But it was a fine one nonetheless!! Since we decided we weren’t going to turn on our new oven just yet due to our mice infestation issue, we opted to spend Thankgiving at a restaurant almost at the last minute. I say at the last minute because when I started looking for restaurants that were open on Thanksgiving less than two weeks ago, some had already filled up! And in the 2-4 hours that I started looking then booked our reservation, more reservation spots had filled up at Fire Lake Grill House. A few days later a co-worker suggested Windows on Minnesota, which is atop the Marquette Hotel, also in downtown Minneapolis. He said it was an excellent buffet and the views are fabulous. I never could get in touch with anyone there. Each time I tried I got a voicemail box and I didn’t leave a message. It was probably about $5 more than the meal we had and from the sounds of it, it may have been a better meal choice? I might consider Windows on Minnesota next year, we’ll see.
For nearly our entire married life, I have planned and cooked (and cleaned up after) our Thanksgiving meal. It’s my favorite holiday, so much so that I created a post about it last year. Feel free to read about it at the link. Since we decided to spend the meal out this year, we opted to make just some appetizers to get us through the day until we left for dinner just after 5 p.m. We had our usual deviled eggs, mixed nuts, cheese and crackers, longhorn caviar and cheddar stuffed mushrooms. All were excellent and we staggered them throughout the day. We all agreed that it was odd to not have much to do and that not much cooking was going on.
What’s interesting about this trip downtown is that there are plenty of places to park within walking distance of the restaurant. We chose the lot adjacent to the restaurant. It was an underground lot and when we drove down the ramp, we were greeted with a huge panel of doors with a sign that read something like “pull forward, the doors will open automatically”. Like out of a sci-fi movie, cool!! What’s also interesting is that we didn’t know this would be a nice, warm parking lot, meaning we really didn’t need to bring our coats. However, being the weather saavy Minnsesotans that we are, we always bring our coats, boots, gloves and hats with us in the unlikely event of going in the ditch. And considering that yesterday was the coldest day of the week (a high of 10, whee!!), it was nice to not have to face the elements. Score!!
We were seated immediately with our friend joining us from the bar. I noticed that our table was on the edge of two rooms so I wondered how that was going to work. Luckily, my happy-go-lucky hubby had the “right” seat. He was the one that everyone kept bumping into and he didn’t mind a bit. One thing that I liked about this restaurant was that they had more than their Thanksgiving meal on the menu. So, if my vegetarian daughter didn’t want their Thanksgiving meal, she could choose something else. Instead, three of us had their Thanksgiving meal and hubby had their prime rib. Miss M just ate everything but the turkey, which we brought home with us. Here is the write-up from their website of their holiday menu:
Join us for Thanksgiving and what has been a tradition for many over the last decade at FireLake Grill House and Cocktail Bar in downtown Minneapolis. Our Executive Chef Jim Kyndberg and his team will provide the perfect meal to celebrate. Enjoy our cider cured, applewood smoked, Wild Acres Turkey prepared over the wood-burning rotisserie. The trimmings include wild rice stuffing, cheddar herb mashed potatoes, cider gravy, maple glazed yam and apples, green beans with crimini mushrooms and crispy shallots and cranberry-orange relish.
There were plenty of other choices on their menu but I’m glad that I chose the traditional meal. The turkey was delicious and moist, the potatoes, yams and green beans were equally yummy. It seemed that the stuffing was not a big hit as all three of us had some leftover at the end. There was also pumpkin pie for dessert but I was too stuffed to finish mine and I didn’t like that it was cold. I guess they had to refrigerate the pie but we’ve always had room temperature pie.
Some photos of the meal and environs:
loved the napkin: a towel
view from our table
the popovers were amazing!
my Thanksgiving plate
pumpkin pie
They also sent everyone home with “leftovers”: a bag with a turkey sandwich inside! I thought that was a nice touch. Here is Miss M with her bag:
Here’s hubby in his holiday garb. He matches so well with the decor doesn’t he?
All in all a good experience. And we really enjoyed the restaurant. We will probably go back again!
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