# Thanksgiving in Mexico City



## mvhowe10

I'm unable to make it back to the States this year for Thanksgiving and I'm having difficulty finding restaurants that serve a Thanksgiving dinner. Any suggestions?


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## GARYJ65

mvhowe10 said:


> I'm unable to make it back to the States this year for Thanksgiving and I'm having difficulty finding restaurants that serve a Thanksgiving dinner. Any suggestions?


This thread will be interesting to me since I don´t think thanksgiving is that popular in Mexico, I've seen celebrations in the US consulate and Embassy, also, private celebrations but not at restaurants


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## Isla Verde

That's right, Gary, unlike Halloween, Thanksgiving has not caught on in Mexico. I have had the so-called Thanksgiving meal served by Sanborn's a couple of times, but I would not recommend it.


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## Longford

It's a Canadian and USA observance which Mexico has no equivalent, that I know of. There are traditional "American-like" meals offered where you find an abundance of expats and/or tourists from the USA. Mostly the resort towns such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, etc. However, you do find such meals offered in communities Lakeside in Jalisco, San Miguel de Allende, and a few places in Mexico City. 

There's a street in Mexico City's Centro Historico (Motolinia, I believe it is) on which there are two or three restaurants which feature turkey year-round and from which some of my residsent-in-Mexico expat friends order their Thanksgiving Day turkeys from. Elsewhere in Mexico City, the hotels which concentrate on international business travelers .. such as those near Chapultepec Park in Polanco (El Presidente, JW Marriott, etc.) and the Sheraton Maria Isabel adjacent to the U.S. Embassy on Paseo de la Reforma in Colonia Cuauhtemoc have in previous years offered Thanksgiving Dinner. Maybe, too, the American Legion Post in Colonia Condesa will be doing that again this year.


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## Cochinito

According to their Twitter, Jaso is offering Thanksgiving dinner from the 21st to the 23rd. (A week before Thanksgiving. I'm guessing chefs Jared and Sonia are going back to the States for the holiday.)

If it's of any interest chef Jared is also doing a Thanksgiving cooking class the 16th and 17th, 10:00-17:00, $2000.

American Legion, as Longford mentioned, is the other one that came to mind. You might ask them on Twitter, @legioncondesa.


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## Hound Dog

I, as an Alabamian, sort of miss theThanksgiving dinner tradition back in Alabama but my wife, being from Paris, has no use for that tradition and can be a bit unpleasant if I insist on roasting a turkey and serving it up wiith the historic Alabama accompaniments of cornbread dressing, oyster casserole, cranberry sauce and an orange/coconut dessert famed down there known as "ambrosia". Of course, all of this must be accompanied by copious amounts of Tennessee Sipping Whisky among the menfolk while mama is preparing the meal and sherry to accompany the meal so, by the time the meal is finished, everyone at the table is so looped and overstuffed that a long nap is a necessity. 

Back in the 1950s, my grandmother would become besotted with sherry and pass out with her face in the cornbread dressing about half way through the meal. Then, after she recovered, she would steal most of the left over dressing and take it home with her. 

Since turkey sammiches on Bimbo white bread the next day are the real reason for Thanksgiving Dinner, this meal should be made at home and at Lake Chapala, all the ingredients are available in November, so make the dinner at home and enjoy those sandwiches for while after that. Otherwise, you may find some Yankee chef screwing up your meal.


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## Caribbean Cat

Hahaha. I have to agree with Hound Dog! There is no way a Mexican restaurant or even an American owned restaurant, is going to be able to replicate an American tradition like Thanksgiving. It's best to invite a few of your family members / best friends over for a Thanksgiving feast you prepare on your own. If everyone brings a dish, hopefully their favorite recipe, it will provide good dinner conversation of where the recipe came from as everyone loves reminiscing about good times and good people. And....it's an excuse to try absolutely everything on the table and not have to drive!


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## Longford

Caribbean Cat said:


> There is no way a Mexican restaurant or even an American owned restaurant, is going to be able to replicate an American tradition like Thanksgiving.


The question was about restaurants in Mexico City, not cooking at home.  I think that point was lost in the earlier story-telling. :confused2: Maybe one will not "replicate" the entire at-home family/friends experience of Thanksgiving Day, but certainly, and without a doubt, there are restaurants in Mexico City which provide a Thanksgiving dinner meal no different than what many Americans (the USA type) eat at home on that day. That such a meal wouldn't be available in Tulum or throughout Mexico is something I understand.


