Numerous years ago, we started a new tradition, eating out for Thanksgiving. This came about for a variety of reasons, primarily because we both work on that day and dinner (if cooked at home) would realistically be late in the evening. Then we would still have dishes to wash. 😦
Where to eat………something uniquely Florida……….. Columbia 1905 Spanish Restaurant in Celebration.
For this day only, they have two menus, their original one and a traditional Thanksgiving menu.
There are two important components of eating at Columbia……….the Cuban bread
and of course the sangria. It is made table-side and they have several to choose from. We ordered the ‘traditional’ red sangria. The table next to us ordered the champagne sangria and you can see the ingredients on the tray he’s using.
Only Beverly and I are drinking the Sangria since Eric is the designated driver tonight. 🙂
Eric started with their famous “1905” salad…………
………which is also made table-side.
Sorry, no photo of the finished salad. Once Eric got the plate, we both dug into it. We’ve made this salad at home several times after Eric searched the internet for a recipe.
Shortly thereafter, our main entre’s arrived. First we got Beverly’s turkey dinner:
My ‘La Completa Cubana combo’ arrived next – Empanada de Picadillo, roast pork a la Cubana, Boliche Criollo (stuffed beef), yucca, plantanos and black beans & rice:
It is WAY too much food, but I also have leftovers to take to work the next day. It is absolutely delicious and I pretty much order the same thing each time. Eric ordered the seafood paella:
The seafood included shrimp, clams, mussels, calamari, scallops and lobster.
Beverly topped off her meal with key lime pie.
Eric and I shared their chocolate bread pudding and yes, there was WAY too much dessert on that plate. I can’t imagine one person having room for all of it.
While the posting is a few days (okay almost a week) after Thanksgiving, we all hope everyone had a good turkey day filled with lots of good food and company.
Darden Travels 