Enjoy the feast without all the fuss

Thanksgiving is just eight days away. If you haven’t made plans yet, why not make reservations?

Among the many area restaurants offering Thanksgiving Day service are some notable spots that offer satisfyingly traditional menus with special touches of their own. Here’s a sampling of the choices. Prices are for food only.

The hunting-lodge ambience at Saddle Peak Lodge is a festive backdrop for a holiday meal. In addition to roast turkey, main course options include a venison chop with butternut squash risotto, roasted prime rib with potato gratin, and New Zealand salmon with sweet shrimp hash. To start, perhaps a bowl of butternut squash soup with torn garlic croutons or a Maryland crab cake with frisee salad. Four courses for $64 a person; two courses, $28 for children younger than 12.

Saddle Peak Lodge, 419 Cold Canyon Road, Calabasas, (818) 222-3888.

At the newly redesigned Jar, diners order starters individually, but the main event -- roast turkey with homemade cranberry relish and cornbread and turkey sausage stuffing -- is served family style with traditional sides such as sweet potatoes au gratin and long-cooked green beans. $55 for adults, $35 for children 12 and younger.

Jar, 8225 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 655-6566.

La Cachette is serving a four-course dinner that begins with pumpkin, orange and apple soup and continues with a trio of egg, beet and celery root salads. The organic roast turkey is stuffed with chestnuts and spinach; for dessert, there’s pumpkin tart and pecan pie. $52 for adults, $25 for children 12 and younger.

La Cachette, 10506 Santa Monica Blvd., Century City, (310) 470-4992.

At La Boheme, chef Christine Banta has created a three-course menu with several choices. To begin, choose from roasted chestnut soup, oysters on the half shell, or endive salad with caramelized pears, toasted walnuts and Maytag blue cheese. The maple-glazed turkey comes with sausage and apricot cornbread stuffing. $36 for adults, $20 for children.

La Boheme, 8400 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-2360.

Thanksgiving diners at Max start with butternut squash soup and then one each of several choices for the following three courses. Fried oysters with remoulade sauce and a turkey roulade with apple, raisin and walnut stuffing are among the options. $36 for adults, $18 for children younger than 12.

Max, 13355 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 784-2915.

First course choices at O-Bar include roasted pumpkin soup with creme fraiche, a watercress salad with a raclette grilled cheese sandwich, and oysters Mayflower, a variation on the classic oysters Rockefeller. Turkey (one of three main course selections) is served two ways: sliced breast, and a leg stuffed with sun-dried tomato. For dessert, there’s pumpkin cheesecake with a pecan-spice crust. $45 per person.

O-Bar, 8279 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 822-3300.

Chef Josiah Citrin of Melisse offers his mom’s traditional Thanksgiving sides -- potato puree, praline pecan yams and creamed spinach -- with entrees that include roast turkey with chanterelles and apples and brioche stuffing. Starters include pumpkin soup, Maine lobster ravioli and seared foie gras with caramelized pear. $68 for adults, $26 for children.

Melisse, 1104 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, (310) 395-0881.

And for those who haven’t tried the “Thanksgiving Dinner Every Day” option ($10.75) on the regular menu at Canter’s Delicatessen, next Thursday’s the day to order a more lavish turkey dinner spread, which includes a choice of appetizer, a choice of potato and a slice of pumpkin pie. $11.95 per person; reservations required for large groups only.

Canter’s, 419 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 651-2030.

Finally, many luxury hotel restaurants serve Thanksgiving dinner, among them Breeze at the Century Plaza, the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena, the Belvedere at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, Diaghilev at the Wyndham Bel-Age on Sunset Strip, One Pico at Shutters in Santa Monica, Aqua at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point and Studio at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach.

-- Leslee Komaiko