The Turkey Wrap

In a golden era at The Cool Water Ranch, we hosted a glorious Thanksgiving feast for about 50 people. My parents did that for as long as I can remember. Tom announced one day as the end was near that he wanted to take it over. And for many years hence we happily killed ourselves doing all the cooking for a lot of people. The food was endless and if I say so myself, really delicious (though many others said so too) Tom’s Root Beer Glazed Ham was the star. He also did the turkey and I did appetizers, and Mary Leigh did the desserts. The guests brought drinks and wine and a great time was had by all.

But things change and this year we found ourselves alone for this favorite holiday. It was time to find out how the other half celebrated Thanksgiving. For many years Tom was asked about restaurants doing Thanksgiving, and although he knew which restaurants were offering the holiday meal, we had no personal experience with dining in a restaurant on this most American of holidays.

And now things have changed so dramatically in our lives that we found ourselves this year with the best option before us of having the Thanksgiving meal out in a restaurant, Immediately I realized why he got so many calls for recommendations. Choices were dizzying. When the show began there were few restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day and now there are few that aren’t. I knew that the choices for us would be more limited because our daughter hates to be on the Southshore, That single limitation helped me with the choice. 

We have some great restaurants nearby, but only a few of the caliber I desired for this special meal. Tchefuncte’s is always an option, but I checked first with Pardo’s because it feels like home there. They were not open. And then The Gloriette came to mind. Perfect! I have wanted to eat there since the arrival of chef Alex Harrell. I have seen him featured a bit on Instagram. He’s a Southshore A-lister, so I felt secure in that choice.

My objection to dining on Thanksgiving is that I have a fixed image of what the Thanksgiving meal should be and I never see menus that feature that. The single objection to that sweeping generalization is Trenasse, which has a menu that describes something I would imagine as a heaping plate of the Turkey Day all-stars. I knew that Mary Leigh would go across the lake if I asked, but I decided to maybe go pick up something at Trenasse and eat closer to home for the midday meal.

We sat down at The Gloriette to a perfect table with the sun beaming in. The hostess asked us if we wanted the shades lowered and I was smiling with delight at the happiness the sunshine brought. We would be eating outside at home on a perfect day like this. Here was the next best thing.  I didn’t bore her with my pathetic reminiscences of my own celebrations of the past.

But I felt that I would also really enjoy this new one here in this beautiful whimsical room at this sunlit window, beside two of the most important people in my life. And then I looked at the menu and my sweet delight turned to excitement. I wanted everything on it, except what Tom would certainly get.

For the first course, Mary Leigh got the gnocchi and I chose the duck gumbo. Tom had a fried oyster salad. In the second course, Tom had the redfish, Mary Leigh got shortribs, and I got the turkey plate, which had all the necessities.

And in the dessert course, Mary Leigh chose chocolate mousse and Tom had bread pudding. I was planning not to eat this course but got the pie. Tom would have extra.

The choices were so exciting I asked the waitress if we could get “extras” a la carte. When she went back into the kitchen to check with the chef, we noticed a kid’s plate that had macaroni and cheese. That was the one essential we would certainly miss today. When she came back we asked about that specifically.

By the time she returned with the answer of “yes.” another server was delivering the first course. A big bowl of fantastic-looking Roasted Duck and Duck Tasso Gumbo was placed before me, but I immediately had serious plate envy with the other two. Tom’s Oyster Salad was gorgeous, and Mary Leigh’s Fall Gnocchi looked divine.

I stole some of Tom’s spinach leaves from his salad. It was coated with a terrific horseradish buttermilk dressing that caused some of the generous shards of grated Parmesan cheese to come with it, as well  as a few large bacon crumbles. This was fantastic, and I snitched a few more. Tom's lack of interest in salad generally was my effective rationalization. Mary Leigh snatched another bite or two, and there was still a very large salad for Tom to consume. 

Mary Leigh and I kept trading our apps back and forth, marveling at them and trying to decide which we preferred. My Roasted Duck and Duck Tasso was so superb I was glad I got that one. Shreds of duck were plentiful, and the tasso had just the right spice to it. The consistency of the broth was spot-on, and there was rice for every mouthful. Crazy good. It got rave reviews from the gumbo connoisseur across the table, though she didn’t want to leave her gnocchi.

