Friday Quickies #37: Recovery before Thanksgiving edition

Being the slow packer and unpacker that I am, I still have two luggages worth of travel paraphernalia lying about my bedroom. And I haven't gotten started on clearing out my inboxes, let alone read through my snail mail (my philosophy is if the senders can afford a week for the letter to reach my eyes, they can handle another week for my eyes to actually read it). But here are few things I did manage to read up on and pass along:

OpenTable Appetite Stimulus Plan next week (Nov. 17-21): With $24 prix-fixe lunches and $35 prix-fixe dinners as well as double the OT reservation points, this promotion is pretty good for diners looking to explore some new places (or re-visit old ones) at a decent discount. Not all the restaurants have their promo menus up so you may have to call and ask, but some of the better-looking ones of batch include Akasha, Grace, Comme Ca (lunch only), Joe's and 6ix Park Grill.

Whole Foods to help with Thanksgiving Prep & Cooking: Just heard from their PR reps that all Whole Foods in the LA/OC area will being having a Thanksgiving tasting event tomorrow from noon to 3 p.m. In addition to sampling some of their Thanksgiving menu offerings (ham and turkey, stuffing, creamed corn, cranberry sauce), there will be meal experts who can help you answer all the questions involved in preparing and cooking that blowout sleep-inducing meal (whether to brine the bird, stuff the stuffing, things that can be made-ahead, etc.). Though given my penchant for not really cooking anything on Thanksgiving, I'd more likely be there to try out bite-sized side dishes and ordering the ones that I enjoyed. Also, I was told that each Whole Foods store will be sampling a unique signature dish as well - for anyone who happen to live close enough to multiple stores and don't mind putting in the extra mileage.

Rustic Canyon Beer Bash, Nov. 17: For those of you not totally beered off from all those Oktoberfests last month, Rustic Canyon is doing a six-course beer-paired menu for $68 a person. The yummy-sounding courses in this lineup include pumpkin mezzaluna with a sage brown butter sauce, braised duck leg confit with roasted apples, celery root puree and black trompet mushrooms and a simple double chocolate layer cake (but being a creation of pastry chef Zoe Nathan, I am sure it'll be heavenly sweet!)