More last-minute Thanksgiving options: Fraiche, Vermont, Agura, Oaks Gourmet, Kiss My Bundt

Last-minute bakery (for candied yams too): Kiss My Bundt will be open Thanksgiving Day so you can pick up side dishes such as candied yams, sweet potato souffle, sweet or savory cornbread and strawberry butter, and Big Ol' Bundts and mini and baby bundts for desserts. For pickup on Thanksgiving, the order deadline for side dishes and Big Ol' Bundts is Wednesday at 1 p.m. (Delivery also available). 8104 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 655-0559; www.kissmybundt.net.

Thanksgiving at Fraiche: Fraiche will be serving family-style Thanksgiving with wood-fired mushroom salad or chestnut soup to start, followed by roasted turkey (or chicken), seared duck breast or flat-iron steak, served with mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac 'n' cheese, creamed spinach, green beans, glazed carrots and cranberry sauce. Pumpkin or apple pie for dessert. $35 per person. Noon to 8 p.m. 312 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 451-7482; www.fraicherestaurantla.com. (The Culver City location is closed Thanksgiving.)

Thanksgiving at Vermont: Order Thanksgiving a la carta at Vermont; choose from starters such as butternut squash soup, crab cakes or apple endive salad and mains such as organic roasted turkey, filet mignon, halibut or goat cheese and truffle ravioli. Pumpkin pie and apple tart are on the dessert menu. 1714 N. Vermont, Los Angeles; (323) 661-6163; www.vermontrestaurantonline.com.

It's a Turkey Plate: The Oaks Gourmet is offering a Thanksgiving Turkey Plate for $19, for take-out or dine-in: roasted turkey with foie gras gravy; sage and chestnut dressing; roasted brown butter yams; grilled Brussels sprouts with pancetta and shallots; truffle mashed potatoes; and a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Wine pairings and a beer selection available. Pre-order or same-day service. 1915 N. Bronson Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 871-8894; www.theoaksgourmet.com.

Turkey teriyaki rolls!?! Agura is offering a "Japanese-inspired" Thanksgiving feast. For $12, you can get roasted turkey breast with grilled vegetables and ginger-flavored Madeira wine sauce. The restaurant also has created a special teriyaki turkey roll (only in L.A. ... ) for $8. 514 N. La Cienega Blvd., Hollywood; (310) 289-1940; www.aguradining.com.

-- Betty Hallock

For a complete list of Thanksgiving to-go and dine-in options, click here.

Photo: Kiss My Bundt

Small Bites: Street's new seasonal menu, Kitchen 24's new cupcakes, Agura's new happy hour

Word on the Street: This Friday, Susan Feniger's Street officially debuts its new seasonal dinner menu, featuring: Argentinian/Italian ricotta dumplings simmered in brown butter and lemon with celery root puree; black-eyed pea fritters; lamb kafta meatballs; Moscow-style eggplant; toasted amaranth, chicken and spoon bread dumplings; beef tenderloin schnitzel; honey-glazed Peking quail; barbecued Hawaiian pork wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked over a marinade of sugar cane, pineapple and soy; and more. The new lunch menu, which debuts on Saturday, also has several additions: mini Kobe beef chili dogs; crispy lamb taquitos; Vietnamese pulled pork sandwiches; Andouille sausage and shrimp gumbo; Moroccan spiced winter squash with roasted chestnuts; Burmese lettuce wraps with lentils, toasted coconut, peanuts, fried onions and sesame ginger dressing; Hawaiian ono sashimi in spicy sesame mayo; and more. 742 N. Highland Ave., L.A. (323) 203-0500, www.eatatstreet.com.

Cocktails and cupcakes: Kitchen 24's pastry chef, Daisy Roman, recently launched a featured daily cupcake at the 24-hour Cahuenga corridor diner. Flavors include: chocolate (Monday), carrot (Tuesday), vanilla (Wednesday), pumpkin (Thursday), winter mint chocolate (Friday), buttered pecan (Saturday) and red velvet (Sunday). Kitchen 24 also debuted four seasonal cocktails, including the Sweet-Tartini with muddled cranberries, Tanqueray, elderflower liqueur, cranberry juice and lime juice; and the Hot Spiced Cider with unfiltered apple juice, Jim Beam, orange liqueur and a secret spice syrup. 1608 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A. (323) 465-2424, www.kitchen24.info.

