Students move into the new West Grove Commons dorms at San Francisco State University, which opened in fall 2024.
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Courtesy San Francisco State University
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Topline:
As housing costs and availability continue to challenge students, the California State University system is expanding on-campus housing to address affordability and boost student success.
Expanding to meet needs: Rising housing costs are forcing many California State University students to choose between long commutes or unaffordable rents. With more than 22,000 new beds added or planned, CSU is ramping up efforts to expand on-campus housing and reduce homelessness.
Big plans, bigger questions: CSU’s push to add more dorm beds could ease the crisis, but uneven campus demand and pending legislation for a 2026 bond will shape how far those plans move forward.
Dorm life at Sacramento State University suited Sofia Gonzalez. Living on campus her first year, most classes were a 10-minute walk away. Most of her closest friends lived in the same residence hall. “Everything,” she said, was “right there.”
But this summer, as she prepared to start her sophomore year, friends who applied for university housing warned Gonzalez they had been placed on a wait list.Daunted by the limited supply of upperclassmen dorms — and most of all, the cost of on-campus rent — Gonzalez opted to try the private market instead. “There was nowhere I could live in my price range near campus,” said Gonzalez, a business and marketing major. She contemplated transferring to a community college or commuting two hours each way from her parents’ Bay Area home to Sacramento.
Housing can be a major barrier for low-income students like Gonzalez around the California State University system, which includes Sacramento State and 22 other campuses. Recent estimates have found that housing accounts for half the cost of attendance at CSU, and that 11% of CSU students surveyed experience homelessness or housing insecurity.
That reality is one reason why CSU added more than 17,000 new beds between 2014 and 2024. About 5,600 more are either under construction or approved to be built. The investments in housing are giving CSU a more residential flavor, even as many campuses maintain their long-standing dependence on commuters.
Now the question is whether CSU should build even more housing, especially in hot real estate markets where students struggle to find off-campus alternatives. A systemwide housing plan issued by CSU in July sketches potential projects that could house an additional 12,600 students as soon as 2030.
CSU officials say on-campus housing improves students’ graduation rates and could ease housing pressures for Cal State’s 460,000 students, 87% of whom still live off campus with their families or otherwise.Future housing development could be uneven based on current enrollment trendsacross the system, which have left empty dorms at a handful of Cal State campuses, while others rework double-occupancy rooms into triples to meet growing demand.
At the same time, state lawmakers are weighing a potentially hefty 2026 bond measure for student housing and other educational facilities at CSU, the University of California and the California Community Colleges system. Supporters say the measure, which has yet to determine a dollar amount, could help make college more affordable for low-income students.
“To make sure students are successful in their learning, they’ve got to be able to have stable housing,” Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, who introduced the legislation, said at a hearing on Assembly Bill 48.
At Cal State Northridge, which plans to open a new 198-bed housing complex this fall, 2,000 students were on a waiting list for housing in fall 2024, CSU data show. Kevin Conn, the university’s executive director of student housing and residential life, said his colleagues field regular calls from students desperate for student housing. “Their stories are really, really heart-wrenching, because we can only do so much,” he said. “We can’t just put them in; there’s no spot to put them.”
Sacramento State has faced a similar conundrum. Last fall, there were more than 4,400 students who requested to live in campus housing, but fewer than 3,300 beds were available. The campus plans to house hundreds of additional students in the coming years.
In the meantime, Gonzalez’s frantic housing search ended off campus. She found a room 30 minutes from campus for $800 a month — within her budget, but expensive enough that she will likely need a second job to afford rent and groceries. “It’s going to be hard this next year to manage my money,” she said.
A push into housing at CSU
California State University has a long history of serving predominantly commuter students, though the university system has made major investments in student housing over the past two decades. Federal data showCSU has almost doubled its capacity to house students since 2004.
CSU’s housing program nonetheless continues to trail the University of California system, which today houses 40% of students. That’s more than 120,000 students in UC housing compared to roughly 60,000 across CSU. A majority of students in both systems live off campus.
