Traditional Turkey Dinner with a spice expedition twist at The Turtle Restaurant  Thursday, November 25th at 11 AM- 3 PM. All the deliciousness, none of the work. See the Menu at https://www.theturtlerestaurant.com/thanksgiving. To make your reservation call 326-646-8200.

In 1519 Magellan sailed west from Spain looking for the spice of life, and like all navigators of the time, he understood that the world was round. He believed that he could find a shorter route to the Spice Islands by sailing west, across the Atlantic Ocean, around South America and across the Pacific. Such a voyage would give the Spanish open access to the Spice Islands without having to travel across areas controlled by the Portuguese. He traded a couple of knives and a pair of scissors for a load of cloves.

Out of the original 5 ships, only one returned to Spain. Magellan and most of the crew died on the trip. Three years later a rag tag crew of 18 returned to Spain on the ship Victoria with around 520 quintals (or approx. 26 tons) of cloves. There were other spices on board including cinnamon, mace, and sandalwood.

We can’t imagine a Thanksgiving  without spices, new world peppers, tomatoes, corn and squashes. Our Thanksgiving will make generous and skillful use of spices.

Happy Thanksgiving!