Crossroads Kitchen (Megan Blair)

Thanksgiving: Talking Turkey And Beyond

November 7, 2023

Let’s talk turkey. Yes, the hallowed bird has been the centerpiece of Thanksgiving tables for centuries. As our tastes and eating trends have evolved over the years, so have our menus for that fourth Thursday in November. Side dishes have taken over the spotlight, duck has replaced turkey and tempeh, tofu and seitan have given the not-so-friendly fowl a reprieve. Whether traditional or transcendental, go out on a limb with these Thanksgiving ideas…

Surrounded by film studio ranches once populated by Hollywood stars and tucked into the city’s leafy Rancho Equestrian neighborhood, Hotel Amarano is the only AAA Four Diamond hotel in Burbank. In the fall of 2020, the 132-room luxury boutique hotel unveiled a new brand identity and restaurant FYC Bar + Kitchen. Its reasonable $55 three-course Thanksgiving menu includes acorn squash soup or quinoa and kale salad with walnuts and dried cranberries in a blueberry vinaigrette, roasted turkey with stuffing and the fixings or pineapple glazed ham with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans are main course options, with warm bread pudding, pumpkin pie chocolate lava cake or cheesecake for dessert.

For a plant-based option. Crossroads Kitchen in Calabasas and West Hollywood is offering a four-course $75 prix fixe dinner that includes dishes like celery root soup, pulled lion’s mane mushrooms with mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry relish, as well as sweet potato biscuits. Pumpkin pie or cranberry sorbet are for dessert.

Deep Fried Turkey (Courtesy Little Dom's)

Little Dom’s in Los Feliz is bringing back its annual Deep Fried Turkey Thanksgiving Feast. Meals are available for pre-order now by calling Little Dom’s (323-661-0055) or visiting its website. Orders will be available for pick-up on Thanksgiving Day. All menu items feed 6-8 people and include:

12-14 lb. Deep Deep-fried turkey with gravy ($120)
Roasted Brussels sprouts with applewood bacon ($48)
Homemade Fennel Sausage & Mushroom Stuffing ($48)
Garnet Yam Puree with coconut cream and toasted pecans ($48)
Wood Oven Roasted Heirloom Carrots with reduced balsamic ($48)
Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie ($38-48)
Wine & Cocktails ($28-50)
Bundle Package inclusive of one turkey, choice of 2 sides or pie ($196)

This Thanksgiving, The Draycott in Pacific Palisades will offer a special holiday dining experience at $100 per person for adults and $50 for kids ages 12 and under. The prix fixe menu includes pumpkin soup, roasted turkey, sweet potato ravioli, pumpkin and pecan pie, among other classic holiday dishes. The Draycott also will offer a $55 per person Thanksgiving Wine Pairing. To book your Thanksgiving reservation, visit Resy, linked HERE, or call 310-573-8938.

Dog Haus is celebrating the month of November with its Absolute Würst Sausage Series. The one-of-a-kind Würst Thanksgiving Sausage is a mix of turkey and all the trimmings in every bite. Created by Dog Haus’ Würstmacher Adam Gertler, the limited-time sausage features turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, sage, thyme, rosemary and a hint of maple. It comes in four versions:

Thanksgiving sausage breakfast (Courtesy Dog Haus)

Würst Way — American cheese, arugula, cranberry aioli, turkey gravy, crispy onions and scallions, served on grilled King’s Hawaiian rolls

Corn Dog Way — root beer battered, served with a side of turkey gravy

Breakfast Way — three sunny-side-up eggs, American cheese, caramelized onions, crispy fried onions, sweet potato fries, spicy mayo, turkey gravy and scallions, wrapped burrito-style in a grilled flour tortilla

Your Way — loaded with any mix of Dog Haus toppings on grilled King’s Hawaiian rolls

Wash any of them down with the Peach Maple Smash, an artisanal cocktail that also highlights classic American flavors.

The downstairs restaurant of the funky boutique hotel Mama Shelter, Mama’s Kitchen in Hollywood will offer a $75 per person prefix menu, including a choice of starter, main (options include classic turkey as well as salmon or short rib), and dessert. With the set menu, you can either go the traditional route (butternut squash soup, traditional turkey, pumpkin tiramisu) or mix it up with items including pork belly ssam and coconut sorbet.

