When You Can’t Get Enough of the Turkey

Just when you thought it was over. . . .

No, not leftovers, it’s the Turkey Basket, a new downtown restaurant devoted to the great wattled bird: all turkey, all the time.

“Gosh,” said the man in the Brooks Brothers suit, “I hope you like turkey.”

“Well,” said his Anne Klein II girlfriend, scanning the menu--turkey dogs, turkey burgers, turkey tacos (both hard-shell and soft), teriyaki turkey bowl, etc.--”we could go to Carl’s Jr.” Maybe she didn’t notice the turkey pasta primavera or the turkey Parmesan or the Gobb salad (like a Cobb, but with . . . turkey).

At the Turkey Basket, every day is Thanksgiving day and there’s always enough turkey to go around. Ever eat a salad with grilled turkey, goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes?

Cheery floral tablecloths, a fireplace (fake) topped with forever-autumn-colored dried flowers, and one of the most spectacular views of the downtown skyline might be the Turkey Basket’s way of making you forget that you’ve ordered your bird at a fast-food counter.

Set a number on your table, Sizzler-style, and in a few minutes a waiter appears with, say, a carved turkey platter (it comes with stuffing, cranberry compote, corn bread, baked yams, coleslaw), Cajun turkey rice, a turkey piccata plate. . . . “And here’s your cholesterol-free garlic bread,” he says. The waiters at the Turkey Basket care about your health.

The Turkey Basket, third level, 444 S. Flower St., Los Angeles; (213) 892-9500. Entrees $1.99-$6.99.