Thanksgiving at Chez Josephine

We have a thousand things to be thankful for; yesterday one of them was that the Duchess got the inspiration to book us at Chez Josephine for our Thanksgiving feast. The place is owned and operated by two of Josephine Baker's adopted children Jean-Claude and Jarry Baker -- I think it was Jean-Claude who greeted us at the door yesterday. The atmosphere is warm (in every sense), the cuisine is French, and the decor a kind of shrine to Ms. Baker and the Paris of the 1920s.

This is the first Thanksgiving dinner where I've gotten to enjoy my meal surrounded by pictures of a topless woman. And rightfully so. A topless Priscilla Alden would just make me uncomfortable. Nestled right on Theatre Row on the outskirts of the Deuce, the place was merry with the hilarious plinkings of a most eclectic piano player, who offered quiet, tasteful renderings of everything from the theme song to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood to Ennio Morricone's theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to several disco hits. I don't know if someone was playing "Stump the Piano Player" or the musician was just a great entertainer. Perhaps both. As for the chow, it was of the first water. Sweet, succulent scallops were my portion, with a crab cake and squash soup for openers. And to top it off a baked apple with cinnamon and caramel sauce, alongside vanilla ice cream. If they'd botched the job, we would have reported it! I think we've found our new "special place".