Michele StuevenIt’s peak season in the desert and the dining scene continues to heat up. Here are three great new restaurants not to miss in downtown Palm Springs.
Just open for about a year with a view of the Marilyn Monroe statue and the Palm Springs Art Museum, Clandestino is the sister restaurant to the high-end Jalisco-style Tac/Quila, from local restaurateurs Liz and Mark Ostoich, who also own the always-packed Farm French bistro.
Clandestino is a moodier version offering stylish and imaginative small plates of Mexican classics, like stuffed guerito peppers with chorizo, Oaxaca cheese and chipotle mayo. There’s an artful lineup of tacos including the poblano on a beet tortilla with sautéed poblano peppers, corn, red onion, oyster mushrooms, queso fresco, and roasted poblano sauce. Plates like the carne asada come with perfectly grilled steak, guacamole, pinto beans, roasted jalapeño, cambray onion, house-made corn or flour tortillas and a choice of red, green or white rice in honor of the Mexican flag. There’s a wide variety of ceviches, and the pozole verde in its own pot is a must on a cool winter night on the strip.
The colorful and festive bar reflects what’s becoming a unique artful Palm Springs lounge style and holds more than 30 different tequilas and 15 mezcals. There’s a decadent lineup of margaritas, like Jamaica with tequila, pineapple juice, lime juice and agave with a black salt rim, as well as other signature cocktails like the Niña Fresa with vodka, passion fruit liqueur, strawberry puree and coconut milk, and a Moody Sister with gin, lemon, honey thyme syrup, and a red wine float that’s sweet, strong, sassy and layered.
Poblano taco on a beet tortilla at Clandestino (Michele Stueven)
Carne Asada plate at Clandestino (Michele Stueven)
Churro ice cream sandwich (Michele Stueven)
Just a short stroll down the promenade is the new Canopy Wine Lounge, a unique addition to the downtown Palm Springs landscape.
Elegant and approachable at the same time, the design work of California Modern and Mid-Century Modern local interior designer Christopher Kennedy offers a dramatic view of the San Jacinto Mountains. Conceived by former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina and Palm Springs local, owner Noah Mamet along with Alejandro Bulgheroni Family Estate Wines have enlisted Director of Operations Ellis Delahousay, Winemaker Joshua Kelly, and Managers Phil Barrood and Liz Swartz to curate a profound selection of wines from around the world.
The lounge features Michel Rolland, Philippe Melka, Matt Sands, Alberto Antonini and Juan Pablo Murgia, as well as Mamet’s personal wine portfolio from Mendoza, Argentina, under the label ‘Gran Diplomat,’ showcasing Malbec, Cabernet Franc Blend, and Red Blend and Rosé. He’s currently developing the first and only wine made in Palm Springs — Desert Wren — which is finishing its aging process on-premise in their terracotta-hued wine amphora.
Light bites include empanadas, caviar and diverse charcuteries that can be leisurely nibbled while tasting the wines by candlelight under the wall-sized mural that portrays a desert garden. Suspended over the bar are white plaster chandeliers shaped like cacti, with custom mid-century banquette seating and a blossoming canvas palm tree. Extended hours and menu items will follow, but it’s the perfect pause for a late afternoon stop after you shop during the desert season.
Canopy Wine Lounge (Andre Niesing Photography)
Canopy Wine Lounge (Andre Niesing Photography)
Not far from the recently opened Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (a fascinating look at the history of the Coachella Valley and worth a visit) is Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken’s latest venture, Alice B.
Inspired by the famous bohemian Alice B. Toklas, credited for inventing the marijuana brownie and longtime partner of novelist and poet Gertrude Stein, the restaurant anchors the newly built 122-unit Living Out Palm Springs, a luxury apartment complex for active LGBTQ 55+ adults that also includes a movie theater, fitness center, game room, massage room, hair and nail salons.
The buzzy new indoor/outdoor restaurant’s Executive Chef Lance Velasquez spent the majority of his career working in Northern California at Chateau Souverain alongside Gary Danko, The Restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton San Francisco, Campton Place, and as the founding chef at Moose’s restaurant in San Francisco.
The menu departs from the usual Feniger/Milliken fare you’d find at Socalo, Border Grill or BBQ Mexicana. It’s an all-American mix of comfort classics with Mediterranean twists like the cornmeal cheddar drop biscuits with cardamom honey and sesame seeds. Large plates include seasonal offerings like a charming pumpkin risotto full of texture with pan-fried mushrooms, crunchy hazelnuts, and Parmigiana Reggiano, as well as a down-home-style fried chicken cutlet with apple persimmon salad. Other standards include braised lamb shank and grilled New York strip steak.
The drinks, like the Fitzgerald Fizz combo of Hendrick’s gin, lemon juice, prickly pear hibiscus syrup, frothy egg white and soda, or Gertie’s Perfect Date Manhattan with date-infused rye bring on a nostalgic taste of Parisian avant-garde of the early 20th century and the comfort of Living Out. After dinner tip: Stop off for a purchase at The Leaf Weed Dispensary in Palm Desert and go home to turn on, tune in, drop out and watch the 1968 I Love You Alice B. Toklas with Peter Sellers and a sexy lit Leigh Taylor Young in her film debut.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival takes place from Thursday, Jan. 4 through Monday, Jan. 15, and will include Liz Lachman’s documentary, Susan Feniger: Forked. It follows the celebrity chef as she hunts down her passion, authentic street food from around the world to create an original restaurant showcasing those flavors for Susan Feniger’s STREET.
Cornmeal cheddar drops biscuits with cardamom honey (Michele Stueven)
Pumpkin risotto at Alice B. (Michele Stueven)