First Impression

John: I’ll be honest; the next time I step into a kitchen will be the first time. My best friend is the microwave and if it’s not called French toast, I can’t make it. Now why am I telling you this? Because instead of going out and actually reviewing a restaurant this week, we decided to stock up on Thanksgiving food from Harry’s Farmers Market and eat it in the office. Why did we do this? My theory is that there are at least three people reading this that cook worse than I do. Plus, I’m sure there are a few people reading who can cook, but you won’t have time to or maybe on Thanksgiving Day you get stuck with some unexpected last minute guests and you need some extra food on the fly. Basically, Copsey and I are here to tell you that you and your oven can take this Thanksgiving off.

Copsey: I was a little skeptical when I heard we’d be having Harry’s for dinner. The idea of a boxed/ pre-cooked meal made me pause. This was balanced by the knowledge that Harry’s sells nothing but good food. It was worth a try, certainly. I’m not as bad a cook as John, but as a bachelor, I can see the benefit of having a pre-cooked meal. We brought it to the office and everybody at the Beacon enjoyed the meal – like a real family!

John: N/A
Copsey: N/A

Appetizers

John: Instead of the word appetizer, I’m going to use the word side dish. Because let’s face it, Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of side dishes. Turkey is the main course on Thanksgiving, but think of all the other things that you find on the table: mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes and green beans just to name a few. Well, Harry’s had a bunch of side dishes, so we bought them and brought them all to the office. First up: the mashed potatoes. I can’t eat turkey without mashed potatoes. To me that’s like taking a shower without using shampoo or soap; it just makes no sense. Well, the mashed potatoes were creamy and delicious. On the other hand, we also had some sweet mashed potatoes. I usually love sweet mashed potatoes, but the flavor was a little bit bland. How bland? Let’s just say I took the leftovers home and put whipped cream on them before I ate them. If you’ve never put whipped cream on your sweet potatoes, you don’t know what you’re missing. We also had some stuffing. Ninety-four percent of the time, I completely dislike stuffing. Well, Harry’s won this round because their stuffing was delicious.

Copsey: The green bean casserole was delicious. I’ve never been a huge fan of such dishes, but this one had me at ‘hello.’ I think it was the breaded topping. Maybe it was the creamy sauce it was served in. I’m not sure. It was a hit with the others around the table too. The stuffing (also called ‘dressing,’ apparently) was crumbly cornbread-based, which is sad; I’m not a fan of corn bread. Unlike John, I loved the sweet potatoes. Since he was so upset over them, I actually managed to elbow myself near the bowl and have some. In true Twilight Zone style, I loved them.

John: B
Copsey: B+

Entrée

John: Every Thanksgiving, I thank my Pilgrim ancestors for not eating tofu at the first celebration. Lucky for us they ate turkey and that’s what we’re still eating today. The turkey that we got from Harry’s was a monster. The best thing about these turkeys from Harry’s is that they come pre-cooked. All you have to do is heat it up when you get home. Even I can do that. Now, I didn’t like every side dish, but what Thanksgiving dinner comes down to is how good the turkey is. Harry’s hit a home run with their turkey. It was fresh, soft and moist. It was easy to cut and everyone at the office was fighting for more. How big and how good was the turkey? There was so much turkey left over after dinner on Thursday that the whole office ate it for lunch on Friday. Even more impressive, the day old turkey was almost as tasty as when it was fresh.

Copsey: My ancestors were the ones who kicked out the Pilgrims for being too stuck up and wearing belt buckles on their hats (I’m certain those were the reasons), so Thanksgiving at my house was always strange. Things may have been a little non-traditional for Americans, but there was definitely turkey. Unfortunately, it was almost never as good as the Harry’s beast was. There were seven people eating this feast, and we only got through half the turkey.

John: A
Copsey: A

Dessert

John: If you’re going to do a dessert on Thanksgiving, it better have the word ‘pie’ in it. I don’t care if it’s Apple, Cherry, Pumpkin or Dorito. We chose to sample Harry’s pumpkin pie. The pie itself – I think I’m talking about the filling here – was spicy and cinnamon-y, the way a pumpkin pie should be. However, I found the crust to be a little bit too chewy. So if you’re one of those people that does not eat the crust, then I suggest you hurry up and pick up one of these pies. (Especially since our friends at Nestle are reporting that there might be a pumpkin pie shortage this year).

Copsey: Joke time! What did the turkey do with the pumpkin pie? Gobble gobble! ‘nuff said.

John: B+
Copsey: A-

Final Impression

John: The bottom line here is that if you don’t have the time to cook a Thanksgiving dinner (which according to my sources in the kitchen, takes about five hours), then Harry’s Farmers Market provides a more than adequate alternative. If Aunt Mary and Uncle Ryan decide to surprise you at the last minute, then all you have to do is stop at Harry’s, pick up some fresh food and you’ll have enough for everyone. On the other hand, if you’re a guy that has absolutely no cooking skills, just shoot me an email and I’ll send you Harry’s phone number and location along with my secret French toast recipe. That way, you won’t go hungry on Thanksgiving.

Copsey: My original Thanksgiving dinner plans had been to head over to Denny’s. Thanks to Harry’s, this may change. One important thing to note: because we’re special, we got the meal warmed up to eat. It normally comes uncooked or chilled when you pick it up, so be prepared to stick it in the oven (I’m not sure it would even fit in the microwave). Also, for those wishing to order some, you have to buy it by tomorrow (the 23rd). For a prepared meal, I was pleasantly surprised by Harry’s effort. Denny’s can wait.

John: B+
Copsey: B+