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Welcome back to Table Talk, where Daily Memphian food and dining editor Jennifer Biggs sends the latest food news (along with a dash of this and that) to your inbox every Wednesday.
Last week I told you how excited I was to get back in the kitchen for Thanksgiving, and it turns out we’re even having the meal at my house, so super yay, right? (Click here to listen to Chris Herrington, Kelly English and me talk about it on Sound Bites.) I have a lot to do around here and have postponed my COVID booster, just in case I have a reaction: I can’t lose any time between now and then.
A few years ago I asked readers who dine out on Thanksgiving Day to tell me why they do it, and it was essentially the same for everyone who responded. The specific reasons varied, but it came down to the same thing: It’s easier.
There’s more to the meal than cooking. It’s getting the house ready, getting all the dishes out, grocery shopping, cleaning up after the meal then setting the house right again, taking the leaves out of the table, putting up the extra chairs, dealing with the trash and so on. And on.
It’s a lot of trouble. Someday we’re going to go out for Thanksgiving — one of those days when I’m in charge — and at least see how we like it. Maybe we’ll splurge and do the big buffet at The Peabody, or maybe we’ll go for the modest downhome food at The Cupboard; who knows? Both are open this year, so if you’re headed out, here’s a list of places where you can eat on Thanksgiving Day:
Bishop, 545 S. Main St., in the Central Station Hotel, will serve its normal menu with a holiday special for brunch and dinner. Call 901-896-0228.
The Capital Grille, 6065 Poplar Ave., will serve roasted turkey, brioche stuffing, French green beans with almonds, cranberry-pear chutney, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes; $43 for adults and $15 for children. Pumpkin cheesecake is available for $11. The regular menu is also available; 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Call 901-683-9291 for reservations.
The Cupboard Restaurant, 1400 Union Ave., will serve lunch from 10:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Most (but not all) of the regular menu is available, with choices also including turkey with dressing and baked ham; meat with three sides is $13.51. Call 901-276-8015.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, 6245 Poplar Ave., starts serving at 11 a.m. The special meal includes a choice of salad or lobster bisque, roasted turkey ($49) or prime bone-in ribeye ($74) served with sides to share and desserts. The children’s dinner plate is $23. The restaurant is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and the full dinner menu is also available. Call 901-761-6200.
Frank Grisanti’s, 1022 S Shady Grove Rd., will serve a three-course Thanksgiving meal from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. for $32. The restaurant will open again at 5 p.m. with its regular dinner menu. Call 901-761-9462 for reservations.
Guest House at Graceland, 3600 Elvis Presley Blvd., will have a Thanksgiving buffet of salads, seasonal offerings and dessert. $38.99 for adults and teens 13+; $12.99 for kids 12 and younger. It’s 1-9 p.m. Call 901-443-3000 for reservations.
Holiday Inn - University of Memphis, 3700 Central Ave., has a brunch at 10 a.m. and one at noon, both featuring a buffet with multiple stations such as omelets and breakfast meats, seafood, a salad station with cold items such as cheese boards, hot meat and vegetables, and desserts. It’s $37 for adults and $17 for children 12 and younger. Reservations are required; call 901-678-8200.
The Lookout at the Pyramid, 1 Bass Pro Dr., offers a traditional Thanksgiving meal and other options from 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. $58-$72. Call 901-291-8040.
Neil’s, 5727 Quince Rd., will be open from 11 a.m.- 3 a.m. with a Thanksgiving meal for $15.95. It includes turkey, cornbread dressing with giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls, choice of two sides and pumpkin pie. Sides include green beans, corn, English peas, mashed potatoes and yams. The meal is also available to go. Call 901-682-2300.
The Peabody, 149 Union Ave., will serve brunch on the mezzanine. The buffet will include hot and cold items, breakfast dishes, seasonal entrées, salads, seafood, side dishes, a carving station and a 32-foot-long dessert table. The brunch is from 10 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. $88 for adults and $32 for children 5-12. Call 901-529-4000 for reservations. (Sold out; if you want to go, keep trying to see if there are cancellations.)
Piccadilly Cafeteria, all locations, are open from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., except the “to-go” locations at 775 Germantown Pkwy Suite 102, and 5155 Goodman Rd. Suite 115. Turkey and ham will be on the menu.
River Inn, 50 Harbor Town Square, has three restaurants to choose from – Paulette’s, Terrace and Tug’s.
Paulette’s, 50 Harbor Town Square, three-course meal will be available from 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. with pre-set selections for $57-68 for adults and $19.95 for children 12 and younger. Call 901-260-3300.
Terrace, 50 Harbor Town Square, will be open 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. and offer a three-course meal with various selections for $57-68 for adults and $19.95 for children 12 and younger. Call 901-260-3333.
Tug’s, 51 Harbor Town Square, will be open 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. and offer a three-course meal for $24.95 to $32.95. Call 901-260-3344.
Ruth’s Chris, 6120 Poplar Ave., will have a three-course Thanksgiving meal for $42.95 and also offers the regular menu. The restaurant will be open from 11:30 a.m.- 9:30 p.m. Call 901-761-0055.
And if you’re still on the fence about what to do, have a look at the list of places offering Thanksgiving to go. You need to place your orders quickly, but there’s still time for just about every place on this list.
At my house, this is what we’ll eat: Turkey, cooked the way I told you about last week; ham (always both in our family); dressing, made with Linda Joplin’s recipe; probably Linda Joplin’s green bean bundles but maybe just sautéed beans, since we’re having bacon carrots; mashed potatoes; cranberry relish and desserts still to be determined. Whew — and this is, believe me, a light year.
 Mmm, Bacon Carrots, carrots cooked in bacon fat and brown sugar, are savory and sticky, and spicy if you add red pepper flakes. (Jennifer Biggs/Daily Memphian)
Moving past the holiday, drat this: Pancho’s has been sold. I got a text from a friend on Tuesday with the news and thought it was something good, as I knew a local buyer wanted to purchase the restaurants. So I made some calls and found out that won’t happen; it appears the restaurants are gone forever.
And of course, it was the cheese dip division that was sold to Sabrosura Foods, a large company with several brands. Let’s hope it’s still our Pancho’s cheese dip and really, why wouldn’t it be? It’s already a factory-made product, so there should be no reason to change the recipe. Jasmine McCraven has more on this.
A few other things to get you up to date, if you missed them over the past week:
Wolf River Brisket opened in Crosstown Concourse and Chris Herrington and I went for a visit on Monday; read about that here.
 The three-meat sampler at Wolf River Brisket includes brisket, burnt ends and sausage. (Jennifer Biggs/ The Daily Memphian)
It looks like we’re becoming quite the Whataburger town; they’re popping up like Walgreens. Abigail Warren tells us more about the one coming to Collierville in 2023.
I also profiled Reny Alfonso, who was the chef at Chez Philippe for five years and is now back in town, tweaking the menu at Celtic Crossing and working with DJ Naylor to open Bog & Barley in Regalia next year.
 Reny Alfonso, the former chef at Chez Philippe before leaving Memphis 12 years ago, is back working on updating Celtic Crossing’s menu and will soon be the chef at new Bog & Barley. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Finally, if you’re ready to pre-game for Thanksgiving or just don’t want to miss a good festival, make plans to go to The Columns on Sunday afternoon for the Craft Food & Wine Festival.
 The Craft Food & Wine Festival features local vendors who prepare a variety of foods including charcuterie boards, pickles, pies and ice cream. (Courtesy Aleks Antonio Photography)
No newsletter from me next week; I’ll be too busy working on that turkey. But I’ll be back here Dec. 1, another year older as time brutally marches on.
A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
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