Food Scene
Shields Date Garden
A Coachella Valley institution since 1924, Shields is part working date grove, part gift shop, part open-air cafe. The date shakes are the reason most visitors come, and they're worth the stop on their own, but the cafe also serves a proper breakfast and lunch menu with date pancakes, fish tacos, and a signature date burger. Walk the 17-acre grove afterward to see the garden's sculpture walk, and bring the dog if you have one. About 10 minutes from our Indio properties.
The Pink Cabana
Pink Cabana is what happens when a designer hotel restaurant actually delivers on the food. Tucked inside Sands Hotel & Spa in Indian Wells, the room reads like a glam mid-century tennis clubhouse, but the menu is serious Mediterranean cooking with a Moroccan accent from chef Jason Niederkorn. Go for the harissa chicken or mushroom tagliatelle, and save room for the Coachella dates bourbon ice cream. Good for date nights or special-occasion dinners; reservations are smart on weekends.
Adobe Grill
Set inside La Quinta Resort & Club, Adobe Grill brings Oaxacan-influenced Mexican to a multi-level patio with mountain views. The tableside guacamole and the oversized margaritas (served in hand-blown glassware from Guadalajara) are signatures, and the bar pours from a selection of more than 100 tequilas. Go on a Saturday for live mariachi, or Friday for the jazz trio. Reservations recommended in season.
Porta Via
Porta Via is the Palm Desert outpost of the Beverly Hills bistro group, dropped into a beautifully designed mid-century space on El Paseo. The cooking is California farm-to-table done simply: a signature salad with butter lettuce and French feta, a New England lobster roll, daily oysters from chef Brennen's raw bar, and pasta worth ordering. Open seven days a week with weekend brunch. Worth it for a quieter, grown-up dinner away from the resort scene.