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## Isla Verde

Longford said:


> The question was about restaurants in Mexico City, not cooking at home.  I think that point was lost in the earlier story-telling. :confused2: Maybe one will not "replicate" the entire at-home family/friends experience of Thanksgiving Day, but certainly, and without a doubt, there are restaurants in Mexico City which provide a Thanksgiving dinner meal no different than what many Americans (the USA type) eat at home on that day. That such a meal wouldn't be available in Tulum or throughout Mexico is something I understand.


If you think that "without a doubt" there will be restaurants in Mexico City that will be offering a Thanksgiving meal, I'm sure we'd all appreciate your providing their names.


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## Longford

Isla Verde said:


> If you think that "without a doubt" there will be restaurants in Mexico City that will be offering a Thanksgiving meal, I'm sure we'd all appreciate your providing their names.


I offered suggestions in #4.


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## Cochinito

Here's a list from 2011:

Restaurantes con cenas de Thanksgiving (Gracias..., por el atasque) | Chilango.com

The Palm, Country, El Bife del Padrino, Jaso, Diana, and Pergamino. I think it's safe to say there will be restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner, it's just a question of finding them.


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## Isla Verde

Cochinito said:


> Here's a list from 2011:
> 
> Restaurantes con cenas de Thanksgiving (Gracias..., por el atasque) | Chilango.com
> 
> The Palm, Country, El Bife del Padrino, Jaso, Diana, and Pergamino. I think it's safe to say there will be restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner, it's just a question of finding them.


Too pricey for my modest eating-out budget, I fear, but that's to be expected since almost all of these places are located in pricey Polanco. In any event, thanks for posting this information.


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## Hound Dog

[_QUOTE=Longford;2345329]It's a Canadian and USA observance which Mexico has no equivalent, that I know of. There are traditional "American-like" meals offered where you find an abundance of expats and/or tourists from the USA. Mostly the resort towns such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, etc. However, you do find such meals offered in communities Lakeside in Jalisco, San Miguel de Allende, and a few places in Mexico City. 

There's a street in Mexico City's Centro Historico (Motolinia, I believe it is) on which there are two or three restaurants which feature turkey year-round and from which some of my resident-in-Mexico expat friends order their Thanksgiving Day turkeys from. Elsewhere in Mexico City, the hotels which concentrate on international business travelers .. such as those near Chapultepec Park in Polanco (El Presidente, JW Marriott, etc.) and the Sheraton Maria Isabel adjacent to the U.S. Embassy on Paseo de la Reforma in Colonia Cuauhtemoc have in previous years offered Thanksgiving Dinner. Maybe, too, the American Legion Post in Colonia Condesa will be doing that again this year.[/QUOTE]_

This is Posting #4 that Longford suggested answered Isla Verde´s inquiry as to where to find a U.S. style Thanksgiving feast in Mexico.

Let´s just forget the obvious that Thanksgiving is more than a normally mediocre meal of roasted turkey accompanied by various sides favored by the family presenting the "feast" and their guests but always keeping in mind that that the meal, such as it usually is served , is simply the basis for the reason for gathering and the real purpose is to get together with family and friends you cannot normally bear to be around except once a year or so. 

The key to understanding the history of the Thanksgiving turkey dinner and the reason this sort of "feast" evolved is to understand that the reason for that is what I call the "Presbyterian Church Syndrome". In the deep south in the United States, the tradition each Sunday is to begin roasting the beef as the family heads out to worship "De Lawd" in the presence of other pious folks so inclined which is a social call in such places and the notion is that the side of beef will be properly cooked upon their return from religious duties when, at that time, the accompinaments could be prepared in short order. If one were sitting in a pew in a House of God in those days and the preacher became long-winded in his praise of the Lord and the roast was overcooking, this was an unacceptable faux pax on the preacher´s part and if he did that often enough he was destined to end up in Yazoo City or some place in the dreaded Texas. 

The Thanksgiving feast was designed around this tradition. Pre- make the cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce; put the turkey in the oven, throw the oyster casserole into the oven at the last minute and there you have it. Go get soused. What does some fancy hotel dining room in Mexico City understand about this besides catering to lonely business travelers. A bad joke.


