Turkey and trimmings, by the slice

PIE is a must around Thanksgiving. But pizza pie?

It is at Taste, the eclectic eatery on Melrose Avenue. Here, all the holiday essentials -- turkey, gravy, stuffing and cranberries -- have converged on a pizzetta and presto! It’s Thanksgiving before it’s really Thanksgiving.

The new pizza landed at the 5-month-old restaurant Monday, flaunting its turkey-and-trimmings appeal at lunch and dinner to anyone who just can’t wait for the big day -- like Taste co-owner John Halter.

“I’m a big Thanksgiving freak,” he says. “It’s my favorite meal. I could eat Thanksgiving dinner almost every day.”

Halter came up with the idea a few years ago at two pizzerias he operates on Kauai, and he’s betting Thanksgiving turkey pizza will fly here too. “You put everything else on pizzas these days, so why can’t you put stuffing, gravy and turkey?” he says.

The $9 oval pizzetta, good for one serving (or for two to share as an appetizer), is painted with a rich turkey gravy made with a touch of Marsala wine. On that goes a layer of focaccia stuffing made with dried cranberries and pine nuts. Then, shredded turkey, and finally the barest scattering of mozzarella to hold it all together.

Mozzarella? That wasn’t on the menu at Plymouth. But then again, neither was pizza.

On Thanksgiving Day, Taste will be closed, so you’ll just have to have a real holiday dinner.

Not that you need to cook it yourself. Plenty of restaurants will be dishing up turkey and all the rest. But make your reservations soon.

Literati II, Jar, Angeli Caffe, Doug Arango’s, La Cachette, Maple Drive, Max, O-Bar, Joe’s, Cheebo, La Boheme, La Terza and all the Mimi’s Cafes will be serving Thanksgiving menus.

And several hotel restaurants are planning lavish buffets: Temet Grill at Temecula Creek Inn, Smeraldi’s at the Millennium Biltmore and Griff’s at the Beverly Hilton. At other hotel dining rooms, multicourse menus give diners the option of skipping the big bird for other main courses such as salmon or beef short ribs. These include the Belvedere at the Peninsula, Whist at the Viceroy, the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Pasadena and Oceanfront at Hotel Casa del Mar.

Should you find yourself hankering for leftovers the next day, Taste’s Thanksgiving pizza will be back for one more day. You can put the carving knife away too -- the pizza comes already sliced.

-- Leslee Komaiko

Small bites

* Rocca in Santa Monica is slated to close Dec. 11, says chef-partner Don Dickman. “Long story short, the lead investor wanted to get out,” he says. And what’s next for Dickman? Only one thing’s for sure: “Stylistically, I feel what we’ve accomplished at Rocca, the rustic country style, is what I will continue to do. It could be Italian, could be a little broader than that.” Until the 2-year-old restaurant closes, it will continue its Tuesday night celebration of the pig and Sunday Neapolitan ragu night.

Rocca, 1432 4th St., Santa Monica, (310) 395-6765.

* Chloe in Playa del Rey, Christian Shaffer’s popular 3-year-old New American bistro, is closing at the end of the year. Shaffer, who is also chef-owner of Avenue in Manhattan Beach, blames lease-related problems. The restaurant will serve its last meal New Year’s Eve.

Chloe, 333 Culver Blvd., Playa del Rey; (310) 305-4505.

* Lunaria, the Century City Mediterranean restaurant and jazz venue, has been sold. The new owner, Bobby Burton, an operating partner of Porterhouse Bistro (a Beverly Hills steak place), plans to continue operating the restaurant’s banquet space for private parties through the holidays. But the restaurant is otherwise closed. The plan is to renovate the place in January, then reopen in February as Aphrodisiac.