Desert Vibes 🌵

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a nice Mother’s Day!  Will I see any of you tonight at Zibby’s Bookshop in Santa Monica at 6:00 pm?? I am interviewing my friend Catherine McCord about all things meal planning and cooking for a family.  Come!  It’s a free event!

Because Hubs and I have a house in Palm Desert, I get a lot of questions about where we like to eat, go, shop, drink, etc.  Hubs spends much more time there than I do, so I asked him to share his list with you. Now the list has a place to live where you can reference it in the future! Palm Desert and Palm Springs are not the same place, so if you are headed there on a vacation or a trip, get a sense of where they both are and how far apart one is from the other, especially if you are staying in one place and making dinner reservations in another.  

If you have any favorites that are not on this list, please share!

Palm Desert Restaurants

Porta Via — fun mcm restaurant and bar, very stylish Palm Springs vibe. Nice bar and high end cocktails. 

Wildest — healthy menu with seafood and pastas. 

Castelli’s — old school Italian fun vibe with good service. 

Mitch’s El Paseo — good seafood. 

Chef Tanya — plant based breakfast, lunch and dinner and soft serve ice cream, with good gift shop and takeaway items. 

Thai Smile on El Paseo — good Thai and Chinese food, open air seating. 

Guillermo’s — traditional Mexican food. 

Cactus Jack’s — classic old school local favorite, lunch sandwiches and salads; dinner chicken, steaks, salads. 

J’s Deli — good deli restaurant for BLD.

Piero’s Pizzavino — good NY style pizza and pasta. 

Shogun — higher end teppan Japanese. 

Jillian’s — El Paseo mainstay. 

Louise’s — excellent breakfast in La Quinta. 

Keedy’s — old school 50s diner in Palm Desert. 

Quick serve:

Luna Mediterranean Kitchen

The Habit

Fish Grill

Bar Food:

Little Bar — live music themed craft bar from former head of Goldenvoice; best drinks in east desert, burgers and chicken sandwiches. 

Desserts:

Chef Tanya soft serve

Lapperts Hawaiian Ice Cream

Handels Ice Cream

Palm Springs

Good Restaurants:

Bar Cecil — great food and stylish bar. Hard to get a reservation!

Johnny Costa — best Italian in Coachella valley. Former Sinatra chef in 70s/80s. 

Melvyn’s — revamped old school fine dining with good piano bar. 

Spencer’s — picturesque outdoor dining in Tennis Club area. 

Workshop Kitchen — elevated dining and excellent cocktails. 

Eight4 Nine — nice indoor outdoor on Palm Canyon, good veggie burger and s’mores dessert. 

So.pa — beautiful outdoor dining at a chic MCM resort hotel, healthy options. 

Sparrow Lodge — nice outdoor lunch, healthy options. 

Tropicale — fun Miami vibe supper club. 

Farm — good brunch and dinner with outside garden dining room. 

Sandfish — best sushi in town. 

Le Vallauris — romantic French restaurant. 

Azúcar — fun rooftop fish tacos and cocktails. 

Bars:

Truss and Twine — great bar. 

Tailor Shop — sexy bar with apps. 

Del Rey — stylish bar and Spanish tapas. 

Tiki:  Bootlegger Tiki is more craft bar level, and Tonga Hut is a more fun place with decent tiki bar food. 

Casual Food:

Birba — outdoor dining pizzas fun vibe. 

Sherman’s — good Jewish deli with fun outdoor patio. 

King’s Highway — fun stylish Mid century redo of an old Denny’s with high end food, with many healthy options for breakfast and lunch.

Mid Mod Cafe — vegan options, healthy breakfast and lunch with outdoor patio. 

Chicken Ranch — good quick lunch spot with good salads and chicken sandwich, green beans good.

Palm Greens Cafe — vegan and healthy breakfast and lunch. 

Rick’s — good coffee shop diner for breakfast and lunch. 

Gabino’s Crêperie — great little crepe window for  savory crepes. 

Kreem — excellent homemade vegan ice cream. 

Desert Activities:

Palm Springs Tramway

Hiking in Indian Canyons and Palm Desert 

Shields Date Farm — date picking and date shakes, gift shop and terrace restaurant. 

Shadow Mountain Country Club Flamingo — Putting course for adults. 

Living Desert — desert zoo with hiking trails. 

Vintage furniture and shops:

ModernWay — rare vintage furniture on consignment. Courtney Newman curator is a friend. 

Ventura — high end vintage designer furnishings next to ModernWay. 

A La Mod and Christopher Anthony — vintage art and furniture. 

Cathedral City vintage shops at Perez Art District — less expensive vintage shops (At Hōm, Hedge, Spaces, etc. )

The Frippery — Vintage clothing. 

xxPamela