Christmas, like Thanksgiving, is hard to write about on a blog about restaurants. I’ve tried my best to imagine topics over the years. This is the year to take a break and recycle them! The oldest one goes back to 2009, but it’s as good as ever. [above: the Log Cabin, Holyoke MA, as it once was]
Christmas Feasting
Saddle of antelope for Christmas? Not for me. Couldn’t Santa use antelope to pull his sleigh in a pinch?
Christmas dinner in a restaurant again?
A person could do a lot worse than having dinner at Conway’s Bon Ton in 1891. Only 25 cents, with 6 roasts and deserts galore.
Holiday banquets for the newsies
The newsboys had a hard life and this was the one day of the year they could celebrate – and get enough to eat!
Christmas dinner in the desert
Who would choose to celebrate Christmas at a restaurant in the desert called the Christmas Tree Inn? Actually, I don’t know the answer to that.
Chinese for Christmas
Chinese restaurant owners in New York City were eager to please their Jewish customers, so much so that at least one was kosher as early as 1907.
Dinner in Miami
Were there more restaurants serving Christmas dinner in Miami than in most cities? Maybe so.
I am wishing for happy holidays for all of my wonderful readers!
It's great to hear from readers and I take time to answer queries. I can't always find what you are looking for, but I do appreciate getting thank yous no matter what the outcome.
Restaurant-ing through history 
Oh! Jan, this post reminded me of the time our family had Christmas dinner at the Drake Hotel! I’d forgotten about it until now.
It was the first holiday gathering after my grandma Francie married her third husband, Al. Aunts, Uncles, cousins, along with Al’s family convened in a private dining room. It was so stuffy and formal – I wanted to be home near the tree and the presents.
It was pretty uneventful until Al noticed Francie was wearing a piece of jewelry given to her by a former boyfriend. I don’t remember exactly what was said, except that he was really giving her a hard time and everyone heard him. Well, not exactly everyone. Grandma Francie turned off her hearing aid and was blithely enjoying her dinner while he was going on and on and on until Uncle Dick said, “Have some more Vodka, Al.”
Holidays can be a pageant of absurdity.
Wow, a memorable Christmas, but not in the usual sentimental way!
Hi Jan, Thank you for the entertaining and informative stories! I always look so forward to reading them. I will forego the scrambled calf’s brains this year but am definitely looking forward to grandma’s fruit cake (actually, this year baked not by grandma but by Trappist Monks.) However you celebrate I wish you a happy holiday season.
Best regards, Bob
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Thank you, Bob, and enjoy that fruit cake!
Thank you for this wonderful post among others and health and happiness to you and yours in 2024
Love that vintage decor! And the red water glasses🌟🎄❤️