CSU argues that adding more university housing will boost students’ academic performance. Officials point to evidence from San Diego State University, which found students living on campus had higher graduation rates and grade point averages as well as lower rates of academic probation compared to their off-campus peers. Researchers have documented similar positive effects in otherstates, too.
San José State University’s Spartan Village on the Paseo converted an existing hotel into student housing. Credit: San José State University/Robert Bain
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Robert Bain
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San José State University
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Another concern is cost. University officials said they strive to keep student housing affordable relative to peer institutions and nearby market-rate units.
In 2024, the CSU-wide average rate for a two-person unit in a residence hall was $9,668 over an academic year. Cal Poly Humboldt hosted the cheapest doubles, charging $6,624 on average, while San Diego State’s $14,344 average was the system’s most expensive.
Such financial constraints are top of mind for Kamran Garcia Hosseinzadeh, a recent graduate and resident assistant of Cal State Dominguez Hills. CSUDH plans to add hundreds of additional beds to campus by 2026, but Garcia Hosseinzadeh is skeptical that the university has the capacity and the funding to operate expanded housing. “I definitely don’t feel confident with the future of housing here,” they said.
Declining enrollment at some CSU campuses adds to the financial uncertainty. Systemwide, 92% of student housing is filled, but at shrinking campuses like Sonoma State University and CSU East Bay, where only 64% and 58% of housing, respectively, was occupied in fall 2024.
Another Cal State campus has struggled to recover from a pandemic-era downturn in housing occupancy. Auditors reported that years of operating losses in Cal State L.A.’s housing program are depleting its reserves. Occupancy has dropped to as low as 60% in recent years, auditors said, and student housing required “unanticipated emergency repairs.” Responding to the audit, Cal State L.A.’s director of housing wrote that the university had taken “sweeping corrective measures” to improve campus housing.
University officials at other Cal State campuses said they’re confident there is room to grow on their campuses, despite warnings of an impending decline in traditional college-aged students. Even if student headcount plateaus, they said, housing wait lists and other metrics suggest untapped potential to bring students who are forced to search for off-campus housing into on-campus dorms.
An experiment in San Luis Obispo
With almost 9,000 on-campus beds, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is the housing heavyweight of the Cal State system.A large majority of the university’s students are from outside county lines, so many of the roughly 14,000 students living off campus spill into residential neighborhoods, where their sheer numbers threaten to drive already expensive rents even higher.
The housing market near the Central Coast campus is so pricey — average rent is 31% higher than the national average, according to Zillow Rentals data — students on a budget sometimes lease less-than-ideal accommodations.
Jordan Schleifer, a recent graduate who led several housing-related initiatives while vice president of Cal Poly Democrats, said many such dwellings lack basic safety fixtures like fire escapes or working smoke detectors. “It creates a situation where students are living in unsafe conditions and they can’t be fixed because they don’t want to lose the housing,” Schleifer said.
And enrollment-wise, San Luis Obispo’s master plan projects that the student headcount will increase from 22,400 in fall 2024 to 25,000 by 2035.
A rendering of a modular student housing project planned for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
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FullStack Modular
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Financial limitations have forced San Luis Obispo’s leaders to get creative. Eager to save on construction costs — and to avoid passing those costs onto students — the university has converted some double-occupancy dorms into triples.
But the university’s most ambitious experiment is just starting. Next fall, the university will install the first in a series of modular, factory-built housing units, aiming to add as many as 4,000 beds over several years. Housing modules will get trucked to campus and then “stacked on top of each other like Legos,” said Mike McCormick, the university’s vice president of facilities management and development.
The hope is that as the factory starts producing modules at scale, the cost to produce each one will dropbelow traditional on-site construction. “We’re a long way from having this be a really efficient process yet, but you have to start somewhere,” McCormick said.
Lawmakers weigh student housing policy
Reports of college students living in their cars and surveys revealing the scale of student homelessness have prompted state lawmakers to take a more aggressive approach to student housing in recent years.
Typically, CSU finances housing by issuing bonds. But California lawmakers took a more active role in 2021 when they established a $2.2 billion grant program to help fund housing across CSU, UC and community colleges.
