Thanksgiving à la LA

This Thanksgiving start a new tradition. Don’t celebrate the holiday at home. Try something different. While we all crave a homecooked turkey with all the trimmings, there are many new restaurants now catering to those who don’t want to be bothered with a 16-hour bake time—not to mention leftover turkey for a week after.  LA is now home to some unrivaled restaurants that serve Thanksgiving meals.  

Café pinot

Café Pinot is the perfect mix of French and California food and style. Under Executive Chef Viet Pham, it has become a gem surrounded by financial buildings and is near by the music center, making it a popular place for people to grab a bite to eat before a show. Café Pinot is also considered the “Best of” French Cuisine and the most romantic according to LA Downtown News. Stop by this Thanksgiving for their three-course prix-fixe dinner.  Pick from among five appetizers, then choose from three main courses. You could always go for the turkey, but can always break tradition by choosing salmon or hanger steak instead. Dessert is sweet as can be, with pumpkin Crème brûlée and chocolate spiced Crémeux.

Crossroads Kitchen

If you go to Los Angeles and don’t go to a vegan restaurant, have you really been to LA then? Crossroads Kitchen has been open since 2013 by owner and Chef Tal Ronnen. Tal has always been passionate about plant based food, writing “The Conscious Cook” as well as preparing the meals for Oprah Winfrey’s 21-day cleanse. You might be hesitant to go, Crossroads in a place where anybody can eat and enjoy themselves. From 12 pm to 5 pm Thanksgiving Day, Crossroads is hosting a four-course prix-fixe Thanksgiving dinner.  Enjoy butternut squash bisque, autumn chopped salad, holiday spiced chickpea cake, as well as choice of chocolate tart or apple custard cake for dessert. Vegan or not, this menu is sure to make you salivate.