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## RVGRINGO

I thought it was to remember the starving Pilgrims, without survival skills, who failed to grow crops in beach sand. The indigenes took pity upon them and showed them how to eke out a living by taking advantage of others. They had Miles, the guy with the guns, after all. So, they invited the generous anf friendly indegens to dinner, thanked them, sent them away and shortly thereafter they did their very best to exterminate them, always praising de lawd, of course.


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## Hound Dog

_


RVGRINGO said:



I thought it was to remember the starving Pilgrims, without survival skills, who failed to grow crops in beach sand. The indigenes took pity upon them and showed them how to eke out a living by taking advantage of others. They had Miles, the guy with the guns, after all. So, they invited the generous anf friendly indegens to dinner, thanked them, sent them away and shortly thereafter they did their very best to exterminate them, always praising de lawd, of course.

Click to expand...

_I consider that to be a fine observation RV. Actually, it seems to me that they shared that dinner and those North American indigenous agricultural techniques handed down over generations and then exterminated their new-found friends in the service of "De Lawd" Praise the Lord and pass the dressing. You must admit, however, that those birds providing the meat for that original Thanksgiving were probably scrawny and tough little buzzards so it was necessary to kill the indigenous hosts , steal the patents and improve the product with hormones to produce the beautiful breasts and succulent meat of today´s turkeys. Thank God for gunpowder.


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## MJB5293

I am doing it myself found everything I need in the stores and have invited 20 Mexican friends to share it all will be homemade and all the things that you need are easily found 
Menu thanksgiving
Turkey 1 large 
Duck 2 each 
Cranberry sauce
Green bean casserole
Mashed potatoes
Dressing / apple dressing for ducks 
Pumpkin pies, Lemon pie, mince meat pie 
Pumpkin cheese cake 
With rum sauce
Gravy
Rolls 
Egg nog 
Waldorf salad


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## makaloco

From a hotel Thanksgiving dinner menu a few years back. In case you can't read the image, "Bisque de Elote con Pimiento Rostizado y Romero" came out: "Corn Bisque with Roasted Bell Pepper and Pilgrim".


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## GARYJ65

makaloco said:


> From a hotel Thanksgiving dinner menu a few years back. In case you can't read the image, "Bisque de Elote con Pimiento Rostizado y Romero" came out: "Corn Bisque with Roasted Bell Pepper and Pilgrim".


Perhaps that was a native American Thanksgiving dinner and they were having some Pilgrim on it


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## RVGRINGO

When Rosemary crosses the border, she undergoes a sex change and becomes Romero.


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## Detailman

*Joke for Hound Dog*

Quote from HoundDog

.[/QUOTE]This is Posting #4 that Longford suggested answered Isla Verde´s inquiry as to where to find a U.S. style Thanksgiving feast in Mexico.

Let´s just forget the obvious that Thanksgiving is more than a normally mediocre meal of roasted turkey accompanied by various sides favored by the family presenting the "feast" and their guests but always keeping in mind that that the meal, such as it usually is served , is simply the basis for the reason for gathering and the real purpose is to get together with family and friends you cannot normally bear to be around except once a year or so. 

The key to understanding the history of the Thanksgiving turkey dinner and the reason this sort of "feast" evolved is to understand that the reason for that is what I call the "Presbyterian Church Syndrome". In the deep south in the United States, the tradition each Sunday is to begin roasting the beef as the family heads out to worship "De Lawd" in the presence of other pious folks so inclined which is a social call in such places and the notion is that the side of beef will be properly cooked upon their return from religious duties when, at that time, the accompinaments could be prepared in short order. If one were sitting in a pew in a House of God in those days and the preacher became long-winded in his praise of the Lord and the roast was overcooking, this was an unacceptable faux pax on the preacher´s part and if he did that often enough he was destined to end up in Yazoo City or some place in the dreaded Texas. 

The Thanksgiving feast was designed around this tradition. Pre- make the cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce; put the turkey in the oven, throw the oyster casserole into the oven at the last minute and there you have it. Go get soused. What does some fancy hotel dining room in Mexico City understand about this besides catering to lonely business travelers. A bad joke.[/QUOTE]

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hound Dog frequently refers to his Alabama past so I laughed out loud when I read the following last night: (This is for you HoundDog but all in fun. )

A good ole Alabama boy won a bass boat in a raffle drawing. He brought it home and his wife looked at it and said: "What are you gonna do with that? There ain't no water deep enough to float in a boat within 100 miles of here."