A dozen projects at CSU have been named grant recipients to date. Altogether, the projects are expected to add 5,000beds to campuses from Cal Poly Humboldt to San Diego State. The grants provided about $660 million, which was nearly half the cost of 12 CSU projects, while the system provided the rest.
Some of that housing is now open to students. That includes a 729-bed project at San Francisco State University and San José State University’s Spartan Village on the Paseo, which converted an existing hotel into student housing.
Students move into San Francisco State’s new West Grove Commons residence hall.
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Courtesy San Francisco State University
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Now that the state grant funding has been awarded, advocates, including the Student Homes Coalition, have turned their attention to a bill aimed at spurring more off-campus housing by creating “campus development zones,” where the review process for housing development projects would be streamlined.
The other option, the state facilities bond AB 48, passed the Assembly and is currently in the Senate. Details, including a dollar figure, would be finalized in spring 2026 in hopes of putting the bond on the November ballot.
“The decision to send someone to college or not can literally depend on whether there’s affordable housing for them in those communities,” Alvarez said. “And so we want to make sure that there is something there, throughout our state, for families who want to send their kids to college.”
EdSource is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.
Austin Cross
helps Angelenos make sense of news, politics and more as host of Morning Edition, AirTalk Fridays and The L.A. Report.
Published November 20, 2025 5:00 AM
Macaulay Culkin speaks onstage during an event for the documentary "John Candy: I Like Me" on Oct. 2 in Hollywood.
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Monica Schipper
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Actor Macaulay Culkin is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the cultural touchstone and holiday classic “Home Alone” with a tour stop at Terrace Theatre in Long Beach this Saturday. The nostalgic event includes a screening of the feature film and an audience Q&A.
Celebrating 35 years: The Home Alone franchise launched Culkin into stardom and became a cultural phenomenon, remaining an iconic holiday films decades after its release. He joked that the film does feel like three-quarters of his life ago during an interview with Morning Edition host Austin Cross. Culkin was just 9 years old during the filming of Home Alone.
Reflecting on the decades after: Culkin said he did receive different treatment from adults after Home Alone.
“Next thing you know, they're asking me to hold up movies, as opposed to just be in movies,” he said.
Culkin described how he experienced burnout and hadn't completed a full year of school during that time.
“People kept on saying, ‘Hey, you know, you're 11 going on 30.’ And I go, ‘Can I just be 11 going on 12?’” Culkin said.
Want to go? Doors open for “A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin: Home Alone 35th Anniversary” at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Terrace Theater at 300 E. Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach. Tickets start at $68.35 through Ticketmaster.
Mariana Dale
has reported on Pasadena Unified’s fire recovery and budget process over the last year.
Published November 20, 2025 5:00 AM
Among the proposed high school cuts are teachers, counselors, custodial staff and athletics funding.
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Elly Yu
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LAist
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Topline:
The Pasadena Unified School District Board will vote tonight on $24.3 million in recommended budget cuts made largely through the elimination of school-based staff and programs.
Why it matters: The vote determines the lion’s share of the district’s planned $30.5 million reduction and represents about 16% of the district's $189 million projected general fund budget next school year. Among the proposed cuts are librarians, teachers, gardeners and school office staff. The board also will weigh layoffs in district administration and canceling contracted services such as professional development.
Community pushback: Parents and educators say the cuts will decimate programs — including arts, science and athletics — that attract families to the district and benefit students. As of Wednesday afternoon, 700 people had signed an online petition urging district leadership to reconsider the cuts.
The backstory: For the past several years, PUSD has spent more money than it brings in and is projected to have a $29 million budget deficit next school year. One factor is that PUSD, like many districts in the region, is enrolling fewer students, which equates to less funding. The Los Angeles County Office of Education has warned that without significant reductions in spending, the district will not be able to meet its financial obligations and risks losing the ability to govern itself.
Weigh in: On Thursday, the board could approve the cuts as presented or propose changes. Identify the board member who represents your school and contact them by phone or email. People also can speak up in person during the board meeting’s public comment period at 7:15 p.m. or submit thoughts early to publiccomment@pusd.us.
The Pasadena Unified School District Board will vote tonight on $24.3 million in recommended budget cuts made largely through the elimination of school-based staff and programs.
