This Year, Sit Back and Let Someone Else Do all The work
By Leeanne Griffin

Thanksgiving dinner evokes warm memories of sharing home-cooked cuisine, reconnecting with relatives, and relaxing around a fire (or football on TV) with full bellies. But for hosts, it means days’ worth of shopping, cooking, cleaning, and tension, culminating in an exhausted sighs of “Next year, we’re eating at a restaurant!”

Over the past few years, Thanksgiving meals at local eateries have grown from small, understated affairs thought of as sad substitutes for home cooking to beautiful, homey buffets and sit-down dinners accommodating hundreds of families and offering some of the most delicious fare around. Whether you’re looking for a bona fide 1620s’-style feast or just an excellent dining experience with your loved ones (where someone else does the cleanup), there’s a place for you this November 24.

For a true New England Thanksgiving, head beyond the city limits to where the holiday experience goes beyond just turkey and stuffing. The historic inn setting of the Publick House in Sturbridge, founded in 1771, lends an authentic 18th-century feel to the experience with its original pine floors and wood-burning fireplaces. The Thanksgiving Feast, a seated dinner, includes time-honored classics like sweet cider, roast native turkey, butternut squash, and baked Indian pudding.

“We’re really in touch with the elements of the original Thanksgiving,” said Publick House’s General Manager Michael Glick. “And when we say it’s a feast, it’s a feast ~ no one goes home hungry!”

Another locale offering old-fashioned ambiance is the Salem Cross Inn in West Brookfield. Established in the early 1700s, the restored farmhouse serves a sit-down meal of fresh roasted turkey with homemade pecan stuffing, giblet gravy, and Cape Cod cranberry sauce. Sirloin and salmon dinners are also available. Homemade muffins, pecan rolls, and nut bread are fresh-baked on site, and the inn’s kitchen also crafts cranberry-orange relish and spiced pineapple. For dessert, an assortment of pies or old-fashioned ice cream sundaes let you end the feast on a sweet note.

If you’re looking for a more contemporary celebration, never fear. Although Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley has been “…cookin’ turkeys since 1740,” their Thanksgiving lineup features unconventional yet delectable selections like BBQ beef ribs, Seafood Newburg, Polynesian chicken, and Italian stuffed shells. And don’t worry, traditionalists won’t be disappointed ~ the menu also boasts carved turkey, ham, and prime roast of beef. Roasted chestnuts and fall garlands draped about the buffet areas set the mood for Thanksgiving feasting. Co-owner Dolores Guercio estimates that Bull Run served close to 1,000 customers last year for Thanksgiving. “We are definitely a destination,” she said. “People make it a point to come here, and it’s the good food that brings them back year after year.”

The modern and stylish Harlequin Restaurant at the Beechwood Hotel serves up a pair of dining options for its guests; choose between a family-style meal with turkey carved tableside and a Thanksgiving dinner of roast turkey, sliced leg of lamb, grilled North Atlantic salmon, or roasted prime rib au jus.

“We’re very careful to accommodate our customers; we want to make them feel comfortable, like they’re at someone’s home,” said Mark Waxler, General Manager.

So a delicious Thanksgiving meal, complete with ambiance, with no cooking, no dishes, no stress, no relatives overstaying their welcome ~ what more could you ask for? Make your reservations today!

Beechwood Hotel
363 Plantation Street, Worcester
Seatings: 11:30 am to 5 pm
Prices: $34.95 for adults (plus tax), $15.95 for children (plus tax)
Reservations: (508) 754-5789
www.beechwoodhotel.com

Bull Run Restaurant
Rt. 2A, Shirley
Seatings: 11 am to 4 pm
Prices: $21.99/adults, 1/3 discount for children aged 3-12, children under 3 free.
Reservations: (978) 425-4311 or (877) 536-7190 Toll Free www.bullrunrestaurant.com
Publick House
Route 131, Sturbridge
Seatings: 11:15 am to 8:00 pm
Prices: $46.00 for adults, $22.00 for children
Reservations: (508) 347-3313, 800-PUBLICK

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Salem Cross Inn
Route 9, West Brookfield
Seatings: 11:30 am to 4 pm
Prices: Turkey entrée, $31.95/adults, $16.95/children. Appetizers and desserts priced a la carte. See menu online for details.
Reservations: (508) 867-8337

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Note: The Early Bird Gets the…Bird

At Old Sturbridge Village, visitors can watch an 1830s Thanksgiving comes to life before their very eyes. For a more authentic and interactivel holiday at the historical village, turkey is roasted in front of an open fire and costumed interpreters demonstrate 19th century table manners and dining customs. OSV also offers a traditional Thanksgiving feast and buffet ~ but make your reservations early for next year, all of this year’s Thanksgiving meals and presentations are SOLD OUT! www.osv.org