I'll be travelling to Paris for Thanksgiving with my 9 year old son. I've already located a restraunt to have my Thanksgiving meal (Joe Allen's)...any other travelers that want to join in an American celebration in Paris?

There is another American restaurant... in the 4th...or near the 4th...can't think of the name of it. I can see the street in my mind, but can't remember the name. But, it has Thanksgiving dinner,too. I'm not that keen on Joe Allen's food. I used to eat there back in the 80s/90s when there weren't many restaurants with that type of food. There were a very small number of items that I'd order. Happy Travels!

If I recall, Bonjour Paris (bparis.com) may have an article that addresses this. I have not been on that site in a very long time so do not flay me if I am wrong.

We ate at Joe Allen's for Thanksgiving a few years ago and were disappointed in the food. It was also pretty expensive. It was not bad, just not what a home cooked Thanksgiving meal should be. It's Paris, eat French!

you might try to contact the american embassy and /or the american women's club for an authentic meal over thanksgiving.

they will know where the venues are, and if it's like any other big european city, the american residents do have a few celebrations acrosss town open to the public and friends.

Hi A,

You might be interested in Art Buchwald's column on "le Jour de Merci Donnant".

http://tinyurl.com/92bxf

skip the "american meal" in Paris. It just won't be what you're looking for IMHO. Have you ever eaten out on Thanksgiving in the US? steam tray turkey is just not worth it!

I'm another who would pass Joe Allens for a meal. Yet, it fills up with people.

I've had Thanksgiving once in Italy and it was fun but it certainly wasn't Thanksgiving. The roasted bird was hilarious, with a pineapple peaking out from the bum. It looked like a partridge.

Find a good restaurant with good French food and you'll have a Thanksgiving memory.

Blackduff

I was in Paris for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago...I didn't search out a turkey dinner (as I remember I had filet mignon). For my dinner that night I chose Le Fumoir in the 1st on Adm. Coligny Blvd., towards the Pont Neuf. Excellent. I did have my turkey the way I want it when I came home the following sunday.
Isn't turkey "dindon" in French?

>Isn't turkey "dindon" in French? <

dinde

Actually both are correct. The dindon is the male and the dinde is the female but both are turkeys.

Then there's the dindonneau (sp?) which is the smaller female, I think.

Blackduff

Why don't you write to the American embassy and ask if you can go to dinner there?

;-)

I would consider it the luck of a lifetime not to have to eat Thanksgiving turkey but a French meal instead!

PS: The US ambassador to France is Craig Roberts Stapleton. Maybe if you explained your are traveling with your 9-year old son they would make room for you at the table.

http://www.amb-usa.fr/contact/default.htm

The restaurant in the 4th is called "Thanksgiving". 20 rue Saint Paul. We stayed at an apartment just down the block two years ago. We didn't eat there though so I can't comment otherwise. Although turkey, sweet potatos, stuffing, cranberries, etc. is my favorite meal at home and I often make it even other other days than in November, I have to say I have no idea why you would need to eat it on that particular day when you could have authentic French food instead.

My wife and I lived in Paris for the last 3 years.

Our approach to our 3 Thanksgivings there:

Year 1: we traveled home and saw family (not relevant to this discussion).

Year 2: my wife got a takeout Thanksgiving dinner from the restaurant "Thanksgiving" mentioned here (it is actually a cajun restaurant and they also have a store with imported 'American' stuff like Oreos and Doritos (yes, America, this is our culinary tradition of export). The Turkey itself was okay - about the equivalent of a rotisserie chicken from a butcher shop, only a little less fresh. The stuffing was terrible - some sort of cornmeal-based (is this cajun maybe?) that was more like sawdust than any stuffing I've known.

Year 3: We had family visiting. Since this is not a holiday in France, all of the options in Paris are available. We chose to make a big -- but French -- dinner at home, and got duck breast carry out from a very good neighborhood restaurant. In all, the best Thanksgiving meal I've had in about 10 years and my family really enjoyed the more "local" flavor to the day.

In summary, I agree with the others here who recommend "going Parisien" for Thanksgiving, if you can at all stand it.

If not, here's the website for the Thanksgiving restaurant in the Marais: http://www.thanksgivingparis.com/.

I will say that other meals from there (a Ham for Easter) were great.

Couldn't let the question about the "cornmeal" dressing being Cajun. Living in New Orleans, I can assure you that had the dressing been Cajun, it would have been wonderful and probably combined with crawfish, shrimp, alligator or some other local catch. We enjoy boneless chicken stuffed with some of the aforementioned additives and spiced with cayenne. Besides down here we sometimes fry our turkeys after injecting them with spices.

Last year, the American Church in Paris held a Thanksgiving dinner in its hall. I believe they'll be holding another one this year. You'll be dining with American expats in Paris and there will kids there your son's age. This is the staff contact list; you might want to email them to see if another dinner is scheduled.
http://www.acparis.org/staff.htm

You can celebrate Thanksgiving and eat much more cheaply, without the jet lag, by remaining in the United States for the holiday.

I've eaten in both Joe Allens and Thanksgiving. Joe Allens is a bit cheaper and the fact that Thanksgiving was fully booked forced me to chose Joe Allens last year. It wasnt bad, food was decent. Service was decent until it came to a grinding hault as the second seating started to arrive. Took us 30 minutes to get the check. The waiter forgot to charge us for our bottle of wine but after the loooong wait for the check I chose not to point it out. Its a hustle bustle kind of place with lots of tables and a bar.

Thanksgiving is smaller and more homey. I found the food much better and has a homecooked taste. The time I ate there the dressing was very good as was the rest of the meal. I would go there over Joe Allens.

This is not directly connected to Thanksgiving, but you and your son might want to mark the day by a visit to the building where the Treaty of Paris ending the War of Independance was signed by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay and George III's representative. It is the building next to the Hotel du Danube (the hotel is at 58 Rue Jacob)in the St. Germain section of Paris. The building is marked with a brass historical marker. I don't think the building is open to visitors but I think it is awesome just to be there.