The vote determines the lion’s share of the district’s planned $30.5 million reduction and represents about 16% of the district's $189 million projected general fund budget next school year.
What's being cut?
Among the proposed cuts are librarians, teachers, gardeners and school office staff. The board also will weigh layoffs in district administration and canceling contracted services such as professional development.
How's the community responding?
Parents and educators say the cuts will decimate programs — including arts, science and athletics — that attract families to the district and benefit students. As of Wednesday afternoon, 700 people had signed an online petition urging district leadership to reconsider the cuts.
How did it get to this point?
For the past several years, PUSD has spent more money than it brings in and is projected to have a $29 million budget deficit next school year. One factor is that PUSD, like many districts in the region, is enrolling fewer students, which equates to less funding. The Los Angeles County Office of Education has warned that without significant reductions in spending, the district will not be able to meet its financial obligations and risks losing the ability to govern itself.
How you can weigh in
On Thursday, the board could approve the cuts as presented or propose changes. Identify the board member who represents your school and contact them by phone or email. People can also speak up in person during the board meeting’s public comment period at 7:15 p.m. or submit thoughts early to publiccomment@pusd.us.
You can also tell us how you feel using this form:
Head to Hollywood Forever Cemetery for Lauren Tsai's haunting 'The Dying World.'
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Joshua White
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In this edition:
Macaulay Culkin himself will share memories of Home Alone. Plus, bike or blade for L.A. on Wheels Day and more of the best things to do this weekend.
Highlights:
The sixth annual Corita Day will be celebrated at Marciano Arts Foundation this Saturday, with some help from KCRW and other community organizations, including a performance from Bob Baker’s marionettes. You can explore the new Corita Kent: Sorcery of Images exhibit at the all-ages, free event.
Ahoy! It’s already time for the annual reading of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick on the beach. It’s one of the events that mark the start of the California gray whale migration.
No matter what wheels you prefer — roller skates, skateboard, car, bike or even unicycle — L.A. on Wheels Day celebrates all forms of zippy transport at the Natural History Museum. The event includes live skate demos from pro skaters as well as — wait for it — Rowdy the Skate Dog, plus the LA Derby Dolls and LA Skate Hunnies.
Calling all horse people: The Split Rock Jumping Tour culminates after two weeks of horse show jumping at Santa Anita Park, which was recently named the official equestrian venue for the LA28 Olympic Games. Check out elite riders and horses, then head down to the racecourse for the big event — the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup — happening on Saturday.
Halloween may be long over, but you still have a last chance to take an evening wander through Lauren Tsai’s haunting installation in Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Tsai uses drawing, painting, sculpture, stop-motion animation and puppets (created in collaboration with Andy Gent) to take visitors through a character — Astrid’s — world.
Happy Wicked: For Good opening weekend to all who celebrate. You know where I’ll be. If you have been singing along since the trailer came out, head to Licorice Pizza for a Wicked: For Good soundtrack listening party on Saturday at 5 p.m. — there will even be giveaways!
Licorice Pizza also has music picks around town for the weekend, including Lucius at the Wiltern on Friday, Robert Plant at the United on Saturday, Goapele at the Blue Note and Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Teragram. Cerritos Center has a killer lineup of Todd Rundgren on Saturday and Al Jardine from the Beach Boys on Sunday, and the Dreamstate SoCal trance festival is happening in Long Beach all weekend long.
Saturday, November 22, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Corita Day Marciano Art Foundation 4357 Wilshire Blvd., Koreatown COST: FREE, RESERVATION REQUIRED; MORE INFO
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Corita Kent
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Third Eye
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Pop artist and photographer Corita Kent died in 1986, but her powerful messages of social justice have perhaps never been clearer in Los Angeles history. An artist, nun and educator who later left the Catholic Church, Kent’s colorful prints gained attention during challenging moments in our past, from the 1960s civil rights movement to apartheid. This year marks the sixth annual Corita Day, which will be celebrated at Marciano Arts Foundation this Saturday, with some help from KCRW and other community organizations, including a performance from Bob Baker’s marionettes. You can explore the new Corita Kent: Sorcery of Images exhibit at the all-ages, free event, and also bring along your creativity for button making, screen printing and more ways to make inspiring, colorful art like Kent’s.
