Dining Around The Desert

Dining Around The Desert: Cork Tree, Palm Desert

Previously I wrote about one of our visits to Cork Tree in ’09. Since then my husband Bill and I have returned numerous times. Cork Tree remains one of our top suggestions for clients and friends.

Cork Tree offers a bar and lounge menu featuring small bites and appetizers as well as a full dinner menu. On our recent visit we enjoyed Mini Duck Tacos and Smoked Tuna Sliders from the appetizer menu in the lounge. I enjoyed a wonderful Summer Salad with mixed greens, sherry-honey vinaigrette, haricots verts, strawberries, and crumbled feta for my main course. Bill ordered a fabulous Roasted Jidori Chicken Breast with ricotta-artichoke ravioli, sweet and spicy peppers, and a vegetable medley. They were all excellent.

Cork Tree is known for California Cuisine and offers a summer price fixed menu at $28 for a delicious three-course meal. Don’t pass up the soups and crab cakes!

The lounge at Cork Tree offers music most evenings and diners can enjoy the patio deck just off the lounge. Reservation tip: The tastefully decorated booths in the dining room are popular for romantics or diners looking for a fun social evening. If you enjoy people watching try dinner or small plates in the lounge.

Cork Tree California Cuisine is located at 74950 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert at the corner of Country Club and Cook Street. (760) 779-0123

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Dining Around The Desert: La Brasserie, La Quinta

Chef/Owner Emmanuel Janin & his family

Brasserie, the French term for brewery, refers to an unpretentious restaurant that serves drinks and classic Parisian bistro food. Newly opened this year, La Brasserie is a welcome addition to the La Quinta restaurant scene. Chef owner Emmanuel Janin and his wife Kara have succeeded in bringing a traditional French bistro to La Quinta and offer friendly service, reasonable prices and tasty food.

While my husband Bill and I find a few of the French dishes on the heavy side, we enjoyed some of the lighter fare over the course of our three visits. The Graved Lax from the appetizer menu is worth a repeat visit as is the Artisanal cheese platter with fig compote, honeycomb and seasonal garnish.

Bill enjoyed the six-hour brine pork chop with Chipotle mashed potato, grilled asparagus and Coachella Valley date chutney. That said, Bill still rates Lavender Bistro in La Quinta as serving the best pork chop in the valley to date.

The La Brasserie menu offers a good selection of meat, fish and poultry as well as several wonderful salad choices. Their Seafood Bar offers a selection of oysters and shellfish with a variety of sauces. We found the extensive wine list to offer reasonably priced selections, as well.

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La Brasserie Bistro & Bar is open year round and is located at 78-477 Highway 111 in La Quinta at the corner of Washington Street and Highway 111 and adjacent to the Beer Hunter. (760) 771-4400

Update on 2011-10-22 20:51 by Sheri Dettman

Two return visits this month to La Brasserie. And now that the weather has cooled a bit we enjoyed dining on the patio which featured a pianist on the nights we visited.

Dining Around The Desert: The Venue Sushi Bar, Palm Desert

The patio entry to The Venue - Photos: Bill Dettman

Please see our update at the bottom of this article.....
Don't Miss The Venue Sushi Bar & Saki Lounge, Palm Desert

I enjoy discovering new dining experiences in the Palm Springs area many times via recommendations from friends and associates. Before going to a new place I’ll usually take a quick look at online reviews on Yelp. If things look positive and/or interesting we are a go!

We discovered The Venue Sushi Bar & Sake Lounge from our friend Eric Brooks at Land Rover, Rancho Mirage. My husband Bill was out ‘kicking tires’ and had mentioned to Eric that we were going out for sushi that night. Eric recommended the newly opened “The Venue”. The Yelp reviews looked positive so off we went.

Tucked Away Amongst The Shops of El Paseo

The Venue has been open about four months and is tucked away just off El Paseo. A small patio out front is set back from El Paseo. The inside space is both stylish and sleek. From the moment we walked in we felt welcomed and very looked after by owner Engin Onural and his staff.

We sampled three sushi dishes; Bosphorus (shrimp tempura with crab meat, avocado, cucumber and gobo); The Venue (spicy tuna topped with seared salmon, spicy mayo, teriyaki sauce, micro greens and tobiko); and The Spider (crab meat, deep fried soft shell crab and avocado with spicy mayo). The verdict? All three were wonderful! In fact we re-upped on a second order of “The Venue.”

