Cape Fear Foodie: Thanks and Churkeychangas

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The holiday season is upon us, and we’re quickly approaching what has become an essentially forgotten holiday. While millions will hit the road to spend Thanksgiving with their family, many others are finally replacing their Halloween decorations with Christmas trees, leaving Thanksgiving somewhere in the middle of the two.

While the commercial value of Thanksgiving and Black Friday has slowly waned with the dominance of online shopping, it’s still an incredibly important holiday and one that should be cherished. As questionable as its origins may be, its message remains pure, to be thankful for life and those in it.

I have to say, I’ve been incredibly blessed over the last 18 months to try some amazing restaurants and food events. But that pales in comparison to sharing it all with you. The emails and responses I have gotten have been great, and it helps keep you going when you’re not always in the mood to write. So thank you all for reading, I can’t express how appreciative I am for every one of you that suffer through my musings just to see if a new restaurant is worth eating at.

I also encourage all of you to take some time to yourselves this Thanksgiving. Have some self-reflection. Truly think about all you have to be thankful for, even if you don’t believe it’s much, be grateful that you’re still here, and able to breathe another breath. I also want you to enjoy whatever it is you hold dear when it comes to your Thanksgiving meal.

Whether that is the Wednesday night pizza time with family (it’s a bigger tradition than you might think) or loading down your plate with every side dish imaginable, enjoy every bite. Personally, I love stuffing, homemade or stovetop, it doesn’t matter. It’s one of those dishes that you can have year-round but for some reason, we put it on hold for the holidays. I think that’s what makes it so special.

Speaking of things that only come around once a year, how about Flaming Amy’s famed Churkeychanga? After somehow missing out on this creation the last few years, I decided to enjoy a little bit of Turkey Day long before a balloon of Snoopy floats through Times Square.

It’s essentially a deep-fried chimichanga, packed full of roasted turkey breast, garlic mashed potatoes, with jalapeno cornbread stuffing. Then it’s lathered in jalapeno cream gravy and served with a side of cranberry salsa. It’s a south-of-the-border version of that classic Thanksgiving leftover sandwich that we all know we shouldn’t eat but simply cannot resist. And even better, once you’re done with it, there is no heaping mound of mashed potatoes daring you to take another bite. While I likely wouldn’t take one down before a trip to the beach in mid-July, it’s perfect for this time of year and is nearly flawless.

The only issue I have with it is the hordes, and hordes, of people piling in line during lunchtime to get their hands on. Who could blame them? It’s really tasty. Pro tip here, order online and pick it up, then again if you want to wait in line for dine-in, I won’t blame you one bit. After all, just be thankful you get to indulge in something like the Churkeychanga. That really is something to be thankful for this year.

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