He said: "I won it and I'm a gonna keep it."

His brother came over to visit several days later. He saw his brother's wife and asked where his bro was. She said: "He's out there in his new bass boat," pointing to the field behind the house.

So he headed out behind the house and saw his brother sitting in a bass boat with a fishing rod in his hand out in the middle of a big field. He yelled out to him: "What are you doing?"

His brother yelled back: "I'm fishin', what does it look like I'm a doing?"

His brother yelled: "It's people like you that give people from Alabama a bad name, makin' everybody think we is stupid. If I could swim, I'd come out there and give you what for!"


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## Hound Dog

Thank you, Detailman. Dawg is not in the least bit offended by that joke and, since I wear my Alabama ancestry on my sleave as a point of mixed pride and anxiety, I expect those sorts of jokes from those reading here retaining a sense of humor. 

Alabama boy graduates from Auburn University with honors and gets a scholarship to Harvard for post-graduate work in order to earn his doctorate.

His first day on the Harvard campus he is lost looking for the admissions office and, upon encountering a snotty Harvard student passing by in the quadrangle, inquires;

"Excuse me suh, but could you kindly tell me where the admissions office is at?"

To which the Harvard snot replies;

"At Harvard, we do not end a sentence with a preposition."

To which the Alabama Yahoo replies;

"Excuse me suh, could you kindly tell me where the admissions office is at, assh*le?"


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## Detailman

Hound Dog said:


> Thank you, Detailman. Dawg is not in the least bit offended by that joke and, since I wear my Alabama ancestry on my sleave as a point of mixed pride and anxiety, I expect those sorts of jokes from those reading here retaining a sense of humor.
> 
> Alabama boy graduates from Auburn University with honors and gets a scholarship to Harvard for post-graduate work in order to earn his doctorate.
> 
> His first day on the Harvard campus he is lost looking for the admissions office and, upon encountering a snotty Harvard student passing by in the quadrangle, inquires;
> 
> "Excuse me suh, but could you kindly tell me where the admissions office is at?"
> 
> To which the Harvard snot replies;
> 
> "At Harvard, we do not end a sentence with a preposition."
> 
> To which the Alabama Yahoo replies;
> 
> "Excuse me suh, could you kindly tell me where the admissions office is at, assh*le?"


That's my Hound Dog!!:cheer2::clap2:

Hound Dog in his Bass boat -- :fish2:


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## buzzbar

I have no interest in celebrating Thanksgiving of course, but would gladly do all that was needed to become an honorary American for the day if it meant I could squeeze into a spot at MJB5293’s table. I haven’t had a meal anywhere near approaching that in all my time in Mexico! So mouthwatering I’m heading off to Alberto’s taco stand right now.....

:hungry:


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## ReyMiguel

Hyatt Regency Mexico City has a thanksgiving menu from 1pm to 11pm. 360 pesos or 30US$.
Four Seasons Mexico City also has one for 600 pesos or about 45US$

I even found one in Merida at the Fiesta Americana, just look for the 5 stars hotels around you and look at there Facebook pages, that's where I found them.

This is the only festivity we've always had at home, but since we are still waiting for our containers we might have to make a reservation at the hyatt. Hope to see some americans over there.. canadians too


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## wonderphil

My wife and I are tonight spending our first night in our new condo ( a new 3 -4 year old project that is now 97% full in Mazatlian) . Our condo association owners are about 60% Mexicans and the other 40% are Canadians and USA people. The developers have USA roots with Mexican roots too. So they told us that they have held a thanksgiving dinner in the common area every year. My wife will be cooking a turkey with stuffing and gravy. We are having a Condo meeting tomorrow to discuss the dinner and what people are bringing. At this time, It looks like that we will have 2 or 3 turkeys, 1 ham and all the other goodies that goes along with our normal thanksgiving dinner that you and I know and remember.

I am very much looking forward to meeting new friends and I am sure it will be a great thanksgiving dinner similar to what we have known back home,


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## RVGRINGO

We are salivating as we read your post and noticed that you forgot to include the address. After all, we could be there in a matter of hours. But, since we do not know how to find you, we have committed to dinner with a group of friends at La Nueva Posada on the shore of Lake Chapala.
Happy Thanksgiving to all; belatedly to our Canadian friends, too.


