Ahogada means drowned in sauce, and I had the choice of green sauce or red. I chose the green because I know it's made with tomatillos that give the sauce a refreshing sourness. On the menu it listed the ingredients, wrapped in a flour tortilla, as being portobello and shiitake mushrooms, squash in chile pasilla, tofu, tomato, onion, panela cheese, pico de gallo, green zucchini, Mexican zucchini, pickled cabbage, and Oaxaca cheese. I'm not sure that all of these ingredients were in there, but it did come with the welcome addition of corn and creamy pink beans. A friend told me that she really liked the burritos at this place, and the one I had did not disappoint.
Location: Low Desert, 1775 E Palm Canyon Drive, Ste 405, Palm Springs, California. Date: April 17, 2024.
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This pizza crust sported house manicotti spread and mozzarella cheese topped with portobello mushroom, jalapeño, and caramelized onion. It was garnished with an impressive swirl of reduced balsamic vinegar. I had some creaminess from the spread, some heat from the jalapeño slices, some acid and sweetness from the balsamic, and umami from the mushroom slices and the caramelized onion. This is a brick oven place so the crust was blistered nicely.
Location: 2 Guys Pies, 56969 Yucca Trail, Ste A, Yucca Valley, California. Date: March 20, 2024. When you're going to eat a salad, it's probably not a bad idea to have panko crusted fried goat cheese in it. That's what I got along with a good amount of sweet and chewy dried fig pieces, refreshing grapefruit supremes, and some beet and sweet potato, all served on a bed of red and green lettuce with some arugula, I believe. The crunchy goat cheese that was meltingly soft in the middle was the star, but the fig really brought this salad together. The owners used to meet under the clock at Grand Central station in New York, and when they moved out West they wanted just a small restaurant, but they found this historic larger place in Palm Springs that had a clock, and they couldn't resist.
Location: Grand Central, 160 La Plaza, Palm Springs, California. Date: March 9, 2024. This salad was composed with red and green lettuce, candied walnuts, cranberries, dates, gorgonzola cheese, sliced red onion, and sliced green apple. I chose citrus dressing as both dates and citrus are part of our valley harvest. There was crunch and sweetness from the candied walnuts and the green apple, crunch and some punch from the red onion, creaminess and umami from the gorgonzola, sweetness and chewiness from the date pieces and the cranberries, and the citrus dressing was creamy, tangy, and sweet. The dressing was served on the side, but I used it all.
Location: Capri Restaurant, 10325 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: February 17, 2024. This 16” Greek inspired pizza featured Nina's marinara sauce, mozzarella, garlic, chopped fresh tomato, soft eggplant pieces, feta cheese, Greek oregano, kalamata olive slices, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a generous garnish of fresh shredded basil. The tomato added freshness, the eggplant added creaminess and extra flavor, the feta cheese gave it saltiness and a touch of sour, the fresh basil gave it some herbal spice, and the other ingredients were the supporting cast that helped take this pizza to the next level. The dough was fairly thin and nicely baked.
Location: Nina's, 555 S Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 10, 2024. When I asked her, Nina claimed she couldn't remember all the ingredients in her tzatziki. “Too many ingredients,” she said, but she did disclose that it was yoghurt based and not made with sour cream like the cheaters do. It's served with pita bread wedges and cucumber slices, and it's garnished with olive oil and a chopped herb that I think was mint. It's on the salty side, but when you eat it with the cucumber, it's actually perfect. My sister was with me, and she doesn't usually like tzatziki sauce, but she declared that this one was the most delicious she's ever had, and she actually meant that it was delicious.
Location: Nina's, 555 S Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 3, 2024. Apart from the quinoa, this salad had black beans, tomato, sweet corn, avocado, shaved red onion, pickled fresno chiles, cilantro, crumbled queso fresco, and a roasted tomato vinaigrette dressing. There was sweetness and some chew from the corn, spice and acid from the fresnos, tang from cherry tomatoes, creaminess from the avocado, and protein from the quinoa and beans. The salad was on a bed of green and red lettuce, and it was garnished with pretty watermelon radish slices. There was some crunch from the onion, and the vinaigrette was tangy but not over-powering so I could taste all the good ingredients.
Location: Saguaro, 1800 E Palm Canyon, Palm Springs, California. Date: January 30, 2024. These were four half slices of toasted Italian bread with whole slices of tomato (not chopped tomato as usual). The tomato slices were topped with pesto, grated parmesan cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. My sister said, “It's perfect,” and she always judges Italian restaurants by this one dish. I have to admit that this was one of the best I've had.
Location: Dattilo, 2288 E Florida Avenue, Hemet, California. Date: January 27, 2024. Apart from the grilled romaine, there was avocado, tomato, red onion, and grilled sweet potato with a raspberry dressing. There was some nice char flavor from the grilled romaine, some acid from the tomato, crunch from the red onion slices, a touch of sweetness from the sweet potato, and creaminess from the avocado. The raspberry dressing was muted, but the ingredients in the salad were exceptional. The char on the lettuce and the pop of the cherry tomato halves made this dish noteworthy. I have now blogged all three salads at Low Desert.
Location: Low Desert, Smoke Tree Village, 1775 E Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: January 26, 2024. When a flatbread has portobello mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, cream of parmegiano, truffle oil, and whole garlic cloves, you have to take notice. Both the garlic and the truffle flavors came through in force, and the flatbread was cheesy with umami from the parmesan cheese sauce. It was garnished with chopped parsley. The bread had crispy edges, and it was served on a wooden board. I love a good flatbread, and this vegetarian version was definitely a good one.
Location: Spaghetti Western, 50048 29 Palms Hwy, Morongo Valley, California. Date: January 20, 2024. |
AuthorChef Roland has been a legal resident of seven countries and has travelled in over thirty, documenting food along the way. He currently resides in the desert in Southern California. Categories
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