C'mon, get happy: Sushi and Japanese fusion restaurant Agura, the latest addition to La Cienega's restaurant row, recently launched a happy hour that features 50% off drinks and $3 to $5 small plates of salmon nachos, fried popcorn shrimp, spicy tuna and yellowtail rolls, shrimp-wrapped spring rolls, unagi avocado rolls, takoyaki and more. (10 p.m. to midnight Monday to Saturday and 6 p.m. to midnight Sunday). 514 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood. (310) 289-1940, www.aguradining.com.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: The interior of Kitchen 24 in Hollywood. Credit: From Kitchen 24.

Beer bars are blooming in Los Angeles: Stout opens in Hollywood, Surly Goat to open in West Hollywood

You can find plenty of places in Los Angeles to drink an apple cosmotini or an organic artisanal rosemary-and-mint mojito, but for craft beer Los Angeles can be a humbling city. Not long ago, beer aficionados had few options for finding quality suds in L.A. These days...

A handful of new beer bars, such as recently opened Stout in Hollywood and soon-to-open the Surly Goat in West Hollywood are making the city more amenable to suds sippers. And after 18 painful months of red tape and construction (mostly red tape), the Eagle Rock Brewery just last week began brewing, making it the only dedicated commercial brewery operating within Los Angeles city limits. Co-founder Jeremy Raub hopes to release the brewery's first three beers by the end of the year.

Read the full story here.

--Elina Shatkin

Photo: 30 taps prominently line the copper bar at Stout, a new beer bar in Hollywood. Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times.

More Thanksgiving options: Joe's, Simon L.A., Henry's Hat, Gus's BBQ, Josie and Larcmont Larder

Joe's Restaurant is offering a four-course Thanksgiving menu with several choices for each course, including sunchoke soup with smoked baby artichokes and hazelnuts; crispy sweetbreads with fall vegetables; Heritage Farms turkey breast and leg confit; Eastern monkfish and gulf shrimp with butter clam parsley broth; and pumpkin pie with pepita brittle and parsnip vanilla ice cream. $52 per person, $22 for children. 1023 Abbott Kinney Blvd., Venice; (310) 399-5811, www.joesrestaurant.com.

Henry's Hat opens Thanksgiving Day at 9 a.m., serving brunch all day long (including 2-for-1 mojitos and Bloody Marys, and bottomless mimosas and sangria). A Southern Thanksgiving buffet dinner starts at 2 p.m.: spinach salad; deep-fried turkey breast; brown butter and honey glazed ham; mashed potatoes; stuffing; roasted Brussels sprouts; coconut cream pie and pumpkin pie. $20 per person; children under 8 eat free. 3413 Cahuenga Blvd., Studio City; (323) 512-2500; www.henrys-hat.com.

Simon L.A. at the Sofitel Hotel is serving Thanksgiving, featuring free-range, organic turkey and trimmings such as sweet potatoes with caramelized walnuts, cornbread and sage stuffing, and buttermilk mashed potatoes. Kerry Simon's signature junk food platter: pumpkin cupcakes, orange coconut snowballs, pecan-date cookies, candy corn Rice Krispies treats, cranberry-orange sorbet, and pumpkin milkshake. Or you can have pumpkin pie. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., $46 per person, $21 for children under 12. Sofitel L.A., 8555 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 358-3979; www.simonlarestaurant.com.

Sampler Platter: Top 100 Wines of 2009, best late-night diner, best gay bar, Soda Pop's sandwich shop opens this week, tofurky gravy soda

The world's grossest soda and manicured nails made to look like bacon are in today's food news roundup.

• Main Street merchants want a crack at the Santa Monica Farmers Market. Santa Monica Daily Press

• Soda Pop's sandwich shop to open this Wednesday on La Cienega at Beverly. La Brea Dining Japanese restaurant to open at Crescent Heights and West 3rd Street. Blackburn and Sweetzer

• While the rest of the world tries to reduce its plastic use, Aussie winemaker Peter Yealands switches to plastic wine bottles. Stuff

• Playboy names Original Pantry Cafe as a Top 10 Late-Night Diner

• TripOut names the Abbey as Best Gay Bar in the World. Brand X

• Nov. 23 is the New Yorker's food issue with John Colapinto on the secrets of the Michelin guide, Calvin Trillin on poutine, Adam Gopnik on cookbooks, Mimi Sheraton on spit cakes; Evan Osnos on Beijing's love of wine, Raffi Khatchadourian on the Givaudan flavor factory and more.

• Jones makes tofurkey and gravy soda (read: carbonated vomit). Chicago Sun Times

• Wine Spectator will announce its Top 100 Wines of 2009 on Wednesday. Members get a sneak peek today.

