Silverton Thanksgiving Dinner Starts at $29, Plus Free Veterans Meals

Home From the Ships, Hungry for Something Plain

Cruise food is a funny thing. There’s plenty of it at every hour, and after a few weeks every plate starts to taste like it came out of the same very large kitchen, because it did. By the end I wanted a booth, a waitress who’d learned my name by the second cup of coffee, and a slice of pie that somebody had actually fussed over.

That’s why the Silverton announcements caught my eye. None of it is flashy, and I mean that as a compliment. There’s a turkey dinner priced for people on a fixed income, a thank-you to veterans, and a steakhouse menu for the night you want to dress up a little.

Thanksgiving Dinner in Las Vegas: Sundance Grill or Mi Casa?

The year my mother-in-law finally put her foot down and quit hosting, my husband and I took the whole family to a casino coffee shop for Thanksgiving. I was sure it would feel sad. It turned out to be one of the nicest holidays we ever had, because nobody spent the afternoon at the sink and nobody fought over the drumstick. We kept doing it for years after that. The lesson still holds, and so does a second one I learned the hard way: the good holiday dinners fill up, so make your plans early.

Silverton is running two Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday, Nov. 26, and they suit two different kinds of families.

Sundance Grill has the traditional plate. For $30 you get three courses: soup or salad to start, then rosemary-brined turkey with mashed potatoes, mushroom bread pudding, giblet gravy, green bean casserole and candied yams, and finally your choice of pumpkin or pecan pie. It runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., which is a generous window. You can eat at a sensible early hour and be home before dark, and I’d do exactly that. I like a quiet room and a waitress who isn’t racing the dinner rush.

Mi Casa Grill Cantina serves from 3 to 9 p.m. and gives you a choice. The herb-roasted turkey with traditional sides is $29. If somebody at your table would rather skip the bird altogether, there’s a 12-ounce Queen Cut prime rib with au jus and creamy horseradish for $45. Dessert there is warm pan de elote with vanilla ice cream, which costs another $12, so add that in when you’re working out the bill.

For someone watching a budget, the Sundance Grill dinner is the better value. The pie comes with it, and on Thanksgiving the pie is half the point. Mi Casa makes sense if your group can’t agree on turkey, and every family has at least one of those people.

Free Meals for Veterans, Nov. 9 Through 13

From Monday, Nov. 9 through Friday, Nov. 13, veterans can get a free meal at Mi Casa Grill Cantina, Su Casa Sushi Bar, Sundance Grill or WuHu Noodle by showing a valid ID or military card. Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, Nov. 11, right in the middle of that stretch.

Silverton didn’t say which dishes are included, so I’d call the restaurant before you go rather than guess at the table. Bring the card, too. A nice gesture like this goes sour quickly when someone has to drive home for a wallet.

Most of us have a veteran somewhere in the family, and five days gives you room to pick a quiet weekday instead of the crowded holiday itself.

The New Twin Creeks Steakhouse Fall Menu

Twin Creeks is the dressier room at Silverton, and the new fall menu has three dishes that read like the menu of a nice restaurant rather than a casino.

• Colorado Lamb Rack with blackberry demi and roasted root vegetables, $78

• Seared Salmon over potato purée with lemon-caper butter sauce, $45

• Diver Scallops on saffron risotto with asparagus and chive oil, $50

I wouldn’t pay $78 for lamb on an ordinary Tuesday, but for an anniversary or a birthday I’d think about it, and I’d tell my son-in-law to pick up the check. For most of my readers the salmon is the one to order. It’s soft, it’s familiar, and lemon-caper butter is easy on anyone who has given up rich sauces. The scallops on saffron risotto sound like the pick for someone who wants something a bit special without paying lamb prices.

Twin Creeks Sunday Brunch and the Bottomless Mimosas

Brunch got a seasonal change as well. Every “specialty” on the Twin Creeks Sunday brunch menu is now $40 and includes bottomless mimosas.

Whether that’s worth it comes down to the mimosas. If you’ll drink two or three over a slow Sunday morning, $40 is a fair price for a steakhouse meal. If you stopped drinking before noon years ago, the way I did, you’re paying for orange juice you won’t touch, and I’d go to the Sundance Grill turkey dinner or the veterans’ meal instead.

After a long stretch of shipboard eating, I know where I’ll be on Nov. 26. I’ll be in a booth at Sundance Grill at a respectable hour, ordering the pecan pie.