With the Egg Bowl in Starkville this year, some Mississippi State students will be eating turkey away from their families. But, they shouldn’t start thawing the turkey pot pies just yet. Many Starkville restaurants have already begun plans to prepare Thanksgiving dinner for those who won’t make it home.
Two local restaurants, Ruby Tuesday and The Veranda, will serve traditional turkey dinners. Ruby Tuesday will be open from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday and will serve hand-carved turkey breast with gravy, cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and cranberry sauce for $10.99.
The Veranda will also serve turkey and dressing along with macaroni and cheese, turnip greens and cornbread, green bean casserole, asparagus casserole, Mexican corn casserole, fresh vegetables, pecan pie and sweet potato pie for $12.95.
Owner and chef of the Veranda, Jay Yates, said they decided to remain open for Thanksgiving so that regular guests and students who are in town could still have somewhere to eat.
“This will be the first time in my four years at State that I can’t make it home,” senior Jason Ashley said. “It bothers me that I can’t spend the day with my family because I have to work on Thanksgiving, but I’m glad to know that I’ll still be able to have turkey and dressing.”
Yates said everything on the menu comes straight off his grandmother’s table and cooking will begin bright and early at 5 a.m. He added that the entire meal will be homemade and start from scratch.
“This is a special holiday to us because Thanksgiving is all about the food. Here at the Veranda it’s all about the food as well,” Yates said.
However, if students and visitors from out of town are on campus between 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Perry Hall Cafeteria will also serve a complete Thanksgiving dinner. The menu includes turkey and ham with dressing, turnip greens, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, whole kernel corn, sweet peas, a salad bar, black hawk rolls and desserts from the MSU bakery.
For an all-you-can-eat Thanksgiving Dinner, Barnhill’s will be open on Thanksgiving. The restaurant will serve Thanksgiving favorites in their buffet line.
Little Dooey’s will also provide free barbecue on the Drill Field for students beginning at 2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. They will serve barbecue until it runs out.
“We do this only every other year when Ole Miss and MSU play here,” Perry Cafeteria supervisor Freda Evans said. “We have a pretty good turn out each time; we feed both of the team bands and fans from both teams.”
Evans, who has worked for MSU for 29 years, describes the food as good southern home cookin’.
“This is a special Thanksgiving because MSU and the Starkville community have opened their arms to us in our first year of business and we’re just trying to give back to them what they’ve given us,” Yates said. “We are very thankful for their support.”