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## Cochinito

Too late to be of any use this year, but here's Chilango's list for 2013:

Menús de Thanksgiving a la chilanga (Lugares dónde celebrar el Día de Acción ...) | Chilango.com

That's for next year. Inevitably somebody is going to ask where to get Thanksgiving dinner in Mexico City and they will promptly and inevitably be met with a barrage of no-f'ing-**** explanations about how Thanksgiving isn't a Mexican holiday, and then a bunch of blow-hard personal opinion and back-and-forth about the holiday. Because that's what the OP came here for.


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## Isla Verde

Cochinito said:


> Too late to be of any use this year, but here's Chilango's list for 2013:
> 
> Menús de Thanksgiving a la chilanga (Lugares dónde celebrar el Día de Acción ...) | Chilango.com
> 
> That's for next year. Inevitably somebody is going to ask where to get Thanksgiving dinner in Mexico City and they will promptly and inevitably be met with a barrage of no-f'ing-**** explanations about how Thanksgiving isn't a Mexican holiday, and then a bunch of blow-hard personal opinion and back-and-forth about the holiday. Because that's what the OP came here for.


Explanations and personal opinions about everything under the sun is what makes this forum so much fun, and so useful too! Did someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?


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## Hound Dog

OK, Detailman:

I can justiy the following story based on the fact that the Alabama/Auburn football rivalry used to take place annuallly on Thanksgiving Day when the 4,000,000 people of Alabama slaughterd countless turkeys upon which they then feasted before setting out to slaughter each other on the football field.

You started this so here is another Alabama joke from the 1960s when I was a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa:

Keep in mind that the only thing more important in Alabama than God, sex and moonshine is the Alabama/Auburn football game (coming up this Saturday by the way and broadcast all over Mexico). In those days it was "Shug" Jordan coaching Auburn against the immortal or at least only semi-immortal "Bear" (Paul W.) Bryant.

Let´s return to the Auburn/Alabama "Iron Bowl" football and Auburn is on Alabama´s two yard line when then Auburn coach "Shug" Jordan looks to the heavens and prays fervently, "Lord, please provide me guidance here. What should I do; go for a field goal or a touchdown?" God replies; "Well, Shug, by all means go for a touchdown." Shug thanks The Lord, goes for a touchdown instead of a field goal and Alabama sacks the quarterback for a huge loss just as the game ends. Shug looks to the heavens once again and plaintively appeals to "He Himself", "Why, oh why Lord did you tell me to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal?", God replied, "Damn if I know, Shug, tell me Bear, why did we tell him that?"


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## terrybahena

So I know I'm a little late with my post, but my Thanksgiving was so nice and soooo yummy that I wanted to share. Last year we did not have Thanksgiving; down in Playa Ventura nobody was cooking a turkey or even thinking about Thanksgiving, so I decided to just let it go. But here in Baja... they be lots of 'Mericans... so I knew we'd find a Thanksgiving dinner somewhere. 

We don't really know anybody here yet, except a couple people from my AA meetings, and the guy who does maintenance on our house for the owners. So I saw a local email newsletter post talking about Thanksgiving dinner at this restaurant at the end of the spit kinda near us, so I made a reservation Sunday nite. Then Monday morning Mike dropped by (maint guy) with a little invitation to their church's potluck Thanksgiving. We gratefully accepted (nobody cared we didn't go to their church), and stuffed ourselves. I ate 2 platefuls to make up for missing Thanksgiving last year. OMG it was sooooo good, everything! 

But even after a cup of coffee I was too full for dessert, but how could I miss pumpkin pie??? They were so nice, they let me take a little piece of everything on a paper plate, home with me, and about 6 hours later we shared it.

The next day I went back to the place we ate, to help out as a way to say thanks for inviting us. It turned out to be filling Christmas food boxes for those less fortunate. What a gift for me to be a part of it. One of the best Thanksgivings of my life. Yeah, I'm a little grateful.


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## Longford

terrybahena said:


> The next day I went back to the place we ate, to help out as a way to say thanks for inviting us. It turned out to be filling Christmas food boxes for those less fortunate. What a gift for me to be a part of it. One of the best Thanksgivings of my life. Yeah, I'm a little grateful.


Not that we didn't know it before, but it shouldn't go unsaid now ... Terry, you're a good person. Best wishes for finding your dream at the end of that rainbow.


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