As hard as it is to believe, there are people who enjoy turkey on days other than Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And for those people, the Ice Cream Parlour at the Burnaby Village Museum is the place you want to go, as the restaurant will be serving turkey dinner and hot turkey on a bun lunches each day until Jan. 4.
The museum, now with free gate admission, is running its Illuminations at Heritage Christmas display right until that date and that means main cook Mai Dossa will be serving comfort food and dessert right until closing time of 9 p.m. on Jan. 4.
"I've had people coming in every day for turkey," said Dossa. "There's something about having a great home-cooked meal and not having to cook it yourself."
Dossa, with almost 14 years of experience at the restaurant, has helped in the expansion of the menu, as diners can order everything from fish and chips to macaroni and
cheese and butter chicken. But this Christmas, it's all about the turkey, which Dossa said is no different from what she makes for her family on Christmas.
"I put my love into the turkey," Dossa said with a big smile on her face.
"Lots of tender love goes into cooking the turkey and this is exactly what I'll be serving at home at Christmas for my kids."
Dossa is a kid-at-heart herself, as she seems to have bound-
less energy and there isn't a job too small for her not to pitch in on.
Dossa said she's been cooking turkey dinners from Nov. 23 and there has scarcely been a moment to take a breath.
"It's been busy," she said. "I'm making three or four turkeys every day and people are coming back."
For only $16.95 - $13.95 if you have a coupon that was distributed widely throughout Burnaby - you get a generous serving of both dark and white turkey meat, garlic mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and a huge dollop of some of the tastiest stuffing anywhere in the city.
Add in coffee and the shortbread cookie and mincemeat tart dessert and you have an unforgettable meal that you don't have to do much more to enjoy than open your wallet.
On a recent weekday, as Burnaby NOW photographer Larry Wright and I sat down with Dossa to talk about Christmas at the museum, many diners were ordering up the turkey dinner and they were also greeted by Frosty the
Snowman, who was posing for pictures with children.
Dossa said turkey dinner was a bit much for the lunch time set, so they put together a $12.95 turkey on a bun lunch special that comes with a generous helping of French fries.
Wright and I tried both and the turkey is cooked exquisitely. The dark meat is juicy and the white meat, with a little gravy on it, just slides down my throat.
As much as I loved the turkey, I absolutely loved the stuffing that came with our dinner and had to ask Dossa what she and chef Nelson Tam do to make it so good.
"There's bread, there's celery, there's roasted onions, mushrooms, sage, pepper, salt and lots of butter," said Dossa. "The butter, that makes it really flavourful."
Can't argue with that sentiment, as Dossa has to sneak away back to the kitchen to help Tam.
That gives us time to finish off our shortbread and mincemeat and Dossa comes back with some pumpkin pie for us to try.
The pumpkin pie is one of the most popular desserts on offer at the eatery and you can have pumpkin pie and coffee for only $3.95 if you have the coupon that accompanies the turkey dinner coupon.
What makes the meal even better is that once you're done with dessert, you can amble over to the ice cream station and order a perfect nightcap.
There's often a dozen flavours to choose from, with the choices ranging from maple nut to wild-berry yogurt to chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream, butterscotch marble, mango or espresso flake.
There are no words to describe how divine ice cream is at the end of a meal, but that's what makes the Ice Cream Parlour at the Burnaby Village Museum such a treat.
The Ice Cream Parlour at Burnaby Village Museum is open from noon to 9 p.m. during the holiday season. It's closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and the last day for the season is Friday, Jan. 4. For more information, go to www. burnabyvillagemuseum.ca. www.twitter.com/ AlfieLau
