Giving Thanks For Great Restaurants

Let Someone Else Do The Cooking This Holiday Season

Pam Bieri Restaurants

The tastes of fall reach their crescendo at Thanksgiving when gatherings large and small celebrate America’s exceptional bounty. Restaurants across the valley pull out the stops for Thanksgiving feasts to rescue you from time in the kitchen. Here are some delicious suggestions:

Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant
Chef Ivan Flowers’ four-course, prix-fixe feast starts with a choice of lobster bisque or Caesar salad. Appetizers include wild mushroom with garlic, cognac, and baby spinach; roasted corn esquite, and roasted spaghetti squash. Flowers offers “my grandmother’s stuffing” in a slow-roasted, free-range turkey breast with cranberry sauce and garlic whipped potatoes. Or choose from aged prime rib with maple glaze, grilled wild Pacific salmon, or vegetarian crepes. Desserts include apple pie with Tahitian vanilla ice cream or pumpkin pie and whipped cream. www.arnoldpalmersrestaurant.com

Copley’s on Palm Canyon
Chef/Owner Andrew Copley creates a globally inspired feast. Start with a caramelized Maui onion soup with roasted garlic and blue cheese; baby arugula and poached pear salad; pan-seared scallops with spicy pumpkin and goat cheese purée with roasted fennel and tomato relish; or Caesar salad with smoked apple bacon, shaved Padano cheese, and pineapple croutons. Entrées include oven-roasted, free-range turkey with caramelized onion, vegetable stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, giblet gravy, and cranberry sauce; horseradish-crusted Scottish salmon; barbecue-glazed pork chop; or grilled prime beef filet, each paired with specially created accompaniments. A dessert sampler of pumpkin cheesecake, apple crumble, and ginger cinnamon ice cream completes the meal. www.copleyspalmsprings.com

Lantana at Hyatt Regency
Indian Wells Resort & Spa Chef Chris Mitchum, Chef de Cuisine Alex Gutierrez, and their team are offering a buffet with such delectable choices as three-squash bisque accented with ginger, coconut milk, and curry and organic greens with sun-dried fruit, pecans, and apple cider vinaigrette. Other creative offerings include chilled poached shrimp and crab legs; Old World sausages, salami, and charcuteries with freshly baked bread; and a selection of handcrafted cheeses with fruit. On the carving station will be an herb-roasted turkey breast with gravy and cranberry relish; tenderloin au jus and horseradish cream; and pork tenderloin medallions with mustard sauce and apricots. Side dishes include whipped potatoes, sweet potatoes with brown sugar molasses glaze, and roasted broccolini. An elaborate display of sweets will feature pies, petit pastries, and truffles. www.indianwellshyatt.com

Lulu California Bistro/Acqua Pazza
The sister restaurants in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage are offering a prix-fixe, three-course feast. Start off with pumpkin soup, corn chowder, wild mushroom soup, red pear salad on Sonoma mixed greens, or Caesar salad. Eight entrée choices range from oven-roasted turkey, honey-baked ham, prime rib, and grilled pork chop to wild salmon, grilled vegetable plate, and seafood linguini. Desserts are equally diverse: pumpkin pie, apple crisp with vanilla ice cream, pecan pie, triple chocolate cake, and crème brûlée. www.lulupalmsprings.com;
www.acquapazzabistro.com

Johannes Restaurant
From cauliflower bisque and roasted wild mushroom soup with tarragon truffle crème fraîche to a trio of smoked salmon, grilled chilled shrimp, and sliced duck breast or organic Brussels sprout salad, the first course offers unusual choices. Owner/Chef Johannes Bacher’s Austrian background inspires a turkey wiener schnitzel entrée. More traditional entrees include free-range turkey breast with maple-glazed carrots; cranberry apple chutney; bread stuffing with smoked chipotle, figs, almonds, fennel, and leek; and crème fraîche mashed potatoes with gravy. Pork tenderloin roulade or grilled grass-fed beef tenderloin are alternate choices. Desserts include pear cranberry strudel with cinnamon vanilla rum sauce, coconut ginger baked sweet potato crème brûlée, or pumpkin cheesecake. www.johannesrestaurants.com

Spa Resort Casino
The Oasis Buffet offers an all-day cornucopia featuring assorted salads, including Asian soba noodle salad and Ambrosia salad. A cold seafood display offers up shrimp and king crab legs. Stations include Pan Pacific (honey duck, Asian seafood, beef Massaman); roasted and carved (ham with citrus glaze, standing rib roast); soups; Thanksgiving favorites (roasted tom turkeys with cornbread stuffing, rotisserie chicken, etc.); Latin (enchiladas, pozole, and more), and desserts (pies, cherries jubilee with crêpes, cranberry orange bread pudding, etc.). www.sparesortcasino.com

The Tropicale and Coral Seas Lounge
A three-course dinner starts with grilled white endive, spiced pear, and pomegranate salad or Parmesan tortellini in chicken consommé. Herb-roasted, free-range turkey is stuffed with fennel and sausage and served with roasted Brussels sprouts and cranberry-pear chutney. Other entrées are pan-roasted, stuffed pork chop with apple-caraway-rye stuffing and sweet potato purée or grilled Scottish king salmon with parsnip, pumpkin, and bacon hash. Desserts include pumpkin bourbon caramel flan on pecan shortbread and apple frangipane tartlet with vanilla bean gelato and cinnamon caramel. www.thetropicale.com