Saturday, November 22, 6:30 a.m. to Sunday, November 23, 5 p.m. Annual Moby Dick Reading Venice Beach COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Museon, CC BY 4.0
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Wikimedia Commons
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Ahoy! It’s already time for the annual reading of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick on the beach. I know I put this in every year, but it’s one of my favorite — and so uniquely Venice — events that mark the start of the California gray whale migration. After the rain this week, it should be brisk but sunny on the beach, so bring a blanket and sign up for your favorite chapter to read aloud.
Saturday, November 22, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. L.A. On Wheels Day Natural History Museum 900 Exposition Blvd., Expo Park COST: FREE WITH MUSEUM ADMISSION; MORE INFO
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Courtesy of NHMLAC
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No matter what wheels you prefer — roller skates, skateboard, car, bike or even unicycle, L.A. on Wheels Day celebrates all forms of zippy transport at the Natural History Museum. The event includes live skate demos from pro skaters as well as — wait for it — Rowdy the Skate Dog, plus the LA Derby Dolls and LA Skate Hunnies. There’s also a chance to make art, listen to stories from the Drag Arts Lab and check out wheel-themed museum presentations.
Through Sunday, November 23 Split Rock Jumping Tour Santa Anita Park 285 W Huntington Drive, Arcadia COST: FROM $30; MORE INFO
Calling all horse people: The Split Rock Jumping Tour culminates after two weeks of horse show jumping at Santa Anita Park, which was recently named the official equestrian venue for the LA28 Olympic Games. Check out elite riders and horses, then head down to the racecourse for the big event — the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup — happening on Saturday.
Saturday, November 22, 10 a.m. Venice Winter Fest Venice Blvd., Mar Vista COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Gal Media Group
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Get your holiday shopping on the fun (and local!) way with 300+ local creators, designers and artists selling their wares You can also listen to live music curated by Breaking Sound, refuel with restaurants and food trucks, then work it all off at free classes from The Gym Venice. Take a stroll up Venice Blvd. and soak up the beachy holiday vibes.
Through November 22, 6 p.m. 10 p.m. Lauren Tsai: The Dying World Hollywood Forever 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Joshua White
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Halloween may be long over, but you still have a last chance to take an evening wander through Lauren Tsai’s haunting installation in Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Tsai uses drawing, painting, sculpture, stop-motion animation and puppets (created in collaboration with Andy Gent) to take visitors through a character — Astrid’s — world.
Through Sunday, November 23 Perspectives Zena and Pauline Gatov Gallery Alpert Jewish Community Center 3801 E. Willow Street, Long Beach COST: FREE; MORE INFO
The Long Beach Modern Quilting Guild is putting on this exhibit at the Alpert JCC, featuring 32 modern quilts and fiber arts from members of the community. Quilting is an old tradition, but this group is committed to modern patterns from minimalist to intricate, and is preserving quilting as an art form. These aren’t your grandma’s quilts!
Viewing Pick
Saturday, November 22, 7:30 p.m. Home Alone: A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin Terrace Theater 300 E. Ocean Blvd #300, Long Beach COST: FROM $68.35, MORE INFO
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Twentieth Century Studios
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Kevin McCallister himself will be on hand for this special screening of holiday favorite Home Alone. The John Hughes classic is celebrating 35 years of being a fixture on our holiday screens big and small (which makes me want to do the classic scream). Following the film screening, Macaulay Culkin will share stories and memories from the making of the film.
Dine & Drink Deals
Sunday, November 23, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Jikoni at Offhand 3008 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica COST: VARIES; MORE INFO
“Afri-Cali” dining concept Jikoni L.A. is popping up at Westside favorite Offhand Wine Bar for a special one-night-only event. The menu features previous bestsellers like short rib biryani, shrimp jollof arancini and karakara pie.
