Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it’s time to talk turkey! Don’t feel like cooking? Your favorite restaurants near Circa are offering fabulous Thanksgiving feasts, from traditional spreads to elegant chef-driven menus, and dinners to go. If you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner at home, we’ve gathered some helpful tips on how to prepare your turkey, where to buy your pie, how to prepare a swoon-worthy cheese platter, and even some plant-based recipes. You’ll also find many opportunities to give back this Thanksgiving, such as Turkey Trot LA, which benefits The Midnight Mission; St. Vincent Meals on Wheels; and GivingTuesday, which is coming up on December 3.
Mastro’s Ocean Club DTLA 1200 S Figueroa St. Los Angeles, CA 90015
For Circa residents, there’s no place like home. Mastro’s elegant Downtown L.A. location on the ground floor of our of building will elevate your Thanksgiving tradition with an unforgettable dining experience. Gather around your table and enjoy prime steaks, fresh seafood, decadent desserts, and fine wines carefully selected by Mastro’s sommeliers. Their award-winning wines will enhance every dish on your Thanksgiving table, turning each bite into a celebration of flavor.
Rossoblu 1124 San Julian St. Los Angeles 90015
Named a Michelin Bib Gourmand, Chef Steve Samson’s Rossoblu is offering a Thanksgiving at Home package: whole Mary’s organic turkey (12-14 lb); chestnut, porcini & sage stuffing; cranberry & blood orange sauce, candied yams, parmesan mashed potatoes, marsala gravy, roasted Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin bread pudding with dulce de leche. Pricing is $350 per package (serves 4-6). A la carte add-ons include additional sides, Negroni and Casanova cocktails and selected wines. The turkey is uncooked with roasting instructions; reheating instructions are included for the refrigerated sides. Place your order at Tock for pick-up on Wednesday, November 26 between 3pm – 6pm.
San Laurel at Conrad Los Angeles 100 S Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Michelin-starred chef and humanitarian José Andrés builds a culinary bridge between the Iberian Peninsula and SoCal at San Laurel, the signature restaurant of the Conrad Los Angeles. Served family-style, Thanksgiving Day at San Laurel starts with Coca Idiazábal (olive oil cracker, membrillo, smoked Idiazábal cheese), Hiramasa Crudo (buttermilk leche de tigre, basil cucumber caviar, pickled blueberries, Fresno chili, herb oil, lime). Main course selections include Mary’s Farm Turkey (mushroom kale stuffing, sweet potato pavé, passion fruit, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy), Lubina (brown butter tomato & tamarind, Japanese turnips) and the veg-friendly Grilled Artichoke. Dessert features a reimagined “Pumpkin Pie” and assorted mignardises.
Manuela 907 E 3rd St. Los Angeles, CA 90013
Located at the Hauser & Wirth art complex in the Downtown LA Arts District, Manuela is serving a prix fixe Family Style Thanksgiving Feast. First course is a Ham Hock & Potato Soup per person, with Cream Biscuits and Baby Market Lettuces served family style. For mains, choose from Smoked Turkey Breast & Dark Meat Confit, Col. Newsom’s Preacher Ham, Liberty Farms Duck Breast, Diver Scallops, or Oyster & Trumpet Mushroom Popover. Family-style sides include Mashed Yukon Potatoes & Gravy, Calvados Cranberry Relish, Chicken Sausage Stuffing, Sweet Potato & Delicata Squash, and Braised Green Beans. Dessert options include Flourless Chocolate Torte, Apple Gateau, Pumpkin Cheesecake and Pecan Pie.
71 Above 633 W 5th St. Los Angeles 90071
Featuring elevated modern American cuisine by Executive Chef Javier Lopez, 71Above is the highest restaurant west of the Mississippi and boasts spectacular ocean views from Malibu to Laguna Hills, along with the Los Angeles basin and the surrounding mountain ranges. Lopez is serving a three-course Thanksgiving Dinner that starts with Farm Salad, Japanese Sea Bream Crudo, Grilled Octopus, Handkerchief Pasta or Lemon Chitarra. The entree is Roasted Mary’s Turkey Breast with Wild Rice & Mushroom Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce and Brown Butter-Thyme Turkey Jus. Sides for the table include Black Truffle Mac ‘n Cheese, Japanese Sweet Potato and Pomme Purée. For dessert, choose from Strawberries & Cream, Blueberry Pavlova, Chocolate Semifreddo, and Cheese Plate.
