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Thursday, March 28, 2024

What are we eating this year? Groceries and specialty stores unique to the area say this Thanksgiving the traditional foods predominate — with little twists.

“Turkeys, of course, fresh and organic,” lists Chris Durkin, at The Harvest Co-op in Central Square. “Potatoes and squash, Tofurky, chestnuts, pecans, lots of rice. Artisan breads. Pies from The Pie Guy, a great little bakery in New Hampshire. Fresh green beans for green beans almandine.”

At Cardullo’s in Harvard Square, it’s not the turkey but the trimmings. “Really our biggest seller this time of year isn’t for Thanksgiving, it’s advent calendars,” Jamie Kubik notes, “but we see a lot of cheeses at the deli for holiday entertaining.”

She’s excited that this year they have the genuine German Mon Cheri candies. The U.S. version is creamy hazelnut, but the German original has a cherry suspended in a tot of brandy. “Festive!” Kubik says.

Shava Nerad

 It’s not as fierce as the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but Harvard-Yale football is about the most passion the Ivy Leaguers can muster outside the coffeehouses — and it’s the other Thanksgiving tradition.

This Saturday the football teams play at Yale, which means there won’t be any traffic or tailgating concerns around Cambridge. The Game, as it is often called, alternates, and is played in New Haven with the Yalies on odd years. This year Yale has taken steps to avoid drunken, athletically motivated rowdiness by, to the moans and howls of alumni, ending tailgate parties at halftime and banning drinking games.

The Yale Bowl has held about 52,000 people during the past three games held there, mostly alumni, the school’s athletic department said.

Since 1875, there have been 121 games. The Bulldogs are beating the Crimson 63-49-9, although Harvard has won the past four.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology students have famously hacked The Game over the years — that is, pulled pranks during it — but last year Yale students took over, distributing colored paper on the Harvard side of the bleachers that fans expected to spell out “go Harvard.” The sheets, when flipped, actually resulted in a large “we suck.” This was during a game Yale lost.

The game can be seen Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on the WB Channel 56 (WLVI).

Maryanne Takahashi