Places to eat in California

Here's my list of favorite places to eat while in the Palm Springs' Area:

1. St. James at The Vineyard
265 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA
(International gourmet cuisine)
(760)864-9368

2. 29 Palms Cafe
Spotlight 29 Casino
Exit 1-10 at Dillon
(Sunday Brunch)
(Surf & Turf on Sundays through Thursdays from four until eleven. Six ounce New York Steak and a 3.5 ounce Lobster tail, soup or salad, vegetable and baked potato for $8.95 per person!)

3. Cedar Creek Inn
1555 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA
(760)325-7300
("Gismo Special" for $17.95 is a four-course meal which includes one glass of wine, beer, or softdrink, a salad and soup, prime rib or chicken, or salmon, or lamb, or beef tenderloin or green mussles on linguini, and apple crisp or Toll House Pie or Lemon Lush.)

4. Las Casuelas Terraza
222 South Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA
(760)325-2794
(Mexican restaurant that has been here for 25 years. Great margaritas, and they have live music every night!)

5. Devane's
80-755 Highway 111
West Indio
(760)342-5009
( William Devane own this great Italian restaurant with family style service. Always save room for dessert)

Favorite Dish: There are many more marvelous restaurants in this area. But it's fun to discover for yourself.

Desiree and Friedrich are the owners of this popular restaurant in Palm Springs since 1983.

I think Cedar Creek Inn is popular because of the freshly prepared meals that are reasonably priced. You can always know that it's a great place to eat if the locals and visitors both eat there.

Both lunch and dinner are served and at each there are specials offered. In addition, there are Early Bird specials each day. They are quite famous for their wonderful Sunday brunch. However, they are most famous for their homemade desserts, which are incredible. Save room!

At lunch, they have fashion shows, which many of the local women attend.

There is a beautiful heated outdoor patio, which is quite romantic.

They provide plenty of free parking; they provide live entertainment each night and offer daily Happy Hour with drink specials in the Derby Lounge.

They have a brisk business in takeout with their full menu available.

The staff is efficient and friendly as well as helpful.

Favorite Dish: To be honest, I have to say that my favorite food at Cedar Creek Inn is definitely their yummy desserts. I cannot even select one over another; all of their desserts are rich, fresh, and mouth-watering.

We went to the Imax and Pickfair Theater in Cathedral City, California, and walked to a great restaurant called RED TOMATO.

After being seated, we were served focaccia bread, fresh from the oven and garlic and herb butter to go with it. Then Panzanela relish also accompanied it.

It's a quaint place, rather dark inside with lots of beautiful wood, and a massasive amount of framed photographs and artifacts to entertain you while you wait. It's a large menu with plenty of choices. All entrees were served with your choice of House Soup or House Salad.

There was an Early Bird dinner between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. where every dinner was $2.00 less.
$3.00 plate fee is charged for adults who split a meal. There is no charge for two children splitting a regular entree.

This used to be the Original House of Lamb, and the menu reflects that with a page of "Original House of Lamb Specialties."

Favorite Dish: Allan loves Lamb, and so he order from the Original House of Lamb Specialties. His choice was called Toska Experience which is an entree that combines Shkodra (roast lamb) and Elbasan (spicy lamb). They were seasoned to perfection. Allan also had their famous cabbage base salad with 21 spices, fresh baked bread and garlic herb butter.

I love Pizza, so I ordered from the regular menu. I ordered a small 6" pizza with mushrooms, onions, cheese and then Pepperoni on top to make it crispy. I also ordered a salad. All of the food was outstanding as was the service.

Allan and I "stumbled" on the wonderful Aegean Cafe Restaurant.

We were "window" shopping inLaguna Beach when we just happened to see a sign pointing upstairs to a Greek restaurant. Since we both enjoy Greek food, we decided to try it. What a good decision. They feature live Greek music, dancing waiters and sometimes belly dancers as entertainment.

The decor is all done in blues and whites. Huge windows surround the dining area; thus, the views of the town (especially at night) are wonderful.

They are open for dinner and lunch.
Closed on Mondays.
The service is excellent, and if you order Saganaki (flaming cheese), the waiter makes quite the production out of it.

There are linen white tablecloths and fresh vases of flowers, a delightful touch.

A restaurant with ambience, delicious food, and outstanding service.

Favorite Dish: We enjoyed this restaurant so much that we kept the receipt to remind us of it and what we ate. (How could we forget?)

We shared SAGANAKI (cheese flaming in brandy served tableside)
We shared a plate of Feta and Olives
I had a large Greek Salad. (Yum)
Allan had the Greek Combo (Tiropita, Spanakopita, Moussaka, Dolmades, Roasted Leg of Lamb, Rice Pilaf, Potatoes and vegetables!)
We both had dessert, but I cannot remember the name.

Everything we ordered, we ate because it was so wonderful.

We would highly recommend the Aegean Cafe Restaurant if you are in Laguna Beach, California.

Founders, Leon & Gail Greenberg knew what they were doing when they opened their LG's Steakhouse. Since that time, they have won rave reviews from their loyal patrons and acclaim from such critics as ZAGAT Survey who rated them excellent and the best steaks in Palm Springs.

They also won Tom Horan's America's Top Ten Club. But, most importantly, LG's Steakhouse won the Desert Sun Reader's Poll as "Best (Steakhouse) of the Valley". Allan and I have to agree after tasting their food, experiencing their service, and enjoying their atmosphere.

Favorite Dish: They only use USDA Prime meats, and it is obvious.

I ate the Filet and Lobster Tail combo (to die for), and Allan had some kind of Lamb that he exclaimed was "delicious".

The salad is big, fresh, and tantalizing. We always save room for dessert, and if you eat there, you should too.

Ma Dang Sae (as listed in phone book)/Ma Dang Soi (if you read the Hangul) is an authentic Korean Style BBQ Restaurant. You order the meat and they fire up the grill in the middle of the table and you cook it yourself. Roll the meat up in a wrapper with red pepper paste and a little garlic and stuff it in your mouth. Throw normal US table manners out the window. Make sure you sample all the side dishes and try that staple of korean dining, kimchi. Wash it down with soju if you feel adventurous. We did! My friends and I were the only non-Koreans in the place.

Favorite Dish: Sam Gyop Sal which is pork cooked on the grill and stuffed into a wrapper. It's sloppy but it tastes great.

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Joselito's is a family-owned Mexican Restaurant. The decor is pretty well done (and about what you expect for a Mexican Restaurant) and the food is good. They have a nice patio if you wish to sit there (check inside first). Service was not great but was adequate. Joselito's is open 11 AM to 10 PM Monday through Thursday; 11 AM to 11PM on Friday and Saturday; and 10AM to 10 PM on Sunday.

Favorite Dish: I had a combination platter consisting of a cheese enchilada and a chili relleno. It was very good.

The decor, while not outstanding, is above the average. Same thing with the service. The taste of the food was outstanding. Portions were large. I highly recommend this restaurant. The cost was a little above average; but was worth it.

Favorite Dish: Try the Spicy Minced Beef or the Yellow Curry with Chicken. The Pad Thai is good too.