Most of the sushi we enjoyed was topped with a small piece of fresh fruit chosen to compliment each item. What a wonderful and refreshing idea! The Venue features an awesome staff and attentive service, a hip lounge style atmosphere and we plan to return a second time later this week. And please let us know what you think about The Venue or other suggested Palm Springs area dining via our "Post A Comment" button up top.

The Venue is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and is located at 73-111 El Paseo, Suite 103 in Palm Desert. Reservations suggested. (760) 346-1500

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Update on 2013-04-29 17:14 by Sheri Dettman

We are sorry to say that numerous friends and clients have told us that the Venue Sushi Bar of today is not the Venue many of us came to enjoy last year. My husband Bill and I recently dined there after hearing this, and the food and service was below par. Dissapointing.

Dining Around The Desert: Mama Gina’s, Palm Desert

Sampling Small Plates At The Enoteca Bar at Mama Ginas

Small plates are popular in today’s restaurant scene. And while Mama Gina’s offers a traditional dining room and menu, we prefer to head for Mama’s Enoteca Bar for the wide variety of small plates on the Happy Hour menu.

The best part is that Happy Hour at Mama Gina’s runs from 4PM until closing every day; rather than call it Happy Hour we call it a Small Plate Opportunity! The bar menu offers a wide variety of small plates with most priced at only $5 and none more than $8.

First we munched on a nice basket of bread with rosemary focaccia and tangy olive tapenade. Next up was the Insalata “Elegante” with mixed greens, beets and goat cheese. I highly recommend Mama’s Gnocchi Gorgonzola – little pillows of heaven for $5!

Small Plate Varieties And Value
The Enoteca Bar small plate menu is quite extensive which can make sampling the variety of dishes a lot of fun. Happy Hour wine is $5 with pints of beer at $3.50. You’ll find a small patio out front.

We recommend that you come for the gnocchi and risotto and stay for desert. You can walk around El Paseo afterwards to burn it all off with a little window-shopping. Note that the Enoteca Bar is quite busy on Friday and Saturday nights. Mama Gina’s is located at 73705 El Paseo, Palm Desert, (760) 568-9898.

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

Solano’s West Coast Bistro is tucked away in Old Town La Quinta on the less-traveled Calle Estado. Solano’s is one block south of the more-traveled Avenida Fonda (Desert Sage, Crab Pot etc.) and the main Old Town shops and restaurant scene.

Solano’s features an intimate inside dining area and a small patio out front. I’ve been getting rave reviews from both friends and clients over the last year, leading to my husband Bill and I visiting Solano’s last week. Several things were apparent. The friendly and attentive staff at Solano’s gets to know its regulars - and there seem to be plenty of regulars! And, Solano’s is a great value with good food, good service and very modest prices.

On a busy Thursday evening, service was fine-tuned and attentive. Co-owner and former PGA West Golf Pro, Alex Lee Wipf escorted us to our table. Alex partnered with co-owner and former PGA West Executive Chef Francisco “Paco” Solano and opened Solano’s in late ’09.

Solano’s menu is interesting and offers something for everyone. During our recent visit, Bill and I started with Dungeness Crab Cakes and then both chose one of two fresh fish specials offered that evening. I dined on Halibut and Bill enjoyed a White Fish. We ended the evening with a wonderful Tiramisu desert and agreed to return on a regular basis.

Other menu items that looked interesting were their “Famous” Short Ribs, King Salmon, Pecan Crusted Sand Dabs, Rosemary Crusted Pork Chop, Vegetable Wellington, Pomegranate Sea Scallops and Prawns, and Italian Scampi Pasta.

Solano’s West Coast Bistro is located at 78-110 Calle Estado in Old Town La Quinta. Reservations are suggested. (760) 771-6655.

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Update on 2011-10-22 20:59 by Sheri Dettman

Two visits so far this season. Found the food not quite as good as last season. Still, we like Salono's so much we will give it another try.

Dining Around The Desert: Cooking With Class, La Quinta

The Open Kitchen (guest dining tables just of out view here)

And now for something a little different on our desert dining scene. Cooking With Class in La Quinta offers gourmet cooking classes, fine dining, food, wine tastings, and more. They strive to use only local, sustainable, and organic products whenever possible. Themed dining events are also offered one or two days each week. My husband Bill and I have enjoyed several of these dinners over the past two years.