• Prospectors set to drill for Shackleton's booze in Antarctica. Metro

• Meat manicure: bacon nail tips. Jezebel

• All About Beer celebrates 30th anniversary edition: "Revolution!" versus "What Revolution?"

• Elizabeth Hurley's diet tips: vodka and one meal a day. Daily Mail

• Yes, people do win McDonald's Monopoly game. (Daily Finance) In other news, McDonald's will open 1,000 new restaurants in 2010. CNNMoney.com

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Stan Augustyn handles oils at Givaudan-Roure Corp. Credit: Joe Tabacca / For The Times

Small Bites: Chocolate dim sum at the Peninsula; choucroute garnie at Bistro LQ; bartenders from New Orleans' Cure at the Edison's Radio Room

Dim sum for dessert:The Peninsula Beverly Hills puts a spin on a tribute to its Hong Kong roots with chocolate dim sum -- yes, chocolate. The dessert dumplings, created by executive chef James Overbaugh and executive pastry chef Miguel Torres, are being offered in the hotel's Club Bar and the Living Room (where resident pianist Antonio Castillo de la Gala performs, 7:30 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays to Thursdays and from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays). The warm, crisp, sweet dumplings are filled with either dark or white chocolate and citrus cream cheese. They're dusted with powdered sugar and served with three dipping sauces -- passion fruit, orange-raspberry and ginger-caramel -- and green tea ice cream. 9882 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 975-2736, www.peninsula.com.

Sausages-n-sauerkraut: Nothing says "Alsace!" like a platter of choucroute garnie. Bistro LQ chef-owner Laurent Quenioux will be serving the traditional French-German dish on Nov. 24 and 25. His includes sauerkraut poached in Riesling, jambonneau (cured pork knuckle), Morteau sausage, apple wood smoked bacon, pork shoulder, ham hocks, boudin blanc, Strasbourg sausage (wieners), blood sausage and steamed potatoes. The three-course menu also includes herring with quail egg as a first course and dessert and mignardises. $40 per person. 8009 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 951-1088, www.bistrolq.com.

The last Radio Room of 2009: Tonight's Radio Room at the Edison downtown features guest bartenders from New Orleans' Cure, which owner Neal Bodenheimer opened this year, hiring a crack team of bartenders, including Richard Gomez, Kirk Estopinal and Danny Valdez. Gomez, Estopinal and Valdez will be "behind the stick" tonight at the Radio Room, the last one for this year, along with Plymouth gin brand ambassador Simon Ford (expect plenty of gin cocktails). Tickets for the 8 p.m. event are $10; proceeds will benefit the Los Angeles chapter of the U.S. Bartenders Guild, the Sporting Life and the Museum of the American Cocktail. 108 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles, (213) 613-0000, www.edisondowntown.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: chocolate dim sum. Credit: Peninsula Beverly Hills.

Small Bites: 'Seafood for the Future' at Providence; Sona's 7th anniversary menu; Palmina wine dinner at Craft

For the love of seafood: Providence is partnering with the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach to host a "Seafood for the Future Dinner" on Nov. 18. The aquarium's Seafood for the Future program encourages people to make environmentally responsible choices when buying and preparing seafood. Dinner will feature six courses from Providence chef-owner Michael Cimarusti. On the menu: kona kampachi tartare, Alaskan king crab, a niçoise salad with grilled sardines, wild king salmon, wild local swordfish, and dessert. The cost is $115 per person, $160 with wine pairings. Seafood for the Future program manager Andrew Gruel and marine biologist Dave Anderson will be discussing the program with guests, and each guest will receive one complimentary pass to the aquarium. 5955 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, (323) 460-4170.

Happy seventh birthday: Chef David Myers is celebrating Sona's seventh anniversary with a seven-course tasting menu that features guests'  favorite dishes throughout the years. On Tuesday through Thursday evenings through November, the following menu will be available for $77: hamachi with edamame puree, spicy grapefruit, preserved turmeric; Tahitian squash soup with chai foam, anago, pearl tapioca; Maine lobster risotto with kaffir lime leaf; roasted duck with celery root-shiso salad; red wine-braised short rib; baba with quince, pear, grains of paradise sabayon; and chocolate beignets. 401 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 659-7708.

