Dining Around The Desert

Dining Around The Desert: Piero’s Pizza Vino, Palm Desert

Authentic Neopolitan Pies And More

My husband Bill came to love Neapolitan pizza again on our trip to Italy summer before last. And he was excited to share with me that he’d found a newer local restaurant (opened last December by the owner of Mama Gina’s just across the street) offering authentic Neapolitan Pizza.

Fried Zucchini Blossoms And Other Menu Items

So far in about a half-dozen visits to Piero’s I’ve enjoyed Parma prosciutto and oven roasted figs, Black Mussels in Marinara sauce with Frigitelli peppers, Fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with raw honey and several of Peiro’s salads. Taking a night off from pizza recently Bill enjoyed a wedge salad followed by Lasagna “Bolognese” topped with spicy fennel Italian sausage.

Piero’s makes a number of desserts in-house and I’ll venture to say that their cheesecake is one of the best we’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. So light and airy with marvelous ricotta and oh so fresh!

Piero’s features a nice bar area, a dining room and a small patio out front for people watching on El Paseo Drive. Piero’s currently offers beer and wine and will soon be adding a full bar. Piero’s Pizza Vino is located at 73722 El Paseo, Palm Desert between San Luis Rey and San Pablo. Be sure to tell Piero's manger Milessa that Sheri sent you! (760) 568-2525

Dining Around The Desert: The “New” Cliffhouse

Last April I wrote about our visit to Cliffhouse and the fact that Cliffhouse had changed ownership as of January 1, 2012. This local favorite was taken over by the longtime owners of Pacifica Seafood Restaurant in Palm Desert. The new owners closed the restaurant for a major renovation this summer so back we went just last Friday to check things out.

Many local regulars to Cliffhouse avoid the front entrance and instead use the back stairway located on the far right of the building that’s set into the cliff. This path takes you directly to the Cactus Bar And Grill patio area set against the cliff and then into the interior space of the grill and bar.

Stepping inside on this visit we were amazed at the Cliffhouse transformation. The bar itself has been expanded and fills the majority of the room. The new Onyx stone bar surface is under lit and seating room at the bar has just about doubled.

Intimate New Lounge Area

Moving through the bar area takes you towards the front entrance where we discovered a intimate lounge area with leather sofas, chairs and ottomans. Bottles of red wine are stored on open shelves in this area, which is adjacent to the entry to the main dining room. Overall the renovation was tastefully done and seems to have been well received by the overflow crowd on this Friday evening.

The nightly happy hour at Cliffhouse is usually very popular and a bit crowded. We sampled several happy hour food items in the new lounge area including a nice pasta dish for myself, and a burger for Bill. The food was good and the service very attentive. The food menu in the bar is pretty much the same as before the remodel, but the dining room menu has additional Pacifica style entrees.

New Staff, Management And Improved Service

We noticed a lot of new staff and management during our visit. Several longtime employees have moved on to other establishments including longtime bar manager “AJ” whom we discovered is now the bar manager at Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant in La Quinta.

We will continue to recommend and enjoy Cliffhouse and expect it to be even busier this season as diners enjoy the new Cliffhouse. Cliffhouse is located just south of Point Happy Center at 78250 Highway 111 in La Quinta (1/4 mile west of Washington Street). (760) 360-5991.

Dining Around The Desert: Jackalope Ranch, Indio

Jackalope Ranch Is Big, Really Big!

Jackalope Ranch is the largest restaurant/bar in the desert, by far. It spans 6.5 acres, which can be a positive or negative, depending on what you’re looking for. Restaurant reviewers on Tripadvisor.com gave Jackalope Ranch an average rating of 3.5 out of a possible 5 stars. I completely agree. Jackalope does have several positives and a few areas it could improve upon such as improved service during peak hours. To me, a real attribute of Jackalope Ranch is its atmosphere and outdoor patio setting.

$30 Million Investment

Don Callender, founder of the Marie Callender’s restaurant chain, is said to have invested over $30 million into Jackalope Ranch, and it shows both inside and out. This was to be Don’s flagship restaurant and he truly loved the place; he also built Babe’s in Rancho Mirage at The River. Sadly, Don passed away just before Jackalope’s completion. Jackalope Ranch is now operated by the Kaiser Restaurant Group which also owns the Hog’s Breath Inn, Chop House, Grind Burger Bar, and, of course, the Kaiser Grille.

Jackalope features an indoor saloon, outdoor palapa bar and patio, and evening entertainment including ‘Two Step Tuesday’. My husband, Bill, and I visited the restaurant for Happy Hour one recent evening. The joint was jumping (to say the least) and service was somewhat hit and miss. We sampled four small plates that were very tasty including a BBQ pulled chicken sandwich, Spicy Ahi tuna tacos, fresh guacamole with chips and, of course, their margaritas; one was great and one was not.

Tamale Festival Winner

Jackalope Ranch features fresh tamales daily, including their Pulled Chicken Verde and Pulled Pork tamales. In fact, Jackalope’s tamales are so tasty that they took first place in 2010 and 2011 at the well-known Indio International Tamale Festival.

If you’re looking for a fun place to enjoy some drinks while you munch on BBQ or small plates, give Jackalope Ranch a try. Jackalope is what it is and that seems to be fine with most of the regulars.

Jackalope Ranch is located at 80400 Highway 111 in Indio, just west of Jefferson Street. (760) 342-1999

Dining Around The Desert: Solano’s Bistro, La Quinta

We reviewed Solano’s Bistro in La Quinta (one of our favorite spots) in April, 2011 but want to give you an exciting update. Just last month, Solano’s moved into its new, much larger location in Old Town La Quinta. In addition to its expanded dining area, the new Solano’s includes a separate lounge area and a much larger patio deck. The décor is tasteful and clean.