Majordomo 1725 Naud St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Chef David Chang’s Majordomo is offering two Thanksgiving To-Go options: Cold (pick-up on Wednesday, November 26) or Hot Pick-Up on Thanksgiving Day. Choose from Smoked Bo Ssäm Pork Shoulder and Whole Smoked Bo Ssäm Kit (Cold). Reheating instructions are included for both kits. For Hot Pick-Up, choose between Smoked Bo Ssäm Pork Shoulder, Smoked Prime Rib, or Whole Roasted Duck Ssäm. Sides include rilled Bok Choy, Crispy Potatoes, Roasted Winter Squash, a dozen Bing Buns, and Honey Pie. Place your order on Open Table.
Fat & Flour 317 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Located at Grand Central Market, Fat & Flour is a tiny pie shop from Los Angeles chef and author Nicole Rucker. Rucker is known internationally for her rustic desserts and has won several awards for her homespun pies, including the 2012 National Pie Championship, KCRW Good Food Pie contest, and a Star Chef award for baking. Her first cookbook, Dappled: Baking Recipes for Fruit Lovers, was recently nominated for a James Beard Award for baking.
How to Make the Perfect Cheese Board
There’s nothing quite like a festive cheese board to set the mood for your holiday dinner! Sunset magazine has some delicious ideas from Sophie Speer, “gathering board” expert and owner of Ripen Co. in Oakland. Some of her tips for getting it right include narrowing cheese selections down to a few favorites, choosing local charcuteries that double as conversation starters, and adding colorful fruits and flowers for an elegant and appetizing presentation.
DTLA Cheese Superette 363 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013
DTLA Cheese Superette is a full-service cut-to-order cheese counter, market, and eatery. Their cheese case, curated by Lydia Clarke, showcases the best that cheesemakers across Europe and the United States have to offer, from centuries-old classics, to brand new innovations. DTLA Cheese offers an array of platters, from Mini to Mega Boards, to accommodate the size of your guest list. Boards can be made either all cheese, or cheese + charcuterie, and will include pickled goodies such as olives, cornichons, and piparra peppers, plus some whole grain mustard and sweet accoutrements.
Ready to talk turkey? Ask Alexa. With the Butterball Skill for Amazon Alexa, Butterball Turkey Talk-Line experts will help you host like a boss with turkey preparation how-tos, tips, and recipe inspiration. Butterball Turkey Talk-Line experts are poultry pros that have been giving sage advice for years, and they’re here to help you put a little swagger in your stuffing! If you own an Echo Show, the Butterball skill will also cue up short how-to videos that make it easy to choose, thaw, roast, stuff and carve a turkey. They’ll even show you where to place a meat thermometer, and give you a pep talk to boot!
Plant-based recipes for Thanksgiving
For most of us, Thanksgiving dinner is not complete without a turkey on the table. But if you trend toward vegetarianism, veganism or flexitarianism, luckily there are amazing plant-based dishes that you can prepare for a mouth-watering Thanksgiving feast, making it easier than ever to skip the turkey. Inhabitat, an online guide to green design ideas and innovations, offers some fresh ideas for main dishes that will replace the turkey on your table, plus some side dish and dessert ideas that will keep the food at your celebration completely plant-based.
Nov 27 Trot before you feast, and help fundraise for The Midnight Mission. The 13th Annual Turkey Trot Los Angeles offers a 5k, 10k, Widdle Wobble, and One Mile Dog Jog on Thanksgiving morning with a post event festival located in Grand Park. See Los Angeles like you’ve never seen it before. Imagine no morning traffic while you run past the world-famous Disney Concert Hall, Broad Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, and down historic Spring Street, one of the oldest streets in the city.
St. Vincent Meals on Wheels prepares and delivers nutritious meals to homebound seniors and other vulnerable residents across Los Angeles, regardless of age, illness, disability, race, religion or ability to pay. Every meal meets or exceeds all federal and local nutritional standards, and is high in fiber and low in sugar. Clients receive special meals tailored to their medical protocols including low sodium, renal for kidney patients, and low vitamin K for heart patients. They also cater to clients’ personal preferences, including vegetarian meals.
Dec 3 GivingTuesday is a global movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. Whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts, and everyone has something to contribute toward building a better world.
Photo credits:
Photo #1: Baltaire
Photo #2: Mastro’s Ocean Club DTLA
Photo #3: Rossoblu
Photo #4: San Laurel at Conrad Los Angeles
Photo #5: Manuela
Photo #6: 71 Above
Photo #7: Majordomo
Photo #8: Fat & Flour
Photo #9: Sunset Magazine
Photo #10: DTLA Cheese Superette
Photo #11: Butterball
Photo #12: Inhabitat
Photo #13: Turkey Trot LA
Photo #14: St. Vincent Meals on Wheels
Photo #15: GivingTuesday
