Jedediah Hawkins-- 400 S Jamesport Ave, NY--THANKSGIVING DINNER!!

This is the first time in my entire life that I've ever eaten out at a restaurant for Thanksgiving.  Jedediah Hawkins is a beautiful inn that my family discovered a year and half ago, and we decided that we would one day go to eat there.  And that wish came true!  The inn has little rooms with fireplaces and old restored furniture with lots of wallpaper.  The menu had delicious selections-- 4 courses with 3 or more choices for each.

First course:  To start off the meal I ordered the Butternut Squash Soup.  It was AMAZING!  It was deliciously thick, sweet and creamy, and the fried leeks contributed an onion crunch.  I couldn't stop spooning spoonfuls in my mouth.  My mom ordered the poached apple and spinach salad, sweet and savory and my dad had the roasted beets and arugula salad.  Both were dressed nicely.

Second course: My mom and I both had the Spaghetti Squash Latkas, which are very like fried potato pancakes.  The outside layer had a slight crunch and inside was cooked soft.  It was topped with an applesauce with flavors of cinnamon.  Very yummy!  My dad ordered the mushroom risotto.  It had an earthy flavor, creamy rice and a rich sauce which mixed together harmoniously.

Entree: Of course we all had the main turkey dish, which came with apple chestnut&butternut squash stuffing, orange scented cranberry sauce, haricot verts (thin string beans), mashed potatoes and rutabaga mash.  The white meat was a bit dry, but they also included shredded brown meat, which was more tender.  I did not enjoy the gravy-- it was a bit too bitter.  The stuffing was just yumminess, and both mashed dishes were sweet, salty and creamy.  The cranberry sauce may have been a bit too sweet for me, but still had a nice, tangy fragrance and taste.

Dessert:  My mom had the raspberry almond tart. (picture below).  Perfect moisture and balance of sweetness and tart.  I finished off my great meal with a small, hot apple tart and cold, vanilla ice cream.  I loved the way it was served, in a small cast iron skillet with a big scoop of creamy vanilla.  It was steaming the entire time, and the ice cream melted into the hot apple goodness.

The entire meal was very impressive, and the atmosphere was warm and festive.  There was this weird guy sitting across from our table though, telling untrue facts about German being the original language of the US.  IDIOT.  Jedediah Hawkins definitely exceeded my expectations, and I would love to come back here for a regular meal!  Can't wait to see what those options are.  Overall, I give this gorgeous inn 4 turkeys.  Gobble Gobble!

-tdg