Saturday, November 22, 1 p.m. Di Mart Grand Opening 21355 Sherman Way, Canoga Park COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Caribbean grocer Di Mart is opening a new location in Canoga Park. Their first day will be celebrated with discounts for shoppers, a raffle and a ribbon-cutting with the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce.
Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published November 20, 2025 5:00 AM
A Korean-style Thanksgiving spread: grilled meats, crispy jeon and all the fixin's from Yi Cha in Highland Park.
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Stan Lee
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Courtesy Yi Cha
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Topline:
Five L.A. restaurants that are reimagining Thanksgiving: Creole soul food, coastal seafood, Korean American fusion, Caribbean jerk turkey and Chinese-inspired elegance. These chef-driven menus let diners skip the stress while celebrating the city's diverse flavors.
Why it's important: LA's multicultural dining scene is redefining the holiday, offering families ways to honor their heritage or try something completely new — without spending hours in the kitchen. It's a Thanksgiving that reflects how the city actually eats.
Why now: Most pre-order deadlines close between Friday and Monday, and some spots (like Harold & Belle's) are opening for Thanksgiving for the first time in 50-plus years.
This year, skip the dry turkey anxiety and discover what Thanksgiving can actually look like in a city as culturally diverse as Los Angeles.
From Cajun turkey to a Korean fried chicken, from Caribbean jerk-spiced turkey legs to Chinese-inspired chicken ballotines with black truffle, some of L.A.'s most celebrated restaurants are proving that Thanksgiving doesn't have to mean the same old bird and sides.
These menus honor heritage, invite experimentation and celebrate the city's rich tapestry of cultures, one delicious plate at a time.
Most pre-order deadlines close between Friday and Monday, so place your orders now while availability lasts — waiting until next week could mean settling for whatever's left at the grocery store instead of these fabulous chef-driven feasts.
Harold & Belle's: A Creole Thanksgiving
The complete tray-bake treatment from Harold & Belle's: Cajun-smoked turkey, candied yams, cornbread dressing, creamed greens, mac and cheese and cornbread muffins.
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Courtesy Harold & Belle’s
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For the first time in over 50 years, the legendary Harold & Belle's is breaking with tradition by opening its doors on Thanksgiving Day. Guests can choose between dining in for a $45 prix-fixe menu featuring either Cajun turkey or beef pot roast (both served with cornbread dressing, candied yams and Louisiana bread pudding) or ordering their complete Thanksgiving spread to go.
The family-owned institution, which has been serving New Orleans-inspired soul food since 1969, will be welcoming diners throughout the day, from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations are available now on Resy.
For those celebrating at home, their extensive catering menu offers everything from individual holiday meals to family combos serving up to 50 guests, complete with specialty sides like oyster dressing, macaroni and cheese, jambalaya and their signature filé gumbo.
An ideal option for anyone looking to swap the traditional turkey routine for something with a little more Louisiana flair.
Order info: Place orders by Monday. Call (323) 735-9023 or email catering@haroldandbelles.com, with pickup available through Thanksgiving Eve. Location: 2920 W. Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles
Connie & Ted's: An East Coast-inspired seafood spread
Lobster rolls, chowder, crudo and plenty of fries — classic East Coast comfort with a sunny L.A. attitude from Connie & Ted's in West Hollywood.
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Courtesy Connie & Ted's
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If turkey isn't your thing, West Hollywood's beloved Connie & Ted's is offering a completely different take with their seafood-centric takeout menu.
There's a variety of à la carte options, including wild shrimp with lemon and cocktail sauce ($28 for a half-pound), house-smoked fish dip ($14), chilled lobster and rock crab ($104 for 1 1/4-pound lobster and one rock crab), Dutch apple crumb pie ($55), pumpkin pie ($55) and chocolate whoopie pies ($14 for two).
Additionally, there is a $325 prix-fixe feast for four that features chilled lobster (2 1/2 pounds), two rock crabs, 1 pound of wild shrimp, house-smoked fish dip, market salad, dinner rolls and your choice of Dutch apple crumb pie or pumpkin pie with toasted oat streusel.
A fresh, elegant alternative for anyone ready to trade in the turkey and stuffing for butter-poached lobster and saffron aioli — no apron required.