Wine with everything: Craft chef de cuisine Anthony Zappola and pastry chef Shannon Swindle are planning a California-meets-Italy five-course dinner to pair with wines from Palmina winery on Nov. 11. Winemaker Chrystal Clifton will attend to talk with guests and answer any questions. It's $125 per person including wine pairings. Here's the menu: hors d'oeuvres; fluke crudo with citrus and wild fennel; braised Maine lobster with smoked bacon and porcini; roasted California squab with leg ravioli; venison saddle; and almond praline panna cotta with roasted Warren pear. A few wine examples: 2008 Honea Vineyard Tocai Friulano Santa Ynez Valley, 2007 Barbera Santa Barbara County and the 2006 Undici. 10100 Constellation Blvd., Century City, call Tobie Cancino at (424) 204-7485 for reservations or e-mail tcancino@craftlosangeles.com. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Aquarium of the Pacific

Jones Hollywood, 'a cross between the Rainbow and Dan Tana's,' celebrates 15 years

Jones Hollywood, the bar at Santa Monica Boulevard and Formosa Street where you've probably spent at least a few (or maybe hundreds of) blurry nights, celebrates its 15th anniversary today. 

From noon to 2 a.m., Jack Daniels, Herradura and Finlandia cocktails are $5; select beers and wines by the glass are $2 and $4, respectively; and 15 menu items such as pepperoni pizza and spaghetti and meatballs are $5. 

Jones opened when owner Sean MacPherson was still operating the erstwhile Olive and "was kind of meant to be a cross between the Rainbow and Dan Tana's," he says. "Kind of a rock 'n' roll pizza joint, sort of an homage to 'real Hollywood,' not the movie star Hollywood but people living in Hollywood and living that rock 'n' roll life."

There are the black-and-white photos from the '70s and '80s collected by MacPherson (such as Janis Joplin drinking JD), the not-a-bad-seat-in-the-house booths, the big sound system, the quasi-Italian food (the current menu was created by John DeLucie of the Waverly Inn). 

The key to its long-lived success? "It's a comfortable place, a fun place, a lively place," says MacPherson, who also is behind Small's, Swingers, Good Luck Bar, Bar Marmont, El Carmen, Bar Lubitsch and the Roger Room. (An aside: MacPherson now has plans to take over Orso restaurant on 3rd Street. "The running name is Ortho, in homage to nearby Cedars-Sinai, but it probably won't be that," he says. "I hope it will have exceedingly good food and be somewhere I'd like to eat most nights when I'm in L.A. I don't have that right now.")    

Jones "very much caters to the community, is really a part of Hollywood [in a larger sense because it's actually in the city of West Hollywood] ... It was designed to last. Fundamentally, it's the same place it was when it opened." 

Jones Hollywood, 7205 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 850-1726.

-- Betty Hallock

Photo: Jones Hollywood

Classes start at Mozza 2 Go's Scuola di Pizza

Mozza co-owner Nancy Silverton and executive chef Matt Molina will start teaching cooking classes this week at Mozza 2 Go's Scuola di Pizza. The inaugural cooking class, "Thanksgiving in Panicale," will be held Thursday, with another session scheduled for next Thursday. Classes are limited to 12 people.

Students will prepare an Umbrian-American Thanksgiving dinner: panzanella with dried cranberries and bitter greens; tacchino alla porchetta; Brussels sprouts with prosciutto breadcrumbs; cipolline with thyme and sherry vinegar; and pumpkin and date crostata. Classes are 7 to 10 p.m. and cost $150 per person. Call Mozza 2 Go at (323) 297-1130 to reserve your spot.

--Betty Hallock

 Photo: Nancy Silverton at Mozza 2 Go. Credit: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Small Bites: Lemonade opens at MOCA, Surly Goat to open in West Hollywood, Cafe con Leche to open in East L.A.

Lemonade at MOCA: Expanding local mini-chain Lemonade opened its latest location a week and a half ago as the new eatery at MOCA in downtown L.A. This "new school cafeteria" offers an assortment of freshly prepared soups, salads, sandwiches, veggies and pasta as well as house-made lemonade and desserts that include $1 mini-cupcakes. 250 S. Grand Ave., L.A. (213) 628-0200, www.lemonadela.com.

Surly Goat: Ryan Sweeney and Brandon Bradford of Verdugo bar have partnered with Adolfo Suaya of BoHo, Osaka Hollywood and Gaucho Grill to open the Surly Goat in West Hollywood. Located on Santa Monica Blvd near Baby Blues BBQ, the beer-focused bar is slated to open by late December.

Cafe con Leche: Brett Schoenhals, the owner of Silver Lake's Coffee Table, plans to open Cafe con Leche inside Self Help Graphics & Art in East Los Angeles. He hopes to open by early next year with a light menu of soups, salads and sandwiches. 3802 Cesar E. Chavez Ave. (323) 881-6444, www.selfhelpgraphics.com. 

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Adolfo Suaya photographed in the Lodge in January 2006. Credit: Los Angeles Times