The menu and many of Solano’s wait staff made the move, which in this case is a good thing. My husband, Bill, loves the stuffed chicken with Parmesan risotto while I prefer the Huckleberry Salmon, Sea Scallops or Italian Sausage Fettuccini. Solano’s offers a variety of salads, appetizers and soups, as well.

The new lounge and adjacent patio is a great place to hang with friends and family or just relax at the end of a busy day of golf, tennis, work or vacationing. That said, Solano’s new location has become so popular you should make a reservation ahead of time, and avoid dining there during prime time on Friday and Saturday evenings. Solano’s is open for lunch and dinner and is located at 78-075 Main Street, La Quinta in the heart of Old Town. (760) 771-6655.

Dining Around The Desert: Okura, La Quinta

Okura In Point Happy Center La Quinta. Photo: Sheri Dettman & Associates ©

We’ve been enjoying the Okura Robata Grill and Sushi Bar for two years now and, frankly, I don’t know why I’ve taken this long to post a review. Even if you’re not someone who enjoys sushi, Okura’s offers a number of cooked entries including steak, seafood, spareribs, tempura vegetables, chicken and many more, that are sure to please your taste buds.

If you’re like me, you likely re-order some of your favorites after you’ve visited Okura a number of times. My husband, Bill, and I continue to enjoy our two favorites from the sushi menu. If you like just a little spice try the Dyno-Mite Rolls prepared with sweet scallops flash fried with Tobiko, cucumber and aioli sauce. Another favorite of ours is Okura’s Volcano Roll. It consists of a California Roll topped with baked salmon and spicy tuna. Or, try the Baked Alaskan Roll, another version of the Volcano Roll with a sweet Miso glaze rather than the spicy salmon.

All You Can Eat Sushi Is Another Option

While we order ala cart from the menu, you might consider Okura’s $29.95 ‘All You Can Eat’ sushi menu. Basically, you are given one hour to eat all the sushi you can. To take advantage of this offer, everyone at your table must order this option and finish all of their food.

Okura features a nice little lounge area, a sushi bar, dining room and a small patio out front. In summary, Okura bridges the gap nicely between a hardcore sushi restaurant and a trendy first-class dining spot.

Okura Robata Grill and Sushi Bar is located at 78370 Highway 111, La Quinta in the Point Happy shopping on the northwest corner of Washington Street and Highway 111. (760) 564-5820. Okura has a second location at 105 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.

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Dining Around The Desert: La Spiga, Palm Desert

Patio Dining At La Spiga In Palm Desert

Our recent dining experience at La Spiga Ristorante Italiano started with an email from one of my clients. “You always do such a nice job reviewing local restaurants and I am interested in your opinion about La Spiga Ristorante Italiano in Palm Desert,” Julie wrote.

The truth is, my husband, Bill, and I stopped in one evening a couple of years ago when driving by. La Spiga was packed and - without having made a reservation (highly recommended!) - we went elsewhere and frankly forgot about coming back. You see, La Spiga is a hidden gem that’s tucked away from highway 111 in Palm Desert and, in our case, it became one of those “out of sight out of mind” cases.

Wonderful Patio Dining

Thank you, Julie, for jogging our memory. We simply loved La Spiga! La Spiga is a Tuscan-style villa that’s surrounded by rose gardens, herb beds and fruit trees. The patio wraps around the entire building, offering a lovely view of the nearby mountains. We highly recommend that you enjoy La Spiga’s patio (or deck as some refer to it) to maximize your dining experience. Last night, most of the diners were, indeed, taking advantage of the lovely outdoor dining opportunity.

Our server, Aubrey, was fairly new to La Spiga, having been there just two months. But we could tell she was very well trained. It is indeed rare in this day and age for a restaurant to actually invest the time and effort to thoroughly train their wait staff. Aubrey’s service was spot-on and friendly.

Calamari Worth Going Back For

For starters I ordered Calamari Fritti. It was crispy and served on a bed of marinated, julienned cucumbers, with a green tomatillo reduction. Bill and I agreed that this was one of, if not the best, calamari dishes we’ve ever tasted. The calamari was prepared perfectly. It was not oily or greasy, nor was it chewy. What really set this dish apart, though, was the chef’s use of cucumbers and reduction sauce. Aubrey suggested that we take the chef’s recommendation and mix the elements with the calamari. In one word, superb!

Bill’s chose the artichoke with mascarpone soup of the day for his appetizer. The flavor blends were perfect and, frankly, we passed our starters back and forth between each other several times since they were both delicious.

Bring On The Pasta!

For his main course Bill choose the Pappardelle Con Ragu Di Buffalo. This entrée featured pappardelle pasta with Bolognese style in house-ground buffalo tenderloin with red wine reduction. Bill likes the health aspects of buffalo compared to beef, and this dish, again, was enjoyed from start to finish. A real highlight was having leftovers for lunch the next day!

Bing partial to seafood I choose the Risotto Al Pescatore. This dish featured an abundance of seasonal seafood with just the right amount of tomato sauce. Perfection for me personally would have been just a bit more risotto, but the abundance of seafood and wonderful flavors more than made up for it.

I think you’ll agree that La Spiga’s wine list offers a wide selection of wines across a wide array of prices. Enjoy a glass with your Italian dinner or, better yet, share a bottle around the table; you won’t be disappointed!

In summary, the atmosphere and service at LaSpiga’s was top notch. We will definitely be returning to La Spiga several times during the season.

Chef owner Vince Cultraro and his wife/hostess Connie Cultraro, can certainly be proud of La Spiga.
La Spiga Ristorante Italiano is located at 72-557 Hwy 111 in Palm Desert. (760) 340-9318.

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