Take out Thanksgiving in Los Angeles?

November 19, 2007 3:37 PM

I am trying to surprise a bedridden friend in Los Angeles with a delivered take out Thanksgiving dinner. I am on the East coast with zero knowledge of the area. Price is not all that important, quality is however. He lives within a mile of the UCLA campus. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
posted by archaic to Food & Drink (9 answers total)

Gelson's does a great Thanksgiving meal. Today's the last day to order. Can't tell if they have delivery service, though (but they're a fancy-schmancy chain, so I would think they might -- call and see if they can help you out). If they won't deliver, do you have another friend in L.A. who can pick it up? (I don't live with easy access to the UCLA neck of the woods anymore, otherwise I'd volunteer to do it myself.)
posted by scody at 3:45 PM on November 19, 2007

Archaic, to clarify: are you looking for the traditional Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings?
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:52 PM on November 19, 2007

Jerry's Famous Deli will deliver if you give them enough notice. They might be worth a try.
posted by seldomfun at 4:01 PM on November 19, 2007

Another thought: if Gelson's doesn't deliver and you don't know anyone else in L.A. who could pick it up, you might try calling L.A. Bite -- they're a restaurant delivery service that lots of local restaurants use. They might know which restaurants would have traditional meals to deliver on Thursday.

On preview: yes! Jerry's!
posted by scody at 4:02 PM on November 19, 2007

It's also possible that if Gelson's doesn't deliver, you could convince a courier service to pick it up and take it to your friend. They're used to doing all sorts of crazy things, this would be nothing, I'd imagine.
posted by smoakes at 4:15 PM on November 19, 2007

Response by poster: Roger, yes, not a whole turkey but a plate that would be representative of the traditional dinner. If that makes any sense.
posted by archaic at 4:20 PM on November 19, 2007

These might not deliver, but may be good sources for a delivery service:

Whole Foods - Westwood
Great deli / prepared food section.

Cafe 50s
Old school diner that (I believe) does good Thanksgiving plates.

Izzy's Deli
Located further west in Santa Monica but they deliver and they're family owned, so perhaps a more personal touch.
posted by sharkfu at 4:35 PM on November 19, 2007

If you can't get Gelson's to deliver, email me.
posted by flowerofhighrank at 9:10 PM on November 19, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions. These are some good leads
The situation is complicated as we don't actually know the person's name or address. He is an online gamer who guards his privacy zealously. But we have known him for ten years now and become very good friends. So the delivery of the dinner is a further logistical challenge. We would probably have to order it and have him
call the delivery agent.
posted by archaic at 3:48 AM on November 20, 2007