Order info: Place orders by Sunday. Call (323) 848-2722, with pickup available Wednesday from 3 to 9:30 p.m. Location: 8171 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood
Firstborn: Chinese-inspired elegance
Firstborn's chicken ballotine feast, featuring heritage chicken breast stuffed with Chinese sausage, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, chestnut and black truffle.
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Ron De Angelis
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Courtesy Firstborn
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Firstborn in Chinatown is offering a Chinese-inspired Thanksgiving feast ($290, serves four) that centers on a showstopping heritage chicken ballotine stuffed with Chinese sausage, shiitake, ginger, chestnut and black truffle, all finished with a luxurious truffle jus gras. It's comfort food elevated to celebration-worthy status, accompanied by sides that seamlessly blend Eastern and Western flavors: brown butter-roasted honeynut squash with poached pears and black vinegar caramel; steamed bun stuffing with truffled sausage; sweet soy-braised eggplant casserole; BBQ cabbage; and Chinese stewed prunes.
Optional add-ons include a green cardamom apple tarte tatin, a fall Manhattan cocktail for two or pear and white tea kombucha to round out the meal.
Order info: Preorder via OpenTable and schedule your pickup between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Location: 978 N. Broadway, Los Angeles
Yi Cha: A Korean American Thanksgiving feast
A Korean-inspired holiday lineup from Chef Debbie Lee's restaurant, Yi Cha in Highland Park, featuring crispy jeon and lacquered pork belly, served with vibrant banchan.
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Stan Lee
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Courtesy Yi Cha
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Highland Park's Yi Cha, headed by Chef Debbie Lee, brings a Seoul-ful twist to Thanksgiving with a Korean American fusion feast that reimagines holiday classics. Forget the traditional fried chicken — here it's "The OG KFC" (Korean Fried Chicken) with eight drums, served with your choice of Halmuni garlic or pimento chile sauce and pickled daikon ($28). The menu also features Joseon bossam — crispy pork belly with seasonal ssamjang, crispy garlic, perilla, Coleman Farms lettuce and jangajji ($39, serves four to six) — alongside inventive sides by the quart, including kimchee smashed potatoes ($20), emperor-style japchae ($25), tutti frutti green beans ($20) and Asian coleslaw ($18).
For dessert, swap the pumpkin pie for goguma (Asian sweet potato) pie with shortbread crust, Asian pear crème fraîche and spicy peanut brittle ($48, serves six to eight) or persimmon bread pudding with doenjang caramel and ginger mascarpone ($40, serves four to six). A great choice for anyone looking to honor both their Korean heritage and American traditions — or simply anyone ready to shake up their Thanksgiving table with bold, unexpected flavors.
Order info: Orders must be placed by Friday through their website. Pickup available Wednesday from noon to 6 p.m. Location: 5715 N. Figueroa St., Suite 101, Los Angeles
Bridgetown Roti: Caribbean comfort for the holidays
Jerk turkey legs from Bridgetown Roti in East Hollywood — charred and citrusy — joined by their signature patties, callaloo greens and their mac-and-cheese pie for the win.
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Joseph N. Durate
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Courtesy Bridgetown Roti
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For those craving island flavors this Thanksgiving, Bridgetown Roti is serving up Caribbean comfort with their specially curated holiday menu. À la carte offerings include jerk turkey legs (1 1/2-2 pounds with jerk sauce on the side, $20), 10-piece mini-patty boxes with your choice of up to two protein flavors like oxtail and peppers, jerk chicken or green curry shrimp ($60) or veggie options, including curried yam and mango or garlic Trini eggplant and scallion ($60). For sides, there's a whole macaroni and cheese pie made with sharp cheddar, jack, parmesan and house curry that feeds eight to 10 ($30), callaloo greens by the quart with coconut and pepper ($22) and channa and sweet potato curry, also by the quart ($22).
All items come ready to bake or warm with instructions included. Bring bold Caribbean spices and soul-warming comfort to your holiday table — no bland, dry turkey in sight.
Order info: Place orders through their website by Sunday at 8 p.m., with pickup available Tuesday. Location: 858 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles
