Keep your kitchen clean: Where to dine out around Tacoma for Thanksgiving 2012
Make your reservations early, remember to wear your pants with the forgiving waistline and save room for pie. For anyone wanting to skip the cooking and dine out for Thanksgiving, here's a list of restaurants - from fancy to down-home cooking - serving sit-down meals and buffet dinners. Tip: Thanksgiving comes a little early this year because there are five Thursdays in November. Thanksgiving is Nov. 22.
C.I. Shenanigans Tacoma Where: 3017 Ruston Way, TacomaTime: 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Reservations required.Price: $29.99 adults; $24.99seniors; $12.99 ages 6-10; $5.99 ages 5 and younger, plus tax and gratuityContact: 253-752-8811, cishenanigans.comMenu: A serve-yourself Thanksgiving buffet. For the main event, the restaurant will serve traditional turkey breast and dark meat with cranberry sauce. Other meats: roast beef; ham; top round with huckleberry demi sauce; pork loin with an apple cranberry sauce. Seafood entrees include tilapia with lemon-caper butter and steamer clams with white wine garlic butter. The cold seafood selection will offer smoked salmon, chilled prawns, snow crab legs, oyster shooters and an oyster bar. For starches and sides, there will be cornbread dressing with maple sausage, wild rice pilaf, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, honey butter corn, candied yams, green beans with bacon and frizzled onions. A fresh selection of fruit and salads, including ambrosia salad, southwestern salad, mango chicken salad, bay shrimp and pasta salad, broccoli salad with golden raisins, chilled clam and mussel salad with fennel and roasted red peppers and Asian salad. For kids, there will be a pizza bar and a yogurt smoothie bar. A dessert buffet will have fresh baked pastries, pumpkin pie, hot apple crisp, bread pudding, chocolate dipped strawberries and mini chocolate dessert.
Gateway Cottage Where: 124 146th St. S., TacomaTime: 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Reservations recommended.Price: $24.95Contact: 253-536-8100, gatewaycottage.comMenu: A sit-down dinner with a fixed menu of three choices: Turkey dinner, a combination turkey-ham dinner, or a roast beef dinner. Dinners come with sides and pie.
Hob Nob Where: 716 Sixth Ave., TacomaTime: Noon-6 p.m.Price: Dinners priced $17.99-$18.99 (seniors and children younger than 10 are $12.99)Contact: 253-272-3200Menu: Complete meals served. Traditional turkey dinner with dressing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberry sauce, chef’s vegetables, choice of soup or salad. Honey-baked ham dinner with vegetables, candied yams, soup and salad. Slow-roasted prime rib dinner with choice of potato and vegetable. All meals come with rolls and pumpkin pie. Beverage not included.
Johnny's DockWhere: 1900 E. D St., Tacoma Time: 1:30-6:30 p.m. Reservations needed Price: $22.95 for adults, $12.95 kids (10 and younger) Contact: 253-627-3186Menu: A sit-down fixed price dinner, with seconds if you want them. On the menu is roast turkey, savory herb dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, glazed sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Also, a non-Thanksgiving menu will be available.
Knapp’s Where: 2707 N. Proctor St., TacomaTime: Noon-6 p.m.Price: $17.99-$18.99Contact: 253-759-9009Menu: Turkey, ham or prime rib dinners, comes with soup, salad, roll and pumpkin pie.
Lobster Shop at Commencement Bay Where: 4015 Ruston Way, TacomaTime: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Reservations recommended.Price: $33 adults; $27 seniors; $13 ages 6 to 12; ages 5 and younger freeContact: 253-759-2165, lobstershop.comMenu: A serve-yourself buffet dinner with Diestel turkey with herb gravy; roasted pork with bacon, fennel and apple chutney; roasted prime rib with horseradish creme fraiche; house smoked turkey legs. Sides include butternut squash bisque, poached pear salad, roasted heirloom squash salad, quinoa salad, kale and apple salad, brown butter mashed potatoes, vanilla bean whipped potatoes, cornbread stuffing, oyster stuffing, creamy wild rice, maple roasted root vegetables, green beans with crimini mushroom cream, port cranberry sauce, fresh rolls. A seafood selection will include oyster shooters, peel-and-eat shrimp, chilled Alaskan snow crab legs, Cajun spiced crawfish, smoked salmon. For dessert, there are pecan and pumpkin pies, pumpkin gingersnap tiramisu, apple cider cream pie, brown sugar cranberry tart, salted caramel cheesecake, pumpkin cookies and more.
