Happy Thanksgiving, to all who celebrate it!
Today’s “Cheap Eats” blog is about places to go for Thanksgiving dinner, that won’t cost you a fortune that you don’t happen to have, now that you are unemployed/ underemployed.
* Family first
There is someone in every family that makes themselves the person to visit. This is the person who starts planning the menu sometime in October. This is the person who enjoys cooking up a feast to feed everyone in the whole family. This is the person who has a home large enough fit the entire family, and then some.
Every family has different “rules” about how this works. Some families want everyone to bring a dessert or bottle of wine along with them to Thanksgiving dinner. It generally doesn’t cost too much to run to the local grocery store and pick up a pie, or at least some brownies. Trader Joe’s is a great place to pick up that “Two Buck Chuck” (inexpensive bottle of wine). If your family is aware that you aren’t working right now, they might be cool if you simply show up on time, and just bring yourself.
Upside: Thanksgiving is a great time to spend with family, eating great food, catching up, and watching football. Also, you are likely to get sent home with lots of yummy leftovers, which will feed you for the next few days.
Downside: You have to spend the day with your family. For some people, the stress involved in doing that is not worth the potential possibility of free food.
* Hometown Buffet (also known as Old Country Buffet, or Country Buffet), has a very nice Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving. You can click around on their website to find one of their Buffets near you. I would recommend calling them to make sure they are, in fact, open on Thanksgiving. They usually are.
You pay one price, and can eat all you want, until you are done. I’m fairly certain they will charge the “dinner” rate, even if you go during the usual lunch time. It’s about $12.00 per adult.
If you have coupons, you can give it a shot, but I can’t promise they will honor them on Thanksgiving. I am certain that the free dinner coupon that you get for joining their eClub is NOT something you can use on a holiday (or a Sunday). Other then that particular coupon, well, it can’t hurt to try.
Upside: You can eat and drink as much as you want, and the price will remain the same. You won’t have any dishes to wash later on, and you can safely avoid the relatives you don’t happen to want to visit with today.
Downside: There will be no leftovers for you to take home. In fact, it is specifically “verboten” to bring ANY food out of the buffet when you leave. (Unless, you decided to pay for their “take out” option, which is a different story.) Also, the lines will be long, so you should plan on waiting much longer on Thanksgiving than on a “normal” day to be seated at Hometown Buffet.
* If you happen to be in San Francisco, Cafe Gratitude is planning on serving a FREE Thanksgiving dinner. This will be the fifth year they will do this.
” Meals will be served on a first come, first served basis, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.”
They are doing this as an expression of gratitude for their many customers and fans of their Vegan restaurant.
Upside: If you happen to be a Vegan, a fan of the Gratitude resturant, and in San Francisco, you can get a free Thanksgiving dinner.
Downside: You might not get in, depending on the number of people that arrive. If you aren’t a Vegan, you might be disappointed by the fact that you won’t be served turkey. And, you pretty much have to already be in San Francisco today to even have a chance of taking advantage of this offer.
* If you are reading this blog and are truly desperate and hungry this year, you can use google to find out if your area has a “food bank” or “free kitchen” or even a local shelter that can assist you. SLO Food Bank is an example that is local to me.
Upside: These places are set up for people who are extremely poor and hungry, and they will understand your need. Some of these places might even be able to provide shelter, if you have none.
Downside: No one really wants to spend Thanksgiving this way. This is a last resort, so don’t use this option unless you absolutely have no other choice. Don’t take resources away from someone else who is truly needy, if you are not.
* If you aren’t really interested in having the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, you might want to give the Chinese Buffet a call. Sometimes they are open on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas when many places are closed. Buffets are a great place to get a lot of food for a reasonable price.
I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving this year.