Breakfast downtown on Thanksgiving Day?

[mocro]

We're going to 9 am mass at the Cathedral and would love to have a casual b'fast/brunch downtown following that on Thanksgiving Day. Something w/character preferable to a hotel and not a huge meal as we'll be doing that later in the day. 4 adults, 2 teens, 1 10-year old.

Phillipe's would be perfect but they're closed on Thanksgiving. The Pantry too risky in case there's a long line. Dim Sum might be fun. Anyone been to Chinatown on Thanksgiving? Thanks so much.

[Bob Brooks]

Bottega Louis would also be a nice option.

[monku]

Thanksgiving menu
http://www.bottegalouie.com/menus/BOT...

[mocro]

Thanks for the Bottega Louie idea, but we go for something light and non-Thanksgiving-y for lunch. Our tradition is mass, lunch, put turkey in, go out to movie, home for cocktailing, dinner, jacuzzi, dessert, charades or some similar game, then collapse! I think dim sum will be perfect and I appreciate the suggestions.

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Bottega Louie
700 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90017

[David Kahn]

It would be great if you would report back on the experience of dim sum on T-day! I'm very curious about what that will be like.

[happybaker]

David -

My husband and I have been doing Dim Sum for Thanksgiving for years - and we really enjoy it.

We started at Ocean Seafood (nice) but now have a fav place in Rowland Heights that is toally worth the drive - higher quality and yet cheaper.

It's fun, different, tasty - and you can get enough to have Thanksgiving leftovers : )

[mocro]

Will do - once the turkey stupor has abated.

[mocro]

I promised to get back w/a report on dim sum on Thanksgiving Day in Chinatown.

As recommended on this board (thank you) we went to Ocean Seafood after mass at the Cathedral. We arrived at 10:30 a.m. and our group of 7 (4 adults, 2 teens, 1 child) was promptly seated. The room is large, attractive and was quite full which added to the festive atmosphere.

None of us are dim sum pros, but I've been a half dozen times. I made the mistake of using the restroom before I joined the group at the table and by the time I arrived they were staring at 6 or 7 dishes already on the lazy susan! I find the cart vendors quite aggressive at Ocean Seafood - if you even inquire about a dish it's suddenly on your table unless you rather forcefully say 'no thank you.' But that made it fun and funny as we tried to figure out what to order and spent most of our time saying 'no thank you!'

Again, I'm not a dim sum expert but overall the food was delicious particularly the scallops, steamed pork dumplings and vegetable pot stickers. We're not very knowledgable so if we didn't particularly enjoy something (the red bean paste desserts) it's only because we're not experienced.

This was the perfect place for a quick, fun, light lunch on Thanksgiving. The pacing was decidedly brisk and it was so inexpensive - $68 for six of us - the child didn't partake. Amazing. I'd like to learn more about dim sum so I can order more coherently, but all in all this fit the bill. Thanks for the rec.

[Servorg]

Thanks for reporting back. Dim Sum makes for a fun and delicious breakfast. You might really enjoy going to one of the places that doesn't have carts and ordering exactly what you want off the menu next time.

[happybaker]

Hooray! I am so glad it worked out for you!

It really is a festive, light and tasty way to celebrate!

And you're right - you do have to learn to say "no" quickly : )

[monku]

Everything in Chinatown is business as usual on Thanksgiving day.

[David Kahn]

You might consider the Pacific Dining Car downtown. They have excellent breakfasts, good service, and the setting is reasonably peaceful. It's a bit more expensive than the other options you list, but, in contrast to lunch and dinner, their breakfast menu is not insanely expensive.

Another option is the Nickel Diner, but (a) you're much more likely to wait for a table, and (b) you'd need to confirm that they'll be open.

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Pacific Dining Car
1310 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Nickel Diner
524 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

[mocro]

Thanks for your suggestions. I love the Nickel Diner so I'll see if they're open. I go to the Pac Dining Car for biz b'fasts but was hoping for something w/more of a downtown feeling. Can anyone recommend somewhere in Chinatown for dim sum at 10:30 am - or is that too early? Thanks.

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Nickel Diner
524 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Dining Car
PO Box 5381, Santa Barbara, CA 93150

[monku]

Most dim sum places open at 8am, they're all open by 10:30am and by that time they will start getting busy.
I like CBS Seafood because they have their own free parking lot...can get a bit noisy but they have good dim sum.

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CBS Seafood
700 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

[wienermobile]

My favorite for dim sum in Chinatown is Ocean Seafood on Hill Street. They have cart service and easy parking. The dim sum there is fresh and hot with good service.
http://www.oceansf.com/

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Ocean Seafood Restaurant
747 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012

[taiwanesesmalleats]

Either CBS or Ocean Seafood. Ocean will probably be a better bet setting wise. It's fairly clean and modern looking. The taste of the food is about the same between the two places.

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Ocean Seafood Restaurant
747 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012

[mocro]

Thanks so much for all the dim sum ideas. My group has voted thumbs up on dim sum which I'm so excited about. I keep trying to nudge them to a non-traditional dinner to no avail but this is a start. Thanks so much and happy Thanksgiving to all.

[monku]

Worse comes to worse CBS Seafood is advertising Thanksgiving turkeys to go.

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CBS Seafood
700 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012