DECEMBER 25TH DINNER

This year we decided to try something new for our evening Christmas dinner.  We went to one of the hotels which serves a a very popular and expensive buffet at Christmas.  I was amazed by the number of people waiting in line to get a table.  Reservations are a must and are made many weeks, if not months in advance. To get prime time reservations some people make their reservations during the summer, especially if it is a large group of people.  They are only so many seatings at specified times and I think the catering manager factors in about two plus hours per table.  It is also not an inexpensive proposition to eat at this hotel and unless you are a defensive linebacker for a football team, you could not eat the quantity to justify the price of the meal.  But the food was delicious and the service was very good.

It was a great place to people watch and I was struck by the number of two or three person tables.  In a number of cases, you could tell that the particular table included an adult child and their parent.  There were also several people eating on their own.  I also saw families of siblings eating together or groups of friends who wanted to have a traditional Christmas meal and wanted the ease of having someone else cook.  

Going out to a hotel or a restaurant for Christmas supper certainly takes the stress out of cooking and cleaning up and also the decision of what to make if you want to have a meal that includes some of the nostalgic food you had while growing up.

I am sure there are many stories to tell about why people eating at this hotel made the decision to eat out versus creating a meal at someone's home.  It may have made a funny Woody Allen movie as we all have stories to tell and in a movie you could create those side bar conversations that only a Woody Allen movie does so well.

Here is what I ate.  I decided to skip the salads as I was going to be selective in my choices and fill up on certain foods.  I didn't eat everything on my plate as sometimes a taste was enough.

First course: smoked fish, crust of a slice of bread, grilled vegetables, marinated vegetables and shrimp.

Main course: roast beef, wild rice, Brussels sprouts, one pierogi and vermicelli noodles.

Main course: roast beef, smoked salmon and mashed potatoes with sour cream.