Silver Lake’s vibrant women-owned Botanica has some distinctive fall treats that are available for preorder now through Wednesday, Nov. 15. Pick them up at the restaurant on Wednesday, Nov. 22 (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), or Thursday, Nov. 23 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Highlights include a stunning maple kabocha loaf, a magical tea cake, snappy ginger molasses cookies, dried cranberry orange scones, whole wheat pumpkin chai muffins and apple pear galettes. Classic signature offerings also are available, like the dark chocolate olive oil cake and date-cardamom scones.

Maple kabocha loaf (Courtesy Botanica)

Now before you make a face, hear me out. The Baskin-Robbins flavor of the month, Turkey Day Fixin’s, made up of sweet potato and autumn spice ice creams mixed with honey cornbread pieces and swirls of cranberry sauce is worth a try and makes a great visual on the Thanksgiving table. It's a subtle combination of everything that's sweet for the holiday. And if you want to take your holiday down an even more whimsical path, pick up a turkey cake. Baskin-Robbins’ take on a roasted turkey is made to look like it’s fresh out of the oven, filled with your choice of ice cream flavor, decorated with sugar cone legs and covered in caramel praline glaze.

Polly’s Pies has fall catering trays for parties of 20 or more with the choice of oven-roasted sliced turkey with two quarts of turkey gravy or Polly’s pre-sliced orange-dijon glazed ham.

Sides & Extras: Can be ordered in small pans for groups of 15-25 or in large pans for 50-60 and includes turkey and brown gravy, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, red-skin smashed potatoes, smashed sweet potatoes, country style green beans and homestyle stuffing.

Group Individual Dinners: For groups of 30 or more, these dinners are individually packaged with one oven-roasted turkey breast or glazed ham, homestyle stuffing, red-skin smashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy and a dinner roll.
Family Whole Turkey Feast: Made for six or more, this feast features a 12-14 lb. roasted turkey with all the fixings, including stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy, red-skin smashed potatoes, dinner rolls and one choice of pie.
Family Sliced Ham Feast: 50 oz. pre-sliced orange-dijon glazed ham that serves six or more with all the traditional sides, dinner rolls and a choice of pie. 25 oz. A half-ham feast option also is available.
Family Everything But the Bird Feast: Just the fixings but all the flavor, this feast includes stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy, red-skin smashed potatoes, dinner rolls and one choice of pie, for six or more guests.
Sides and Extras: All orders can be supplemented with additional sides and the Thanksgiving must-have extras, including homestyle stuffing, turkey or brown gravy, red-skin smashed potatoes, green beans, smashed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, whipped or cinnamon-whipped cream.
Breakfast Bundle: A savory breakfast for four or more, including quiche Lorraine or spinach and feta quiche plus blueberry or pumpkin maple crunch muffins, fresh fruit and breakfast potatoes.
Famous Pies: Seasonal favorites include pumpkin, pumpkin maple crunch, pumpkin dream, pumpkin praline cheesecake, pecan and Dutch apple.

Crème brûlée pumpkin pie (Courtesy Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery)

Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery in Pasadena is offering a Sides n’ Pies menu for at-home feasting and Holiday Gift Baskets curated for the season, available for pre-order on agnesla.com. Sides n’ Pies includes an assortment of cheese and cured meat platters, baked bread, and seasonal dishes like Agnes’s pimento party potatoes, green bean casserole, and crème brûlée pumpkin pie. Pre-orders are open now through Nov. 18, with pick-ups on Wednesday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Gift baskets range from $50-$150, and there’s also freshly baked sourdough, walnut rosemary, epi-baguette and multi-grain breads.

Chef Shirley Chung’s Ms Chi Cafe is offering take-home Thanksgiving feasts inspired by Chinese American flavors. The duck feast, suitable for four to six guests, spotlights a whole tea-smoked duck from Mary’s Farm with smoked plum sauce. The Turkey Feast, designed for eight to 10 guests, features Beijing-style roasted double turkey breasts with Ms Chi Chili Sauce. Both menus include duck fat rice stuffing, roasted Brussels sprouts, Chinese chicken salad, and a choice of chicken, pork, or vegan dumplings. Orders can be placed on Tock or by contacting the restaurant at 424-361-5225. Pick-ups are on Wednesday, Nov. 22, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Chef/Owner Raphael Lunetta is preparing a Thanksgiving feast this year with lots of traditional favorites and alternatives for everyone. The Thanksgiving Day menu at Lunetta will be served Thursday, Nov. 23, from 2 p.m., with the last reservation at 7 p.m.

