Drive into Palms Springs and you’re enveloped by the beauty of the Coachella Valley desert region. Majestic mountains ranges—San Bernardino Mountains, Santa Rosa Mountains to the south and San Jacinto Mountains—frame the desert floor. Clear blue skies are above.
A mellow lifestyle and a slower pace than L.A. are star attractions. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen rented a house in Palm Springs over the Thanksgiving holidays. Also, a bunch of innovative restaurants are changing the food scene in the best ways and are drawing in food lovers from far and near.
Citrus & Palm at Miramonte Resort – Haute Cuisine (45000 Indian Wells Ln, Indian Wells, CA 92210)
The town of Indian Wells, in the Palm Springs area, is home to the lush boutique-like Miramonte Indian Wells Resort & Spa, which features the immensely wonderful, farm-to-fork Citrus & Palm restaurant. Come for the pool and sunbathing, stay for the amazing array of locally-sourced food. Eye the salmon from a Carlsbad CA fish farm. Savor flavorful, tender Mangalitsa pork—the Kobe beef of pork—made from Hungarian pigs. The flavors in the food at C&P are what you will remember—forever. Connoisseurs will appreciate the fluid ever-changing menus that reflect the chef’s latest out-of-this-world creations.
Our Picks: 1.) Fruit de Mer (Local fish, mussels, little neck clams, lobster, shrimp). 2.) Mangalitsa Tomahawk Pork Chops (3.) Coachella Date Cake or the 8 Layer Chocolate Cake.
Daniel’s Table Restaurant Wine Bar – Organic Delights (68327 E Palm Canyon Dr, Cathedral City, CA 92234)
“We only eat what we serve.” That’s Chef Daniel Villanueva mantra. His very personal organic restaurant has menus that are as fluid as the seasons. Daniel and his wife walk around the few tables and kitchen-viewing counter greeting guests, taking requests and establishing an intimate ambiance. Mellowed jazz music plays. Impressive locally-sourced hors d’ oeuvres, entrees and pastries feature dates, bison, figs and duck. Pick from a dazzling international wine list for a sophisticated and romantic evening.
Our Picks: 1.) Botter, Casa Marrone Pinot Grigio wine from Veneto, Italy. 2.) Duck Egg Cassoulet. 3.) Grilled Bison Back Ribs. 4.) Fresh Fig Cake.
The Pantry at Holiday House – Home Cooking (200 W Arenas Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92262)
Walk into Holiday House, a midcentury, 28-room Palm Springs boutique hotel, and head right to this intimate poolside restaurant where guests and home cooking lovers congregate. Chef Gabriel Woo’s creed is “simplicity.” Ingredients from local farms and purveyors are at his fingertips as he uses his culinary skills to apply classical French techniques to daily meals or special dinners: Try “Fried Chicken Fridays Nights,” when you can enjoy a family style meal. Woo’s secret for delicious bird? “Brine chicken for five hours … fry in cottonseed oil.”
Our Picks: 1.) Start with a pitcher of the Perfect Margarita. 2.) Pick Baby Kale Salad or HH Lobster Roll. 3.) End with the Mayan Brownie.