Tricia Woolfenden

THIS is the stuff of Black Friday dreams.

Happy Thanksgiving. Ideally, your holiday is being spent gathered around a table (or bar, if that's more your style) sharing food and drink with people you love, or at least tolerate. Here's hoping you won't be losing any valuable family- and recovering-on-the-couch time by getting in line for early-early-early bird specials this evening: Black Friday can wait. Whether or not you intend to hit the sales on Friday, there are a few places you can catch food and drink specials in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Find those Black Friday deals after the jump.

See also:
- Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza Teams Up with Due South Brewing
- Due South Brewing Company in Boynton Beach Adds Food Trucks and Brewery Tours
- Happy Hour: RA Sushi Bar in Pembroke Gardens

More »

Tricia Woolfenden

Brian Kirsch surveys the work at Gray Mockingbird Community Garden earlier in the season.

Thanksgiving is supposed to be all about togetherness, gratitude, and other feel-good platitudes, so what better location for a Turkey Day feast than a community garden? The Gray Mockingbird Community Garden in Lake Worth will host a holiday pig roast from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday and all are welcome to attend.

See Also:
- Gray Mockingbird Community Garden In Lake Worth Returns This Season With A Vengeance
- Where to Party for Thanksgiving Eve 2012 in South Florida
- Roy Villacrusis, Chef at Studio, Plays Fill in the Blanks With Us

More »

mcb_smith via Flickr Creative Commons

Do you like it raw?

Busting out a raw, vegan recipe for Thanksgiving probably seems incongruous given that the holiday basically centers around cooking a dead bird for hours on end. But in case you want to add a lighter option to the menu or you just got word that your health-nut sister-in-law is coming to dinner, raw food private chef Nina Kauder has a recipe for "a simple and quick soup" that she promises is the "perfect dish for most everyone."

Kauder, creator of Palm Beach County based Rawsome Eats said her Thanksgiving-appropriate butternut squash and apple soup is gluten-free, as well as free of soy, nuts, and dairy. "All you need is a knife and a blender," Kauder said.

See Also:
- Awesome Thanksgiving Recipe For Sweet Potatoes From The Rebel House's Michael Saperstein
- Restaurants Serving Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinners in South Florida: Darbster, Sublime, and Le Bistro
- Q&A With Raw Foods Chef Christopher Slawson of Christopher's Kitchen

More »

krossbow via Flickr Creative Commons

Instead of letting this sit in your pantry for another six months, why not donate it to someone who could use a hand right now?

When Isaac first started making eyes at Florida back in August, you went overboard on the last-minute hurricane supply frenzy. Now your broom closet is stuffed with so many cans of baked beans and bottles of ketchup that you're starting to feel like one of those "Extreme Couponing" ladies. Instead of hoarding a bunch of food you'll probably never get around to eating, why not lend a hand to someone who could use a little help around the holidays?

Feeding South Florida has plenty of great information about how you can help locally. Organizations like Boca Helping Hands and The Pantry of Broward, and many, many others make it easy to donate money and canned goods any time of year. Or, after the jump, find a few other creatives ways to help fight hunger in your community.

See Also:
- Poverello "Turkey Hunt" Provides Turkeys for People with HIV
- "No Kid Hungry"'s Great American Dine Out: Kapow, Pizza Fusion, Others Fight Childhood Hunger
- Sesame Street Introduces Show on Child Hunger (Video)

More »

Spend Thanksgiving Eve with the Copa girls.

It's a given that Wednesday, November 21, is going to be a non-stop party. After all, Thanksgiving Eve is one of -- if not the -- biggest bar night of the year. While you're pretty much guaranteed to find a crowd (and lots of college kids) where ever you go, there are a few places in Broward and Palm Beach counties that are planning a little something extra. After the jump, find a roundup of pre-Thanksgiving parties, because what would Turkey Day be without a little hangover.

See Also:
- Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving Day 2012 in Broward County: Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Davie
- Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving Day 2012 in Palm Beach County: Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Boynton Beach
- Copacabana in Fort Lauderdale: Try It and You'll Never Want to Go to a Rave Again

More »

Rebel House

The sweet potato "velvet" at Rebel House puts all other yam dishes to shame.

Everyone knows that nine times out of ten, the Thanksgiving sides are better than the main attraction (perhaps because there's so many creative ways you can totally screw up the turkey). Step up your side game this Thanksgiving and give a new spin to a T-Day classic: Sweet potatoes.

Chef Michael Saperstein of Rebel House -- a restaurant that is just killing it with the creative vegetable dishes -- was kind enough to share the Rebel recipe for sweet potato velvet with toasted lime marshmallows. It's a seasonal dish the restaurant introduced for the fall and it's delicious (and very dessert-like). After the jump, find the simple and inexpensive recipe. This version serves four, but you could easily double or triple it for a larger gathering.

See Also:

- Restaurants Serving Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinners in South Florida: Darbster, Sublime, and Le Bistro
- Top Chef Alums From Florida Offer Up Thanksgiving Recipes
- The Rebel House in Boca Raton Is Open: Patience Pays Off

More »

WishUponACupcake via Flickr Creative Commons

If this is the only turkey you plan to consume on Thanksgiving, we've got some dining suggestions for you.

For people who'd prefer to coddle, not cook, a turkey, Thanksgiving can be hell. Yeah, yeah, it's nice to see the family and wine is fun and all, but there's only so many helpings of mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie one can handle (trust me, I've tried, and the number is much smaller than one would hope or imagine).

A smattering of restaurants in Broward and Palm Beach Counties have your vegetarian back this holiday season by offering meat-free Thanksgiving Day feasts. Be sure to make reservations, stat. These places are likely to fill up.

See Also:

- Trader Joe's Turkey-Less Roast is "New and Improved" for Your Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner

- World Vegetarian Day is Monday, October 1: Five Sexy Celebrity Vegetarians

- South Florida's Best Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants

More »

Donate some food and you can ogle these ladies all year long.

More »

OliBac via Flickr Creative Commons

Hey turkey - Thanksgiving's coming; time to dip.

A sink full of nasty dishes, mountains of fattening leftovers in the fridge, and a rotting turkey carcass; these are the (mostly) unpleasant side effects of cooking a Thanksgiving feast at home. There's a way around this: Let someone else do all the work. After the jump find a roundup of restaurants in Broward County that will be open and serving Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, November 22. (Plus a few places that are selling to-go Thanksgiving meals to eat at home.)

See Also:

- Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving Day 2012 in Palm Beach County: Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Boynton Beach

- Bring a Frozen Turkey, Get in Free @ Copacabana in Fort Lauderdale

- Trader Joe's Turkey-Less Roast is "New and Improved" for Your Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner

More »

...love Maegan via Flickr Creative Commons

Don't want to wake up to this Friday morning? Eat Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant.

Burning the holy hell out of the turkey (while still somehow mangaing to keep it frozen solid in the middle). Whipping up mashed potatoes that could stand in for the caulk needed for your kitchen remodel. Failing to buy enough wine. There's a lot that could go wrong when trying to organize and execute a Thanksgiving feast.

Whether you're just not in the mood to cook, you're flying solo, or are visiting South Florida over the holiday, there are plenty of restaurants in Palm Beach County that will be open Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 22) and ready to serve you a holiday feast.

After the jump, find a breakdown of some of local choices in a list that's organized by city. Stay tuned for a Broward County list coming later this week. And remember: Reservations are highly recommended for any holiday meal.

See Also:
- Five Songs to Ruin Your Thanksgiving Dinner
- Trader Joe's Turkey-Less Roast is "New and Improved" for Your Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner

More »