoy Brunch on the Bluff from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with oven-roasted turkey breast and all the trimmings. Plus: Dijon-crusted prime rib au jus with sour cream mashed potatoes, shrimp with bow-tie pasta in a tomato spinach cream sauce, wild mushroom green bean casserole, Greek marinated vegetable salad, German potato salad, Asian salad with chicken and soba noodles, baby green and Caesar salads with assorted house-made dressings, quiche platter, breakfast pastries and other specialties. Price: $25.95 adults, $13.95 children under 12. Reservations: 265-5033, ext. 4.
* Chattanooga Choo Choo: Dine beneath the grand dome from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a feast that includes the traditional trimmings. Plus: hickory-smoked ham, smoked salmon pasta salad, Georgia pecan chicken salad, shrimp scampi, shrimp-scallop-crabmeat Alfredo, a carving station with low-roasted steamship round of beef, baked flounder Florentine, Southern-style fried chicken, numerous side dishes and a dessert station featuring cooked-to-order bananas Foster flambé, cheesecake and other sweets. Price: $24.95 adults, $19.95 seniors, $13.95 children 12 and under, free for children under 2. Reservations: 308-2481.
* Delta Queen: Come aboard for a memorable dining experience on one of the grandest boats to grace Chattanooga’s waterfront. The Thanksgiving Day feast will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Orleans Room. In addition to the traditional turkey menu, there will be an array of salads, a smoked salmon display, artisan breads, pan-seared tilapia with blueberry and papaya compote, herb-grilled chicken breast topped with cranberry wild mushroom ragout, carving stations featuring turkey, ham and salmon; made-from-scratch side dishes; a Grand Viennese dessert display and Grandma’s Warm Homemade Peach Cobbler. Price: $29 adults, $24 seniors, $18 children. Reservations: 468-4500.
* 212 Market: Dinner will be served a la carte, but the regular menu will be trimmed down to include a meal full of turkey with all the fixings. If turkey and dressing are not your favorite Thanksgiving dishes, chef Susan Moses will be preparing several select dishes as alternatives. Price: A la carte menu. Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Reservations: 265-1212.
Longtime reader “Mark” e-mailed with a great recipe and suggestion for buying shrimp.
“I finally got out to Fresh Market to pick up some wild-caught shrimp. It’s my understanding that the shrimp harvest on the Atlantic gets under way in the fall. The store had some large shrimp, turning pink (indicating they were getting old), for $12.99 per pound, and labeled simply “wild-caught USA.” My attention was drawn to the “North Carolina Brown Shrimp,” 30 to a pound, for $9.99. They were greenish-gray, a sure sign of freshness, and smelled like the ocean. I pickled them, as my mother used to do when we lived in Beaufort, S.C., and ate my first batch this morning. They were delightful.”
Here’s his recipe:
Pickled Shrimp
1 pound fresh, unpeeled, wild-caught shrimp
1 medium white onion, sliced
2 bay leaves
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled
11/2 cups water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
Lightly boil shrimp for 3 minutes in two quarts of salted water. Drain, cool, peel and devein. Leave tails on. Combine remaining ingredients in large container. Add shrimp and marinate in refrigerator for three days in a covered glass bowl. The shrimp are firm, crisp and crunchy, with a subtle flavor.