A Casual Rockenwagner; Thanksgiving Dining

Before we run down the Thanksgiving dining options, here’s a rundown of what’s new.

Rocken On: Hans Rockenwagner, chef at the Santa Monica restaurant that carries his name, will open a casual restaurant with an international flair on Maxella Avenue in Marina del Rey. The idea is a place for great snacking before or after the movies. Of course, a full menu will be available, but the details of that, as well as the name of the place, have yet to be fleshed out. Rockenwagner and partner-fiancee Patti Shin plan an early spring opening.

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Nuovo Coco: Coco Pazzo has a new chef. Yes, another one: Joseph Antonishek, who externed at Granita here in L.A. seven years ago, then worked at Mesa Grill and Jean-Georges in New York. Since Antonishek will take the cuisine into a more Mediterranean realm at Coco Pazzo, the formerly Italian-only wine list will soon include wines from Australia, France, South Africa, Spain and the U.S. There’s also a new three-course prix-fixe lunch menu for $19.98 and a three-course early-dining menu for $29.98 (5:30 to 7 nightly).

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R.I.P.: Gypsy Grill on Ventura Boulevard in Encino.

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R.I.X.: Rix introduces a series of six-course tasting menus that will be served Mondays through Wednesdays in the downstairs dining room. General manager Daniel Flores is going for all-out elegance this time, with fewer tables, more attentive service and brand-new Mikasa china and Spiegelau crystal. The prix-fixe dinners begin with a glass of Champagne. For next week, there’s a game menu ($80). Then comes a classic menu ($70), a Maine by sea menu from Dec. 7 through 9 ($60), mushrooms and truffles ($65) from Dec. 14 through 16 and winter solstice ($55) from Dec. 21 through 23.

* Rix, 1413 5th St., Santa Monica; (310) 656-9688.

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Turkey Day: And now for all those Thanksgiving dinners you’ve been waiting to hear about. But first, a tug at your heart and purse.

Rescue Mission Alliance chef Tomas Cassia is preparing a traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner for the homeless, to be served in Woodley Park East on Thanksgiving Eve. If you’d like to help defray the cost of the meal or donate nonperishable food items, call the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission at (818) 785-4476.

The main event:

Patina (5955 Melrose Ave., L.A.) has a four-course dinner on Thanksgiving Day, with choices like turkey, veal medallion and John Dory for entrees. The price is $55 per person. Call (323) 467-1108 for reservations.

The highlight of the four-course Thanksgiving menu at Pinot Bistro (12969 Ventura Blvd., Studio City) is suckling pig (other choices include turkey, potato-wrapped salmon and beef sirloin). It’s $32 per person. (818) 990-0500.

As for the rest of chef Joachim Splichal’s stable--Pinot Hollywood (1448 N. Gower St., L.A.; [213] 461-8800), Pinot Restaurant & Martini Bar (897 Granite Drive, Pasadena; [626] 792-1179), Pinot Provence at the Westin South Coast Plaza (686 Anton, Costa Mesa; [714] 444-5900) and Cafe Pinot (700 W. 5th St., L.A.; [213] 239-6500): They’re all serving four-course meals that begin with soup, end with dessert, and stick an appetizer and an entree in the middle for $34 per person. Hours vary at each location, so call the above numbers to find out the details and make reservations.

The Bistro Garden (12950 Ventura Blvd., Studio City) has a four-course meal that opens with corn chowder, moves through your choice of appetizer and entree (honey-baked ham, petit filet mignon, poached salmon), hits you with corn and pumpkin breads, then gives you dessert (chocolate or pumpkin souffle, apple crumble tart, bread pudding or pot au chocolat). It’s $34 per person, served from 3-8 p.m. Call (818) 501-0202 for reservations.

Bistro 201 (3333 Coast Highway, Newport Beach) has a three-course Thanksgiving dinner in its main dining room for $24.95 per person, served from 1 to 7 p.m. The multitudinous entree choices include a vegetarian feast of stuffed pumpkins, two-way duck, swordfish, turkey, ham, prime rib and seafood pasta. Call (949) 631-1551.

Next door to the Bistro Garden at BG to Go (12930 Ventura Blvd., Studio City), you can take out an abbreviated version of the dine-in dinner, but with turkey for the entree, for $24.95 per person. No minimum order. Order by Tuesday and pick it up on Thanksgiving Day between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Call (818) 366-3246 for details.

The food concierge (we’re not kidding--that’s what he’s called) at Urban Epicuria (8315 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood) will help you design your own take-home Thanksgiving meal. You can choose the $125 boxed meal that feeds four to six people; it features a 10-12-pound rotisserie turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, vegetables and pie. Or you can choose rotisserie pheasant for two, with all the above trimmings for $95. Urban Epicuria will also carve either bird for a $15 charge. Call no later than today to reserve your meal at (213) 848-8411, and pick up between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

The Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel (1700 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica) opens all its dining rooms to serve a traditional turkey, ham, prime rib and seafood buffet on stuff-your-face day. The tab is $45 for adults, $15 for children. Call Julie for reservations at (310) 576-3181.

Splash Restaurant in the Crowne Plaza Hotel (350 N. Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach) goes nontraditional with its set four-course meal (no choices). Dig it--the entree is a roasted papaya stuffed with minced turkey. Dinner is $38 a head and will be served from 1 to 7 p.m. (310) 798-5348.

The brand-new Pagani (8800 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood) is open from noon until 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving, serving a three-course meal for $39. Choose roasted turkey, New York steak or potato-crusted salmon for your main course. (310) 858-5801.

At Le Chardonnay (8284 Melrose Ave., L.A.), Maurice Constantin is serving eight-hour braised leg of lamb, sauteed sea bass or turkey as entree choices in his three-course holiday meal. $35 per person. (323) 655-8880.

The Sunset Lounge in the Beverly Hills Hotel is having a Thanksgiving tea from today through Thanksgiving Day. For $26 you get dainty tea sandwiches, scones and pastries (e.g. pumpkin or apple-cranberry tart). To drink: Champagne, Port--and lots of tea, natch. It runs from 2 to 6 p.m. every day. Call the hotel at (310) 276-2251 and ask for the Sunset Lounge to make reservations.

For a take-home dinner to reheat, you might want to give a call to Connolly’s (11510 W. Pico Blvd., L.A.). The ridiculously huge menu has not only turkey, two kinds of stuffing, three vegetable dishes and two potatoes but salad, biscuits, corn bread and three desserts. The feast costs $38 per person; minimum order, 10 people. Place your phone order to (310) 479-2133 by Monday and pick up by noon on Thanksgiving Day.

And don’t forget that Granita (23725 W. Malibu Road, Malibu) is once again preparing all the trimmings your bird needs (stuffing, roasted vegetables, sweet and white potatoes, relishes, breads and muffins) for $16 per person. Pies (ginger pumpkin, apple and pecan) are available for $28 each. Soup and gravy can also be had. Call (310) 456-0488 to order by Monday and pick up between 3 and 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve. Or have it delivered for $25.

Abiento (110 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena) has arranged its to-go menu a la carte. If you need only boneless roasted turkey breast ($5.95 a pound) or roasted duckling ($30; serves two), no problem. Or maybe you just want a quart of soup ($7). You can buy loaves of bread or whole pies. Call (626) 449-4151 to order by 5 p.m. Monday and pick up by 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Eve.

For a lengthier roundup of places to dine in on Thanksgiving (or take out the day before), check out the Restaurants & Cafes page of www.calendarlive.com.

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