What Mary Leigh ordered was one of the best things I have had in longer than I can remember, and maybe on my “greatest of all time” list. She was swooning, and I hated to ask her for another bite because she is never that excited about a dish. But I had one of her favorites to trade, so we switched a bit.

It was  Fall Squash Gnocchi with brown butter, fried sage, honey and chili-roasted delicate squash, with chopped toasted hazelnuts. I found myself using a favorite expression from Kelsey Grammer as Frazier: “Oh dear God!” This was heavenly.

In the midst of all this glee, the waitress arrived with a side of macaroni and cheese with gravy and placed it as a shared app in the middle of the table. Our Thanksgiving was now complete.

The mac’n’cheese was not crusty on the top like ours but it had plenty of cheese and cream on rotini noodles. It sat in a puddle of gravy with the ideal consistency. We were only on course one and this meal couldn’t get better. But it did! Entrees arrived and I had plate envy anew, even though my turkey plate was gorgeous. Even Tom’s redfish was the best of that I’d seen anywhere, and I am never jealous of the thing he eats everywhere.

This particular piece of Texas Redfish was liberally coated with fermented chili butter and served with crispy crab-boiled red potatoes and charred broccoli. The oil “sludge” (Such a negative word is used in my culinary descriptions in a totally opposite way, implying a luscious lingering coating on something created by superior oils or even animal fats that are mixed with flavors so delicious you want to mop of every hint of it) This chili butter had a nice sunny color and a sublime taste. Tom raved about his roasted potatoes so much that I didn’t have the heart to steal more than a bite. The charred broccoli was also perfect. Tom’s utterances pleased me. His palate has not failed him. He always knows when he is eating his kind of food.

Mary Leigh even referenced that. She said “I miss this. I’ve forgotten how good this is,” as she reveled in her short rib. Her choice of Beef Short Rib Bourguignon with Crispy Potato Galette and Roasted Local Vegetables with Smoked Cippolini Agrodolce was a beautiful thing to behold when it arrived at the table. It was stacked high with a wonk of beef as the headliner. When she touched it with a fork it pulled apart in gorgeous tender shreds, glistening with juices, landing in the glorious sauce beneath.  “I may come back for dinner, “ she exclaimed as she relished lunch.

My turkey plate was just as gorgeous as these two. It had three generous slices of perfect white breast with skin intact, ladled with sage gravy. There was a puddle of gravy in the cornbread dressing which nestled the turkey. Tucked between the dressing and a mash of sweet potatoes with a crumble on top were a handful of green beans. Atop all of this was a mound of dark meat turkey and a little bit of fresh cranberry relish completed this holiday plate. The turkey was cooked the way we all aspire ours to be.  The remainder of the plate was not up to what I would have done, but it still made my heart flutter. I even ate the cranberry relish.

We were all full by this time but still excited to see what Chef Harrell had in store. Tom’s Apple Cranberry Bread Pudding with HooDoo Ice Cream and Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti was simply exquisite. Decorated with flowers and arranged artfully it was a still life. One that didn’t last long. Tom dug into this with the excitement of one back in a life he loved. I had to try the biscotti, which I wanted to steal but left to him to enjoy.

Mary Leigh’s gorgeously plated Dark chocolate Mousse with Grand Marniet Tea Cookie sat in a parfait glass high above a pink napkin, making it hard for it to traverse the highway between her seat and mine. We still managed, though this had a hint of orange beneath the dark chocolate, detracting only somewhat from our joy.

I thought I had nothing to offer her with my Sweet Potato Tartlet, Crème Chantilly, Bourbon Caramel, and Candied Pecans, but I was dead wrong. While I was still picking out the pecans, she tried the tart and we had an even trade. Both desserts went back and forth like a super highway. Poor Tom only had his one this time, a situation he was quite happy to savor.

This first restaurant Thanksgiving can be summed up with the image from the cute rat movie “Ratatouille”: when Anton Igor tastes the ratatouille that reminds him of his mom’s peasant dish and his eyes bug out. All three of us were tazed with delight at our first restaurant Thanksgiving. We left our fate in quite capable hands. I am grateful to Chef Alex Harrell at The Gloriette for such an easy transition to a new world. To quote Mary Leigh about the entire thing…”Magnificent!”