Thanksgiving in a Town Built on Lederhosen and Limitless Meals
The New York Times
Bavarian charm, Christmas knickknacks and all-you-can-eat restaurants draw hordes every holiday season to the twinkly streets of Frankenmuth, Mich.
FRANKENMUTH, Mich. — No matter the season, every all-you-can-eat dinner here draws from the palette of Thanksgiving: creamy drifts of mashed potatoes, golden swirls of buttered egg noodles, army-green forests of thoroughly cooked broccoli and garnet puddles of cranberry sauce.
For more than a century, this city in Central Michigan has made its reputation on family-style chicken dinners, served much the same way they were in 1937, when this newspaper proclaimed Frankenmuth “a mecca for gourmets.”
Chickens are boiled whole, left to chill, then cut into 10 parts that are breaded and lightly fried till the meat is hot and juicy. But roast turkey joins the chicken dinner for the holidays, and this Thursday is expected to be the busiest day of the year for the two “Frankenmuth dinner” restaurants that face each other across South Main Street: Bavarian Inn and Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth. Nearly 30,000 diners are expected during the four-day holiday weekend.
