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Celebrating Thanksgiving 2016 in Paris

Haven’t sorted out your Thanksgiving holiday plans yet? No need to freak out. We’ve rounded up a few resources to help our American readers, as well as any locals who’ll be sharing the table this year.

Eating Out in Paris

  • Verjus will be serving a special Thanksgiving-themed tasting menu with wine pairings on Wednesday the 23rd, Thursday the 24th, and Friday the 25th. As we’re writing this, the only night with space still available is Wednesday, but you can still get on the waiting list for Thursday & Friday night. Their tasting menu is €68 with wine pairings for€55.
  • At Treize, Charleston native Laurel Sanderson will be serving Thanksgiving lunch all week from Tuesday through Saturday. The special meal will include a roulade of turkey and stuffing with gravy, broccoli gratin or sweet potatoes, plus their incredible buttermilk biscuits. Dessert and mulled wine also included for 31€ per person. They’re also willing to help you with a little stealth cooking if you bring the pie plate or casserole dish. To reserve or to ask for their help in cooking, call 01 73 77 27 89.
  • At Dune, Seattle native Evan Leichtling will be preparing Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday with seatings at 5 pm, 7:30 and 9:30 pm. The three-course menu is 38€. Reservations seem currently to be full, but you could always call to get on the wait list at 01 43 57 83 15.
  • Joe Allen will be a serving a special Thanksgiving menu including roast turkey with quince, apple & walnut stuffing, candied yams, sautéed green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Non-traditional Thanksgiving menu options like grilled tuna will also be available. Three courses for €50 including coffee or tea on Thursday November 24 at 30 rue Pierre Lescot, 75010. Reservations at 01 42 36 70 13 or by email at thanksgiving@joeallenparis.com
  • Ô Chateau will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night for €45 including roast turkey with potatoes au gratin and coleslaw, followed by apple tart with pecan ice cream. Wine pairings are available for either €31 or €67. Reserve online.
  • Red House will be putting on their annual Thanksgiving Pot Luck on Thursday night. “We’ve got the Turkey and loads of fixings covered, but we need everyone to pitch in and bring a dish. All are welcome! Even if you can’t cook, or can’t bring anything, especially if you’re here and a bit alone…whatever color, creed, nationality, religion, political affiliation, whichever sex or sexual preference, YOU ARE ALL WELCOME!”From 7pm at 1 bis rue de la Forge Royale, 75011.
  • Belushi’s bars in Paris (two locations – one in the 10th near Gare du Nord and one in the 19th) will be serving Thanksgiving dinner all day on Thursday and showing NFL action on the big screens. Reserve the location in the 10th at GDN@belushis.com or the location in the 19th at Canal@belushis.com
  • The wonderful cooking school La Cuisine Paris is offering a Thanksgiving cooking class in English followed by a group lunch from 10am-1:30pm on Thursday the 24th for 120€ per person.
  • For those traveling in the south, Julie Mautner’s website The Provence Post lists lots of options in Provence at the Côte d’Azur.

DIY (Ingredient Sourcing)

  • The aptly-named Thanksgiving – a shop which probably earns 80% of its annual revenue during this one week – is a good source for turkeys (farm-raised & ready to cook for 12.50€/kg or rolled & trussed turkeys for 13.50€/kg), pumpkin and pecan pies for 29€, and ingredients for baking & seasonal side dishes (canned pumpkin, jellied cranberry sauce, pecans, etc.). The shop is located at 20 rue Saint Paul, but turkeys need to be ordered (with a non-refundable deposit) by November 17 at 01 42 77 68 29. A good left-bank option for American ingredients is The Real McCoy at 194 rue de Grenelle, 75007.
  • Beyond the specialty shops, ingredients for most traditional side dishes are widely available in Paris markets and grocery stores. Granted, you might have to skip the canned pumpkin and go for authentic potiron, or forgo the Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup in favor of crème fraîche and wild mushrooms, but you should have no problem finding patates douces (sweet potatoes), courge butternut (squash), choux de Bruxelles (Brussel sprouts), haricots verts (green beans) and marrons (chestnuts). Pecans and cranberries (canneberge or the similar airelle) are trickier to find, although not impossible. And if you need inspiration regarding the best way to roast a turkey, behold the following:

20 thoughts on “Celebrating Thanksgiving 2016 in Paris”

  1. I’m still here! Actually, my Monoprix swapped out the Cream of Mushroom for Cream of Asparagus last year. Don’t fret, they definitely have a Campbell’s variety of canned goods at La Grande Epicerie or the food section of Galeries Lafayette. I also noticed a Franprix in Neuilly had Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom in the foreign foods section.

  2. Hi Jenna,
    Maggie’s comment is from 2 years ago, so I’m not sure she’s around to reply. I personally have never seen cream of mushroom soup in Paris (Campbell’s), so I’m not sure it’s widely available. But I have to say, real creme fraiche and real wild mushrooms make a compelling counter-argument 🙂
    Happy thanksgiving,
    Meg

  3. Hello everyone, I am an American here in Paris with no family to celebrate this Holiday with. The only person I know in Paris is my boyfriend he is not American so he doesn’t understand Thanksgiving. I am only 21 so I haven’t really learned how to cook all the Thanksgiving stuff. This will be my first Holiday without family. Does anyone have any suggestions for me that would be more warming and comforting than a restaurant?

    Thank you!

  4. Oh no! So sorry about your pie experience, L. Thanks for reporting back – we’ll try to warn people off next year.

  5. Do NOT by your pie from The Real McCoy, avenue Bosquet, it’s outrageously expensive (35€) and not “home made” (frozen industrial pie), which i expected given the announced price !

    but that will be for next year of course…

    🙁

  6. “turducken”
    Shouldn’t it be dindardoule or dindardet in France?
    Whatever, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

  7. I just picked up canneberge at the produce market at the corner of Rue Levis and Rue Legendre (Metro: Villiers), and they have at least 4 more. Each box is about a pint and costs 3€. Origin: USA 🙂

  8. The turducken at Desnoyer is one of the very best! Perceval even created a special edition of carbon fiber knives that are built to handle it.

  9. Just letting everyone know that they have big bags of Airelles at Picard in the holiday ‘selection du mois’ section. I find them to be a very suitable substitute if you, like me, are way too lazy to trek across paris to the Grande Epicerie.

  10. Melissa, I was just at the produce merchant on Rue Levis at Legendre (in the 17eme) and when I asked about canneberge (cranberries), they said they didn’t have them but could by tomorrow afternoon. I mentioned the reason, and though they were aware of the holiday, they’d just forgotten to stock up 🙂 Maybe your local primeur can do the same for you. Bonne chance!

  11. I have heard tales of finding lone crates of cranberries hidden under red currants, but I’m having no luck. Any suggestions or confirmed sightings recently?

  12. Great list! I would also add that you can find Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup at any Monoprix, for a little over 2 eur a can. I always find it in the “foreign/American/British” food aisle.

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