three meals in the desert

Two dinners and a lunch for us to talk about.  Here we go.

Wally's Desert Turtle.  Our favourite place to get to.  Yes, there is better, more adventuresome food in the desert.  And, honestly, service was kind of lacking this time.  But we love it there.  My streak continued:  so far as I can recall, I have had liver and onions every time I have eaten there, and this time was no different. 

Yum!  Also, chocolate souffle shared for dessert. 

What a nice evening it was, service glitches aside.  So happy to be back.  Conrad was able to chat with the owner about a possible big birthday dinner for himself later in the year, too.  You know that made him happy.

King's Highway.  Brunch and an opportunity to catch up with Kent for the first time since he and Geoff moved to France, split up, moved back to the desert.  Nice to see him, and a nice choice for brunch.  A diner, but a few cuts above.  I had a mocktail to sip,

then a substantial breakfast burrito because I was in a breakfast-y mood. 

I stole fries from Van, yum.  I'd be happy to go back.

Bar Issi.  The other restaurant at our hotel.  Van and I had been there the year before, but it was nice to get Conrad there with us.  We had a table outside, and the temperature, while warm, was entirely pleasant.  We had cocktails and then dug into a few courses.  A tomato salad that was just dressed, thick slices of heirloom tomatoes - simple and good.  Puccia bread with butters, piping hot and delicious. 

Zucchini blossoms, a nice little treat. 

Two pizzas, one pepperoni and one with chicken and asparagus. 

We ate our fill and took the rest back to the room.  A very nice night, but Van and I did think that some of the little service issues we experienced last year hadn't yet been fully fixed.  Ah well.

All in all, good dining in the desert.  And there are yet new places to try next visit as well as old faves to return to.

a last hurrah

We had dinner out at Wally's last night.  It remains our go-to for when we want to feel a little more special, a little more cared for.  Is there more innovative food elsewhere in the Coachella Valley?  Is there a more hip and youthful setting?  Yes, I admit that is the case.  Wally's is a fine rebuttal in a sense, a place of white table cloths and people dressed a little nicely (sorry for the vanity shot!)

and teams of waitstaff taking care of the tables.  It's old school in its food, but it does old school so so very well.

Van's realtor and dear friend, Jennifer, treated us along with her husband and another friend staying with them at their Palm Springs condo to a meal last night.  It was a last hurrah of sorts - oh sure, we'll come down to the desert and we'll come to Wally's.  But it won't be like it has been, walking the two or so blocks over any time we had the urge.  A little bittersweet.

But we will make a point of visiting again and hope that they haven't forgotten us.  As always, it was the liver for me,

and we shared three souffles, including this raspberry one, for dessert.

By the time this posts this evening, Conrad and I will be back in Pasadena.  I'll be down in the desert again next Friday, and that will be my farewell to all the good times at this Rancho Mirage home.

you know what I love?

Liver.

Unapologetically.

Liver. 

Honestly?  I don't need the bacon, but some good onions really enhance the experience.

I credit Annalee, who, years ago at Don Diego's incited me to try some duck livers from some birds that she had broken down for dinner.  Sauteed quickly, a light vinaigrette and a sprinkling of crumbled blue cheese.  Holy gosh, they were good.  A revelation to me, which is odd.  I had loved braunschweiger as a child (really loved it to the point of taking sandwiches with it for school lunch).  On the other hand, I love my late Mum, but she cooked meat to within an inch of leather, and her approach to the calves liver that she made for her and Roy was very much that.  I hated liver as a child.

But oh, I love it now!

This past Friday, while we were in the desert, we wandered over to Wally's for a nice evening out.  Some oysters to start with,

and a raspberry souffle to share for desert,

but as with, oh, every time that I go there, I had the liver for dinner. 

Bring on the old school restaurants that still make it.  And they make it very nicely indeed.  Van opted for the same, and Conrad politely declined a taste because he DOES NOT APPRECIATE LIVER.

Oh, and as a reminder (and thank you Liliha Bakery Waikiki), I love Spam as well.

Me?  A food snob?  Kiss my grits!