Mitzel’s Where: 5401 Pacific Highway E., Fife.Time: 8 a.m.-8 p.m.Contact: 253-926-3144Menu: The restaurant will serve full Thanksgiving meals - a turkey or ham or turkey-ham combo dinner (around $14.99 each), served with soup or salad, vegetables, mashed potatoes, cranberry relish and a slice of pie. Regular menu will be offered as well.
Pacific Grill Where: 1502 Pacific Ave., TacomaTime: 2-7 p.m. Reservations recommended.Price: $34.95 adults; $15.95 ages 12 and younger.Contact: 253-627-3535, pacificgrilltacoma.comMenu: A prix-fixe menu will be served. All meals include a relish tray and parsnip soup with bourbon caramelized apples or Thanksgiving Caesar salad with kale, Brussels sprouts leaves, smoked almonds, parmesan and a Caesar dressing. Entree choices are sage roasted turkey, cider braised short ribs, grilled salmon, grilled filet mignon (an additional $10), grilled New York steak (an additional $8). All entrees served with wild mushroom stuffing, lumpy mashed potatoes, Grandma Wallsten's gravy, cranberry sauce with grand marnier, green bean casserole and crispy onions. Dessert comes with dinner, choose from apple pear pie, salted caramel pot de creme and bittersweet chocolate tart.
Quickie Too, Vegan RestaurantWhere: 1324 South Martin Luther King Jr. Way, TacomaTime: 4 p.m.-8 p.m.Price: Call the restaurant for ticketsContact: 253-572-454, hillsidequickie.comMenu: Chef Ayinde will prepare the menu that appears in the current issue of VegNews Magazine. Ayinde's holiday menu will have courses interspersed with family style servings and wine pairings. Some of the menu items: butternut squash soup, savory biscuits, cheesy potato bites, simple harvest vegetables, wild rice and quinoa stuffing, seitan cutlets with trumpets and truffle mushroom gravy, rum spiked sweet potato pie, apple pie with homemade vanilla ice cream. A full gluten-free menu is available, call the restaurant for details.
Ram Restaurant and Brewery Tacoma Where: 3001 Ruston Way, TacomaTime: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.Price: $11.99-$15.99 for adults, $6.99 for kids ages 12 and younger.Contact: 253-756-7886, theram.comMenu: Sit-down full menu, plus a turkey dinner and trimmings plate: $16.99 for adults; $7.49 ages 12 and younger.
Stanley & Seafort’s Where: 115 E. 34th St., TacomaTime: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Reservations recommended.Price: $25.95-$38.95.Contact: 253-473-7300, stanleyandseaforts.comMenu: Sit-down service with select menu items: Diestel turkey dinner with apple-sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables, cranberry relish, and turkey gravy ($25.95); seafood etouffee ($27.95); rock salt roasted prime rib, 8, 12 or 16 ounces ($28.95/$33.95/$38.95); char-grilled filet mignon ($37.95); grilled jumbo prawns ($26.95); salmon ($26.95). A menu of individually priced appetizers, soups, salads and vegetable sides, as well as a dessert selection.
To compare past prices and menus, here are Thanksgiving restaurant dining lists for 2011, 2010 and 2009.
MENUS:
Click here for the Pacific Grill Menu for Thanksgiving 2012
This story was originally published November 8, 2012 at 6:07 AM with the headline "Keep your kitchen clean: Where to dine out around Tacoma for Thanksgiving 2012 ."