This year some 15 million Americans are expected to choose a hand-crafted Thanksgiving meal over a homemade one.
According to the National Restaurant Association the trend to sit back in a booth and let others do that turkey leg work boils down to wanting more family time, and of course, convenience.
"All of us work so hard and get so little time to spend with the people that we want to be with. So to have to spend the majority of it preparing cooking and cleaning when you can Just go out and have it taken care of for you, it's an easy choice," said Blake Eikenberg, the assistant General Manager at Sugarcane Raw Bar and Grill in Wynwood.
At the popular Midtown restaurant, Chef de Cuisine, Angel Leon has been busy crafting a menu that offers the traditional fare you crave with the tapas feel and flavors foodies come here for the other 364 days of the year.
"We feel honored to cook for the families that come here, we're part of their thanksgiving," Leon said.
Folks may be eating out for Thanksgiving, but it is still Thanksgiving dinner after all. The restaurant is offering a Thanksgiving prix-fixe menu for both lunch and dinner, that includes olive-oil poached salmon as well as butternut squash soup. For dessert there is a pumpkin pie in a jar with layers of ginger cookies.
Sugarcane has hosted Thanksgiving Day dinner for 4 years now, and Eikenberg says they get more reservations every time. From tourists heading south for the winter, to local families who want to forgo the stress of the kitchen.
"Huge families, parties of 10 or 15 who want to come out with the whole family and enjoy a full Thanksgiving dinner with their entire clan," Eikenberg said.
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At home the average cost of a full turkey dinner is roughly $49, enough to feed 10 loved ones. When eating out, diners can expect to shell out more than that per person. For millions of people it's a price they're apparently willing to pay.
"Anything goes today and whatever makes you happy and whatever your budget allows," Emma Leiberman said.
For others, Thanksgiving will always be where the kitchen table is.
"We really like being at home," Joan Tracy said. "The dogs are there, the kids are there. Life is good."
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