Last week we were in Palm Springs and we spent 5 days eating and sightseeing and window shopping (with both shops and homes) and soaking up some much needed sun. We did a lot, but we also relaxed quite a bit.
We went to a handful of "must-visit" restaurants while there and had some of the prettiest food we've seen, which I always enjoy and like to share, because you eat with your eyes first. Here's a quick tour of our trip through dishes we were served:
Farm
We made it off the plane and our car was dropped off (we used Turo) and we were starving, so we headed straight downtown, found free parking, and headed to Farm. This French country restaurant uses locally-grown and sourced foods that all looked beautiful. I was even able to get a watermelon juice. I haven't had one of those out since our trip to Ecuador. Anyway, I asked our waiter his preference between two dishes and he recommended the eggs Florentine. My eyes and my stomach were both happy with that decision.
Gastropub 1501
I knew we weren't going to want to eat too heavily on our first day. Our flight was just before 8am, so we were on our way to the airport at 5:30. We ate pretty much as soon as we got off the plane, but travel days are always weird, so I opted to hit up a much-recommended gastropub for happy hour. We aren't drinkers, but we love a good discounted food menu. I'd been looking forward to this charcuterie board all week and I was not disappointed when it arrived at our table, with the exception of the marcona almonds, but then realized those were awesome with everything else.
Eric also ordered this avocado toast, which was lovely to look at, but he was less than thrilled by the bland "heirloom" tomatoes, and I thought the onions weren't pickled enough. When he mentioned his thoughts on the tomatoes, the waiter said he'd heard that before. I wonder how many time times they need to hear it before they change the kind they use to something more palate-pleasing.
Boozehounds
I found this restaurant on a list of Instagram-worthy dining spots and chose it because it had great reviews and also was a hot-spot for people with dogs. I made reservations for brunch and we sat on their pretty patio, so I could see diners with their pups, and ordered this blueberry ube blintz plate and French toast (it was nothing exciting to look at, but was tasty). This came with matcha powder and edible flowers.
The food was good, but not amazing. The biggest disappointment here was the crazy prices for their coffee. Eric ordered a French press ($9!) and I got a double-espresso ($2.50) that they served me in a shot glass instead of an espresso cup and it was stone cold by the time he brought it to the table and explained the menu. I will give them credit for the gorgeous restaurant, inside and out, and the amazing bathroom.
Tac/Quila
We were able to walk to downtown/uptown from our timeshare, so we did and we got a lot of bonus exercise this way. The people who started Farm decided that they wanted to venture into a different kind of food from another part of the world. The opened an upscale Mexican restaurant and serve everything from specialty cocktails to small plates to platters. We both had tacos (calamari and steak), but we started with taco chips, which are like tiny tacos filled with refried beans and served with a trio of sauces/dips. I love their plates. Click through my link to see the restaurant and their amazing bathrooms.
Wilma and Frieda's
All the most-recommended restaurants seem to be right next to each other, but Palm Springs is actually fairly small, so that's not surprising really. We finally made it to Wilma and Frieda's on Sunday for brunch with a very short wait. Their menu has a ton of things that sound delicious. I ordered the biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs and country potatoes. It was very good, but not visually interesting, though the eggs were that very fresh deep yellow color. Instead, I give you Eric's bangers and rings, an eggs Benedict with a split open grilled cheddar sausage and poached eggs nested in onion rings. It could have used more sausage, but other than that, it was interesting to look at and to eat.
Local restaurants tended to be fairly expensive, so I only made one reservation a day, and it was usually breakfast. Dinners were hard to get reservations some days and the price per entrée were more than we were willing to pay. Overall, the food in Palm Springs was very good, but somewhat overpriced. Coffee, almost everywhere, was outrageous, but my $7.50 coffee at a coffeehouse was better than all the (even more) expensive coffee at restaurants. I'm not sure what sort of coffee crowd they're catering to, but if I'm paying almost $10 for a drink, it either better be a damn good artisan coffee with flavors and spices or have booze in it. Even so, I can't wait to go back to Palm Springs.
What are some of your favorite places to travel for the food?
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