The set menu will be three courses with a choice of starters, including cast iron Maine diver scallops or roasted chestnut soup. Mains include oven-roasted, all-natural Mary’s heritage maple herb turkey with gruyere Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, rum pineapple candied yams, Tahitian vanilla bean cranberry sauce, country-bread stuffing with cranberry apple chicken sausage and white wine turkey gravy.

Other mains offered are the signature six-hour osso buco or pan-roasted Atlantic black bass. For dessert, choose from pumpkin pie, chocolate ganache pie, or French apple pie. The price is $110 per person. The Thanksgiving menu also is available to-go for $120 per person. Each dinner will be packaged separately in oven-safe containers, marked with a list of all the ingredients, a sheet with heating instructions and diagrams for replating items, and tips for storing leftovers. The to-go menu must be reserved by Nov. 18. For dining in, guests can choose to sit on the all-day side or in the new Gallery dining room, depending on party size, or on the many garden patios if weather permits. Reservations can be made at Lunettasm.com.

Thanksgiving duck (Courtesy Ms Chi)

For a relaxing beachside sunset Thanksgiving, Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica will have dinner and lunch seating with offerings that include Mary’s Farm slow-roasted organic turkey, roasted Cinderella squash soup, autumn kale salad and truffle potato gnocchi. Pumpkin and pecan pies and roasted port apples are for dessert. Dinner is $125/person and lunch is $115/person. Reservation info here.

In Santa Barbara, Chef Nathan Lingle at Finch & Fork at the Kimpton Canary Hotel will serve a harvest buffet including a decadent raw bar with freshly shucked oysters and poached shrimp plus signature deviled eggs, chicken liver paté, roasted fig, mascarpone, Central Coast honey and smoked pistachio toast. There will be a variety of salads including a black garlic Caesar, as well as roast turkey or pork loin from the carving station. Sides include green bean casserole with porcini mushroom and crispy onions, garnet yams with house fluff and pistachio streusel and decadent cornbread stuffing. Deserts include mini pumpkin and apple tarts, chocolate bread pudding, maple crème brulee, spiced pear tart, salted caramel budino, vanilla cheesecake and a cranberry lemon bar.

If you’re feeling smoky, Maple Block Meat Co. will offer its 100% wood-smoked Thanksgiving turkeys for the holiday season. The all-natural, free-range, antibiotic-free turkeys are shipped fresh to the Culver City location and smoked on-site. Sides include the famous signature Maple Block buttermilk biscuits with whipped honey butter, cornbread sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy and roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon. Order here for pickup on Thursday, Nov. 23.

The new spritz in LA (Courtesy Amante 1530)

New to Los Angeles, the Amante 1530 spritz is a colorful and festive addition to your holiday bar. Produced in Rome using local ingredients, the orange aperitivo features aromas of candied orange, oolong tea, ginger, honeysuckle and baked apples, with less sugar and a more subtle bitter finish than other aperitivos on the market.

And if you’re cooking at home, the National Turkey Federation has shared some helpful tips for Food Safety at Thanksgiving and recommends following the four core food safety practices:

Clean: Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. Ensure surfaces are clean both before and after handling raw turkey.
Separate: Prevent cross-contamination by using different cutting boards to separate raw turkey from produce and other items you are preparing.
Cook: Cook your turkey to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F as measured by a food thermometer. Cooking to the proper temperature will kill all bacteria with absolute certainty.
Chill: Chill leftovers immediately and use or freeze leftovers within three to four days.

In addition, never rinse your turkey, as that can spread bacteria that might be present around the kitchen. Here’s your Thanksgiving 101:

Turkey on the Grill and Smoker
In addition to a traditional roasted turkey, if you're looking for variety, consider smoking your turkey.

Looking Forward to Leftovers
Whether it's the most epic leftover sandwich the world has ever seen or if you're looking for something a little different, we've got a number of Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.

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