I Think I’ll Have Some More
A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO I asked for suggestions about where we should go for a right fancy Thanksgiving feast. It has been our tradition to go out for our Thanksgiving dinner, but our usual buffet spot is closed for remodeling.
We got several good tips and a couple of wiseacre suggestions too – and thanks for the invitation to join you for dinner, but India is farther than I care to drive.
Eventually we tried a place in nearby Casey, Illinois (pronounced “Kay-Zee”). Casey is about a 45 minute drive from our heavily fortified compound in Terre Haute (That’s French for, “Call for reservations.”)
Our destination was a Restaurant/Farm that sets out monster buffets every weekend to satisfy the needs of serious gluttons. We felt right at home amidst all of those hot trays and salad bars. I think the entire population of Lithuania could have eaten and walked away content.
This place was a real farm. The buffet was set up in the barn and what looked like an attached stable which did seem appropriate since we were all eating like animals. Whichever way you looked in the barn there was either mountains of food or people lined up to get at it. It reminded me of an anthill – an anthill with waiters and waitresses.
Our table was up in the loft. Thank God they moved out all of the hay bales before we got there. 
That would have been a little too “Hee-Haw-ish” for me.
During the drive to Casey, IL, Alex said that he was hoping that they were serving fried catfish as part of the buffet. I never thought of catfish as something for Thanksgiving Dinner.
They had piles of catfish.
They must have heard that we were coming. Alex got his Catfish. Dawn and I got our Turkey. Alex got his Mac and Cheese. Dawn and I got our Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. Alex got his Cheese Ball and Crackers.
It was all very rustic. The rural landscape with the barn and stable – throw in some shepherds and it would have made a nifty Christmas Nativity scene. If the Three Wise Men had dropped by they would have had gifts of Turkey, Dressing, and Gravy.
After leaving The Farm we drove around the town of Casey to look at the local sights – like the World’s Largest Rocking Chair, No. 2 Pencil, and Wind Chimes. It was just the perfect surreal touch to end our day.
All in all it was a great way for us to carry on our Thanksgiving tradition: Eat until we are in danger of exploding and then go home and slip into a coma. I was asleep in the Rip Van Winkle Memorial Chair within ten minutes and I woke up just in time to go to bed – The Perfect Holiday.
I don’t know how long it will take me to fully recover from that meal, but I think I may need to contact Greenpeace to see if they are active in Indiana. I feel like a beached whale.
The very thought of eating again makes me ill. I think that I’m good until Groundhog Day.
Down the Hall on Your Left 