London Thanksgiving 2011

After a disappointing Thanksgiving last year, I planned a return to trip on Thanksgiving Day to "The Diner", as though their dinner 2 years ago was mediocre, it had never promised to be a great Thanksgiving Dinner the way I'd been led to expect from BoDean's BBQ.




Being hit with a bit of homesickness that afternoon at work (it isn't a holiday here in London), I found a website broadcasting the Macy's Day Parade online. I'd forgotten how big that parade appears with all those balloons floating through Times Square.


After work, I pedaled home and Tony and I walked up to "The Diner". Sadly, they were not offering even their mediocre Thanksgiving Dinner this year. However they did have a Turkey Burger with Sweet Potato Fries. "Two Burgers, please!". To their credit, it was a great burger and the fries were yummy. The best part of the evening was the wait staff wearing feathers and warpaint on their faces. I guess this is Indian revenge for the English settlers who would ultimately lead to their near genocide.

The Diner had a pumpkin shake for dessert, but that sounded a little dodgy. We hoped that the yogurt shop down the street still had their "Pumpkin Pie" yoghurt. Sadly, when we got there, they explained that they only had it in honor of Halloween. I didn't want to explain to them that though pumpkin pie is occasionally served at Halloween, it primary purpose is to be the dessert at Thanksgiving.



Despite a disappointing Thanksgiving Day, Tony, Mark, and I had planned to do a full-on Thanksgiving Dinner that Saturday. I broke out my last can of Trader Joe's Pumpkin, and made a pie.







I also was in charge of making the Green Bean Cassarole (we'd smuggled in a can of French Fried Onions back with us when we went to Louisiana last year).





Tony made the Cranberry relish from scratch using his favorite recipe. And also made a roasted garlic and cheese appetizer that we'd seen our new favorite British Cooking Diva, Lorraine Pascale make. Tony even made homemade bread for it.




Mark roasted the turkey, made his grandmother's stuffing, and some fabulous sweet potatoes with mini marshmallows on top.




After two years of mediocre Thanksgivings, it was great to finally have a real Thanksgiving Dinner with all the trimmings.

Thanksgiving 2010 - London Style

This year for Thanksgiving, we planned well ahead to eat at BoDeans BBQ. It is known in London for being a good place to have this tradtional meal. We booked our reservation for 8 almost a month ahead of time. We didn't know who all would be going, but we knew that we would surely have 8 Americans who would want to celebrate Thanksgiving.

When we arrived, BoDeans was packed. I showed the Host our confirmation letter and deposit slip (yes, they made me pay 10GBP in advance per person to hold our table, and they escorted us to our table.



It was exciting to see some American products on the menu such as Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada beers. We all ordered a round.

The first course was New England Clam Chowder. I've really missed having it, as it just isn't very common over here. And BOY was it GOOD!!! I could have made a meal just out of that. I will definitely return for more someday.

The main course was a little disappointing, but it was beautifully presented. It consisted of the right things: sliced turkey, ham, potatoes, dressing, and cranberry sauce. I wasn't all that impressed with the flavor however, and it just didn't satisfy my Thanksgiving cravings.

The saddest part of the evening was when they brought dessert. I ordered, of course, Pumpkin Pie. It was okay, but I'm not convinced it was really pumpkin. I think they substituted Sweet Potato Pie for it.

Next year, we will continue our quest to find a place that serves a proper Thanksgiving Feast, or perhaps I'll have to return to the US to have it.