Thanksgiving was yesterday. The last few years, I've taken Thanksgiving Day off in order to have lunch at home or to go out to a restaurant. This year, I just started a new role and the bloke has also been busy at work, so we decided to work on Thanksgiving Day this year and have a meal at a restaurant in the evening. I was actually planning to go to another restaurant this year, but the one in mind never replied to my request for information on Twitter nor Facebook. Instead, I found myself at The Jones Family Project in Shoreditch to celebrate Thanksgiving.
The Thanksgiving Day menu could be paired with drinks, but the wine to have with the main meal was a red, and I'm not a fan of red wine. Instead, we ordered the most expensive half-bottle of white wine, and I'm sorry to report that it was a disappointment as it tasted flat, and we didn't like the taste of it. I was expecting it to be really nice because it was so expensive.
However, we did opt to go for the special pre-starter drink, a cocktail named 'Wild Turkey Gobbler'. It is a strong-tasting cocktail and a good one if you like the taste of whiskey. This cocktail is made with Wild Turkey 81 bourbon, lemon, pumpkin button, and bitters. It was served with a dried apple slice and fresh mint on top.
I will note that the bloke did not like the Thanksgiving Day menu option. There was not a selection of substitutions, so he ordered bread to start, and steak for his main. Sides of triple-cooked chips and roasted broccoli and sprouts with a sesame seed and soy dressing were also ordered, and he had a selection of sorbets for dessert. I forgot to photograph his meals.
To start, I had the chestnut, crispy kale and cream soup. This was served with a slice of white and brown baguette. This wasn't my favourite as I found the soup too bland without much flavour, and I had expected it to taste more like chestnut. The kale was good, and it was tender and did go well with the soup, but the soup was not good on its own.
The Thanksgiving main was turkey escalope. It was stuffed with walnuts, cranberries, apricots and cheddar and wrapped in bacon. The turkey and stuffing tasted delicious. I typically do not have cranberry or stuffing, but this was very tender/juicy and mashed finely to fit inside the turkey meat. The turkey was served with brown butter mash, sprouts, broccoli, and gravy. This was delicious and the best meal I've had in awhile.
Finally, we come to desserts. It would not be Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. The pie came in a small tart-shaped item with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top.
It was not the type of pumpkin pie that I am used to as it had pecans on top, contained a lot of crust, and the pumpkin was more of a puree instead of a mixture with cinnamon. Regardless, it tasted amazing. The crust was flaky and had a nice flavour that complemented the pumpkin and ice cream. The pecans were also slightly carmelised.
Despite the wine, I will consider this Thanksgiving day meal a success. Since I enjoyed the food, I do want to return to try other items on the menu. I don't work too far from this restaurant, so it is possible to visit it one day for lunch.
The Jones Family Project is located at the northern end of Great Eastern Street in Shoreditch. It is located about a five-minute walk from Old Street station and a 15-minute walk from Liverpool Street station. It is located at 78 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3JL. It is open daily for lunch and dinner. For more information, visit their website at https://jonesfamilyproject.co.uk
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