The pampered diner

Sheryl Sutton likes to cook and host dinners in her downtown apartment. With a big feast such as Thanksgiving, though, being a graceful host and an excellent cook can be overwhelming.

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So Sutton, like some other Juneau residents, is taking advantage of the service of a local business to lessen the stress of cooking and hosting a Thanksgiving meal.

"I want to be able to be out with my guests entertaining, and not in the kitchen sweating like a pig, making sure everything is on the table hot at the right time," said Sutton, who owns the Sportsman Barber Shop downtown.

Sutton placed her Thanksgiving order with the Silverbow Bakery, which will provide a 10- to 12-pound turkey, stuffing, yams, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, fresh bread, salad and two pies for dessert. She said purchasing the basics will allow her to prepare side dishes and appetizers and still spend time with her guests .

"I'm a great cook," she said "... I'm going to cook lots of appetizers, stuffed mushrooms, Greek olives, feta, brie, tapenade, crackers, hot sausages ... Hopefully there will be enough for people to go home with some leftovers."

The Silverbow and several Juneau grocery stores are offering pre-cooked, complete Thanksgiving meals for pickup the day of Thanksgiving. Those wishing to avoid the kitchen entirely, even for reheating, can enjoy the traditional meal - with some nontraditional additions - at several area restaurants.

The Silverbow will sell one of the more upscale Thanksgiving meals available as a ready-to-serve package this year.

The meal, which will serve between eight and 10 diners, is ready for pickup at 2 p.m. Thanksgiving day. This is the third year the bakery has offered the meals, which sell for $125.

The restaurant will roast the birds in the bakery's revolving oven, which can hold 432 bagels, 120 loaves of bread or 36 turkeys.

"It's quite an impressive sight," said Silverbow owner Jill Ramiel. "All those turkeys going around and around all morning. My husband Ken spends the whole time just basting them. By the time you baste the last one, the first one needs it again."

The Silverbow prepared 30 Thanksgiving feasts last year, said Ben Bohen, general manager of the bakery. He already has taken 15 orders for meals, and will continue to take orders this year until Monday, Nov. 25, or until the bakery runs out of birds. If he doesn't sell all of the turkeys, though, he won't have a problem finding things to do with the extras.

"We'll use the leftovers in soup at the cafe," he said.

Finding a use for the turkeys is much simpler than finding a place to store them when they arrive in Juneau three days before the holiday.

"It is definitely a logistical feat when they arrive to find space for them in our refrigerator," Bohen said.

For those not wishing to purchase an entire meal, the Silverbow also is taking individual orders for its apple-walnut stuffing, made with Silverbow bread, plus cranberry sauce, pies or herb bread.

"We'll do individual orders of pretty much anything in the meal, as long as we have enough time," Bohen said.

Several Juneau grocery stores are catering to Juneau's culinarily challenged as well.

Alaskan & Proud market downtown will custom-make Thanksgiving meals for its customers, based on the number of people and various tastes of the party being served.

"We have one order for just turkey breasts, and another for a free-range bird," said Adam Garner, manager of A&P's deli. He plans to cook until 3 p.m. Thanksgiving day, and can take orders up to the day before the holiday, although he advises customers order early.

Fresh or frozen birds are available, as well as fresh pies, stuffing, potatoes and most everything else associated with the harvest holiday. The average cost of a meal for 15 to 20 people is $50 to $70, Garner said. Turkey, ham or beef roasted in the deli's rotisserie oven also can be ordered to simplify preparation of the Thanksgiving meal at home.

Carrs Quality Center and Fred Meyer will sell similar pre-cooked meals.

For those wishing to avoid the "home" in home-cooked meals, TraMar's, a downtown restaurant that opened in the Fall of 2001, is among local eateries providing the dining room as well as the food.

Tracy Harmon, the restaurant's owner, plans to have more than 30 items in his Thanksgiving buffet, including the traditional turkey and fixings as well as nontraditional items such as eggs and pastries, prime rib, ham and triple berry cheesecake.

"We're known for our pies and our portions," said Harmon. He is incorporating several family dishes, such as sweet potato stuffing and sweet potato pie, in the restaurant's menu.

The Thanksgiving buffet will not be the first holiday buffet served by TraMar's - the restaurant has hosted several, including a Valentine's Day buffet and Easter buffet, in the year it has been in operation.

Each holiday buffet draws more guests than the last, Harmon said, and he's already received reservations for the Thanksgiving meal.

"They (the customers) are excited about it," he said. "I've already got a long list of reservations."

He plans to have six people on staff to serve an anticipated 250 diners. He's also taking pie orders, and received more than 30 as of last Saturday.

"The most popular are banana cream and pumpkin," Harmon said. "Some of the more stranger ones (are) pistachio cream, butterscotch cream and sweet potato pie. There have been quite a few mincemeats, too."

Prices for the buffet are $15.95 for adults, $12.95 for seniors 55 and over and $9.95 for children under 10. The full buffet will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Breakwater Inn will offer a similar Thanksgiving meal, except it will provide service at the table instead of a buffet. Cindy Ducote, the restaurant and lounge manager who has worked at the Breakwater for 10 years, said the meal has been a tradition every year she's worked there.

"Everything you would make at home, we're serving here," Ducote said. "We don't leave anything out. We'll even serve seconds."

The meal is $18.95 for adults, $14.95 for seniors 65 and older, $12.95 for children, and free for kids under 5.

Christine Schmid can be reached at cschmid@juneauempire.com.