On Wednesday evenings Cooking With Class offers their weekly Cork & Fork dinners where diners can choose from six delectable small plates and six different wines by the glass. The Cork & Fork menu changes weekly and you can preview the upcoming menu online. While no reservations are required, we were told there is a lineup at 5:30 on most Wednesdays. We choose to arrive at 7 PM, which worked well except that they’d run out of one item. The upside was that we doubled up on the small plate we enjoyed the most. We look forward to returning for several upcoming Wednesdays.

Shoot The Moon Small Plate Sampler

Diners at Cooking With Class can order a la carte from the menu or go for their ‘Shoot the Moon’ sampling with six small plates for just $55 for two. We ‘Shot The Moon’ and enjoyed all six plates including a wonderful creamy tomato soup, House cured Scottish salmon, a short rib grilled cheese, shrimp and grits, and a birthday cake martini for desert (not ours; this week was Cooking With Classes 3rd birthday).

In summary, Cooking With Class has great people, wonderful food and a nice relaxed atmosphere that’s refreshingly different than most restaurant scenes. The open kitchen used for all cooking classes is front and center so it’s a bit like eating at the chef’s table. Be sure to check out the variety of classes offered throughout the week, which range from ‘Simply Trader Joe’s’ and ‘Tamale Cooking’ to ‘Cook Like a Chef’ taught by Former First Lady Betty Ford’s personal chef. Some classes fill up quickly so don’t wait until the last minute to sign up, which you can conveniently do right on their website. Several wine dinners are also available each month.

Cooking With Class is located at 47875 Caleo Bay Drive, La Quinta, behind Walgreens at the corner of Washington and 48th Street.

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Dining Around The Desert: Sense, Palm Desert

Sense Restaurant opened last month in the former space occupied by the original Omri and Boni Restaurant. I’d been hearing about Sense for several months from Chef Robert Douglas and Co-owner Ben Nance (who operate the eatery along with Co-owner Andrew Dye) when my husband Bill and I kept running into them in other local eateries while Sense was under construction.

According to Chef Robert, Sense is a “from scratch” restaurant and bar. The restaurant does not have a freezer or a microwave and their menu changes daily depending on the availability of fresh, local organic ingredients. Sense’s décor is modern and the bar area is located in the rear, which makes ‘Sense’ to the owners. The Sense menu is divided into three sections: Classic, New, and Tribute, offering choices for sophisticated foodies and comfort food diners.

To sum up our opinion of this new restaurant, we like Sense so much that we dined there three times in the last two weeks. I’ve enjoyed the roasted chicken with creamed spinach and gnocchi on two occasions. Bill has been raving about the spiced pork flatiron with root vegetable pavé, creamed onions, green been casserole and jam. We topped off one evening with their classic chocolate cake, and verified first-hand that Sense does not have a freezer when our request for a side of ice cream for our wonderful classic cake was politely turned down.

Each wine selection on the moderately priced wine list is also offered by the glass, which results in a great tasting experience. Beer lovers will almost certainly appreciate the extensive selection of many popular brews, as well. In addition, Sense offers a full bar that includes some very interesting cocktails. Sense is a wonderful new edition to the desert-dining scene, offering an authentic taste of the big city right here in our desert.

Sense is located at 73675 Highway 111, Palm Desert, on the south side of the street between San Pablo and Portola. (760) 341-2900 Sense is open for lunch and dinner. Closed on Monday and Tuesday.

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Dining Around The Desert: The Grill On Main, La Quinta

Long-time area sommelier and friend Mark Sontz (Omri & Boni) always wanted to open a casual bar/restaurant featuring what Mark calls ‘street food.’ I would call their menu ‘comfort food’ and apply the label of a neighborhood bar and grill.

The Grill on Main occupies the former Old Town space occupied by Devane’s Restaurant and we believe it is a big improvement. A variety of burgers, dogs and sandwiches dominate the menu along with salads and featured ‘main’ plates.

My husband, Bill, has enjoyed “The Gobbler” turkey burger with house fries on more than one occasion. Although I’m not really a burger kind of girl, I’ve surprised Bill on more than one occasion by polishing off their MacDaddy Burger which is topped with house-made – what else – Mac & Cheese.

The Grill features a variety of interesting beers and a cocktail menu. Mark Sontz’ wine knowledge shows in his really interesting wine list that offers a number of great values. Most bottles are priced below $35 and a variety of wines by the glass are available from $6 to $8.

The Grill has a nice little patio out front and offers a Kids’ Menu and Happy Hour deals on drinks and small bites. Try the bread pudding for desert! The Grill on Main is located in Old Town La Quinta, right underneath The Hogs Breath Inn at 78-065 Main Street, La Quinta (760) 777-7773

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