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.
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All the fresh produce at The Spread is sourced from Farmer in the Dale, a local farmer's market that gets its produce from local farms. My Italian sub featured layers of ham, salami, and pepperoni, as well as a slice of provolone cheese. The sandwich was dressed with lettuce, tomato, onion, and green pepper. It was seasoned with mayo and Italian herb sauce. This was savory and tangy goodness. You can build your own sub at The Spread, and that's what I'm going to do next.
Location: The Spread, 66184 Pierson Blvd, Desert Hot Springs, California. Date: March 2, 2024. I can almost never pass up chimichurri sauce, that green Argentine condiment made with a base of olive oil, parsley (or cilantro), and garlic. It's used to flavor meat, and this steak taco featured it along with grilled onion. There was some sweetness from the onion, and I could definitely taste the garlic in the chimichurri. The grilled meat was tender, and the taco was nicely presented with a garnish of micro cilantro. There was a wedge of lime for squeezing and a crunchy slice of radish on the side. There was also some salsa on the side but it wasn't as good as the chimichurri so I didn't use it. Actually, Mexico meets Argentina is not an uncommon theme in the culinary world.
Location: Low Desert, 1775 E Palm Canyon Drive, Suite 405, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 28, 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 house-made charred tomato salsa is served, as usual, with tortilla chips. It's spicy, smokey, savory, and a lady friend of mine claimed that it had some sweetness. I've been enjoying this tasty and smooth salsa for years, but only now did it occur to me to feature it on my blog.
Location: El Jefe, Saguaro Hotel, 1800 E Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 16, 2024. You don't find these everyday, and you probably wouldn't want to eat them everyday; however, the tripe in these tacos was grilled and had a more smokey flavor than funky (it is cow stomach). These tacos were new and not yet on the menu, but I saw them on the chalk board outside. My two tacos were served with rice and beans and a small salad, and they made for a good meal.
Location: El Taco Asado, 440 S El Cielo Road, Ste 19, Palm Springs, California. Date: February 15, 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. This was a tall mojito with mint leaves in the drink and a whole sprig of mint for garnish; however, it also came with pieces of raspberry for gorgeous color, flavor, and texture. It wasn't very sweet, which suits me just fine, and it was refreshing and crazy good. It's also on the happy hour menu, and who does that for finely crafted cocktails? It was mint to be.
Location: Saguaro, 1800 E Palm Canyon, Palm Springs, California. Date: January 30, 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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