DINING BEAT : THANKSGIVING MEAL DEALS.

Byline: Larry Lipson

Whether it's a meal to take home, a buffet, or a sit-down, full-service experience, restaurant options are still open for Thanksgiving.

Here are a few:

Turkeys ready to fly

Looking for a turkey dinner to go? One of the best deals is that of the Century Plaza Hotel, 2025 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, [phone], where an 18-to 20-pound butter-roasted tom turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, a medley of vegetables, cranberry relish and gravy is only $70. Whole pumpkin pies and cheesecakes are $12 each. Ordering deadline is noon Tuesday. And there's a guarantee: Your turkey will be delivered to your car at the front of the hotel within 90 seconds or it's on the house.

Turkey dinner to go also may be ordered from a Koo Koo Roo (20 local locations, Woodland Hills: 818-340-6600) with various options in size and side dish additions and must be picked up the day before Thanksgiving. A 14-to 16-pounder (feeds 12) is $44.99, a 26- to 28-pounder (feeds 20) $139.99.

At a Daily Grill (four local locations, Studio City: 818-769-6336) whole turkey with trimmings, sides and dessert sells for $22.95 per person, 72 hours advance order necessary, and there's a two-person minimum. Pick-up hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Vegetarians have the opportunity to pick up a faux turkey dinner with all the veggie and fruit trimmings, salad and oat-crusted pumpkin pie from Real Food Daily, 5143 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, [phone], for $24.75 if they order by Monday.

And the Boston Market chain is selling complete holiday turkey breast meals priced from $38.99 to $115.99. To reach the location nearest you, call [phone].

And, if you want everything except the turkey, Granita has all the fancy trimmings, sides and stuff at its 23725 W. Malibu Road restaurant in Malibu for $18 a person. Call by Monday to pick up Wednesday: [phone].

And if you work in downtown L.A., pick up your cooked turkey for $3.95 a pound at Engine Co. No. 28, 644 S. Figueroa St. [phone], on Wednesday, or order a feast to go for $135 (feeds 6 to 8).

Especially for buffet buffs

There are those buffet fanciers who love to go back and get seconds or thirds. On Thanksgiving, they might want to try Merv Griffin's Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, where two buffets will be going on in both the Griff's and L'Escoffier dining areas. Price is $39 (children under 12 $20), and the buffet tables will have roast turkey, all the traditional sides, roast lamb, salmon, prime rib, glazed ham, corn and oyster stew, veal scalloppini and loads of appetizers and pastries. Call [phone].

For its first Thanksgiving buffet, the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, [phone], fills its La Brasserie buffet tables with a slew of interesting dishes in addition to the expected traditional ones. Price is $35 (children 4 to 12 $20).

And one of the Southland's most prestigious buffet bruncheries, the landmark Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, [phone], presents its annual Thanksgiving Day brunch (11 culinary stations) in its Grand Salon with a harpist entertaining. And there's a separate children's buffet. Price is $26 (children under 12 $9.95). Incidentally, the Queen has turkey meals in its three restaurants, Sir Winston's, the Chelsea, and the Promenade Cafe.

Sit back and savor

A French-accented Thanksgiving feast at Le Chardonnay, 8284 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, [phone] is a three-course meal for $30. ... At Bistro Garden, 12950 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, [phone], the three-course Thanksgiving Day prix-fixe is $34 that ends with an optional pumpkin or chocolate souffle. ... Patina, 5955 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, [phone], has a lavish four-course dinner for $48, and its lower-priced siblings - Pinot Bistro, 12969 Ventura Blvd., Studio City [phone]; Cafe Pinot, 700 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles, [phone]; Pinot Hollywood, 1448 N. Gower St., Hollywood, [phone]; and Pinot at the Chronicle, 897 Granite Drive, Pasadena, [phone] - are cooking four-course turkey dinners priced from $30 to $32.

At JoeJoe's, 13355 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, [phone], three-course dinners have five or six options for each course, the total tab being $25. ... The upscale presentations of 2087 - An American Bistro, 2087 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, [phone], showcases the restaurant's first Thanksgiving menu with a three-course prix-fixe with four options per course. Price is $30 (children under 13 $12.50), and there's a Beaujolais Nouveau wine option at $15 per bottle, the perfect accompaniment for turkey. ... Also holding its first turkey meal event is the new Shark Bar, 826 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, [phone], with a Southern-soul accented, three-course dinner with a choice of one of seven starters, one of four entrees, two of nine side dishes and one of four desserts plus house-baked bread, biscuits and muffins. Tab is $34.95.