And the choices of excellent restaurants in Palm Springs continues to expand!

Last night I had dinner at the recently opened, "Serious Food and Drink" in downtown Palm Springs.  The restaurant, which opened where Hamburger Mary's once was, offers diners what they call, "comfort food for the sophisticated palate".  I believe they deliver just this.

Since I hadn't eaten in over an hour, I started out with an appetizer...that was a joke.  Not the appetizer part.  Anyway, I started with the "Quack Stack", a well portioned serving of fries (cooked in duck fat) topped with shredded duck confit and duck hollandaise sauce.  I've heard of fries fried in duck fat before but never had them.  Man were they amazing, and with the crispy shredded duck and duck hollandaise on top, no ketchup required.  They were so good that I felt if I did ask for ketchup, the chef would rush out and slap me...like really hard too.

A learning Moment:  I didn't know what "confit" was so I looked it up.  " Confit (French, pronounced [kɔ̃fi] or in English "con-fee") is a cooking term for when food is cooked in grease, oil or sugar water (syrup), at a lower temperature than deep frying. While deep frying typically takes place at temperatures between 325 (163°C) and 450°F (232°C), confit preparations are done much lower—an oil temperature of around 200°F (93°C), sometimes even cooler.

For dinner, I had the Salmon Wellington which is citrus glazed salmon served with a dijon horseradish cream sauce.  Again, a spectacularly flavorful dish that you couldn't find elsewhere.  And that is what Palm Springs eateries are becoming.  It seems like restaurants can't get away with a plain ol burger or salad or steak anymore.  What restaurants are doing is becoming more and more creative and adventurous.  A few examples of this on Serious Food and Drink menu follow:

Their hamburger is an 8 oz burger with sweet onion-bacon jam, special sauce on a house made brioche bun with your choice of bleu, havarti or smoked gouda cheese.

Their braised lamb shank is served with fennel potato mash and a port wine-rosemary reduction and orange gremolata.  I have no idea what any of that means, but I'm guessing its really good.

Serious Food and Drink is located at 415 N. Palm Canyon Dr. in downtown.  I highly recommend this place.  Click here to learn more...

February in Palm Springs is All About Modernism

Palm Springs has one of the largest concentrations of Mid-Century Modern Architecture in the United States.  A website I came across recently referred to Palm Springs as,  "A living museum where you'll find treasures by talented 20th century architects, homes of Hollywood stars, visionary civic structures and meticulously preserved historic neighborhoods that capture the glamour, sophistication and flair of California's swingin mid-century modern lifestyles".  

I couldn't have said it any better myself so I didn't even try.  To me this description encapsulates something that is truly unique to the City of Palm Springs.  I recently moved to the south Palm Springs neighborhood of Twin Palms Estates.  Twin Palms Estates, by the way, was the first community built by the famous Alexander Construction company (Maker of the Butterfly shaped roof line).  It is truly a "living museum".  As you walk around the neighborhood, you'll see one mid-century modern home after another after another (Truly a large concentration of these types of homes).  Some have the butterfly-shaped roofs, some have flat roofs, some have triangular shaped roofs and some have a combination of two or more.  Most of the homes have been recently renovated, or are undergoing renovation.  You can tell when a renovation is going on by the construction company or landscape architecture signs in the front yard.  These homes, some now more than 60 years old, are truly being preserved.  this culture is being preserved, shared and kept alive for our posterity to experience.  Of course, one of the ways you can experience this mid-century modern culture is to vacation rent one of the homes.  

Really, every month is Modernism month in Palm Springs California as the lifestyle and culture are actively being kept alive.  Having written that, February, more so than other months, pays even more homage to the style.  Modernism Week is February 12 - 22, 2015.  "Week"?  Maybe math was done differently in the mid 20th century.  If you are here, please  check out the modernism show at the Palm Springs Convention Center, or go on one of the walking tours, or go to one of the opening night parties, or a flashback concert or go on a tour of a famous mid century modern home.  How about this...get a tropical drink served in a coconut at one of the new tiki bars in town.  

To learn more about Modernism Week, click here;  http://www.modernismweek.com/