You're Invited: Thanksgiving in France

Where to go for Thanksgiving? I wasn't planning to do a round up this year--as I've done in the past--but some of you have been asking for info and far be it from me to deny my peeps. So here are a few ideas...plus some sources for turkey (cooked and uncooked) and trimmings if you're doing it on your own. 

On the Cote d'Azur and in Provence...

Once again the American Club of the Riviera will hold its gala Thanksgiving lunch at the five-star Hotel Hermitage in Monte Carlo. The event is Thursday November 26, starting with a Champagne reception at 12:30. As in year's past, members of the US military (this year it's the Air Force) will be the invited guests of honor. Full details and contact info are on the ACR website here. 

MonacoUSA is hosting Thanksgiving at Stars N Bars in Monaco on Thursday the 26th at 7 pm. If you come alone, you'll sit with other people so everyone is included in the celebration. On the all-you-care-to-eat buffet will be turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce, creamed onions, sweet potato, peas, corn-on-the-cob and corn bread. For dessert there will be apple, pumpkin and pecan pie...and brownies. You must reserve and pay ahead: MonacoUSA members pay €40, non-members €45 and kids under 12, €18. All the info is on their Facebook page here.  

The Nice chapter of France-Etats-Unis will host their Thanksgiving "dinner" at noon on Thursday November 26th, at the restaurant Koudou in Nice. On the menu (in French because it's fun): velouté de courge de pays, belle grosse dinde fermière farcie avec cranberry sauce et servie avec son maïs doré et ses “sweet potatoes” followed by Café Gourmand.  The price (31€ per person) includes wine and mineral water...and everyone is asked to leave a 2€ tip. Organizer Jacquie Berben says "We try to stay in the true American tradition: family and guests, locals and visitors. We usually have more Frenchies than Americans, and the former keep asking how to meet the latter!" To book: jacquie.berben@wanadoo.fr or  +33 (0)6 08 36 67 58.  

The Anglo-American Group of Provence (AAGP) will hold their Thanksgiving in Aix on Sunday November 29th, with the apero at 4 pm and dinner served around 5 pm. All are welcome. The cost is 35€ for adults and 18€ for kids under 12. The venue is the same as last year: Le Verguetier, at #7 Chemin d`Eguilles in Celony, opposite the Maison de Ste. Victoire. Last year, 72 people attended and the turnout this year should be similar. For more info or to book: mlmchugh1@aol.com. 

The Marseille Chapter of Democrats Abroad is hosting a Thanksgiving buffet dinner on Thursday evening November 26 at 7:30 pm at La Coumpagnie Restaurant in Aix...and it's all organic, made from all local products. €20 for adults includes hot wine;  kids under 12 pay €12. The restaurant is located at 840 ave. Camp de Menthe, 13090 Aix, between La Pioline and Club Hippique. Seating is limited and they expect a large response, so please reserve by email as soon as possible to: parisrick@me.com.

Once again, the charming restaurant L'Epicerie de Cécile in the village of Beaucaire will be roasting up big juicy birds with all the trimmings on November 26. For 25€ per person you get a welcome Kir and an "all on the table" dinner with turkey, vegetables, sweet potatoes, pecan pie and live music (blues).  Located on the Place de la République. Reservations required: +33 (0)6 80 04 09 04.

Le Bistrot de Pierrerue (in Pierrerue, five minutes from Forcalquier in the eastern Luberon) has hosted Thanksgiving every year for the last ten years, usually on Thursday and Friday. This year it will be Friday November 27 only. The menu is turkey, stuffing, potato gratin, Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and apple crumble; the price is 25€ per person and reservations are required. To book:  +33 (0)4 92 75 33 00. 

In Marseille, the restaurant Burger's Banquet (9 rue Moliere) may be hosting Thanksgiving...check in with them for details.  burgersbanquet.fr, +33 (0)4 91 93 32 40, contact@burgersbanquet.fr

In Paris...

The Texas-style BBQ restaurant The Beast (27 rue Meslay, 75003 Paris) will be offering "low and slow" smoked turkey, with cranberries and sweet potatoes, as a dinner special on November 26. Pecan pie (a year-round menu mainstay) and Brooklyn Brewery's Pumpkin Ale will be in abundant supply. Owner Thomas Abramowicz--a Frenchman who spent more than a month eating his way through the most serious BBQ joints in Texas before he opened The Beast last year--tells me the full menu will also be available that evening and there will be lots of specials. Reservations are accepted for groups of six or more, for both the first seating (7 to 7.30 pm) and the second (9 to 9: 15 pm). For info, call +33 (0)7 81 02 99 77 but to reserve, please text instead. Whole turkeys--brined, seasoned, stuffed and smoked--are available in various sizes for pre-order, until Saturday, November 21st. To order whole birds in advance: info@thebeast.fr

The American University Clubs of France (AUC) will celebrate the holiday this year on November 24th, at Joe Allen's, at 7:30 pm. The menu looks terrific...see it and all other details here.

The Hard Rock Cafe Paris will celebrate Thursday the 26th, serving up NFL football on the large screen along with your traditional turkey dinner. The price is 35€ per person and a portion of proceeds go to WhyHunger. To reserve:  paris_events@hardrock.com

The restaurant called Breakfast in America will be serving Thanskgiving on Thursday Nov 26 at one of their locations, at 17 rue des Ecoles in the 5th arr. All the info is here.

You can buy uncooked Thanksgiving turkeys, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and all the ingredients to make your favorite sides at the Paris shop called Thanksgiving. They also sell online.

To find other Thanksgiving events in Paris, click here and here.

Shipping Anywhere in Europe...

MyAmericanMarket.com sells pretty much everything you need to prepare your Thanksgiving feast except the turkey...and lots of other ingredients and treats for other holiday meals too. They are 100% online and will deliver to anywhere in Europe. You can order right up until noon on November 25th and get your goodies on Thanksgiving Day. "But then you'll need to be a very fast and efficient chef!" Fanny at the company tells me.  Specific Thanksgiving foods are on a special page here.

Finally...

If you know of other Thanksgiving celebrations in France, feel free to leave the info in the comments section (click "comments" below). Or, send it to me at provenceblog@aol.com and I'll add it here.

Above: The much-loved, often-parodied painting is Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want" from 1942. Everyone in it was a Rockwell family member or friend; they were photographed individually and painted into the scene. Learn more about the painting and artist here.