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Pacifica in the Desert, The Gardens on El Paseo
Colorful, comfortable Pacifica in the Desert, a showcase restaurant now in its sophomore season atop the second story of the desert area's most glamorous shopping mall, The Gardens on El Paseo. Lunch is offered every day but Monday, dinner nightly, and on Saturday evenings there is keyboard jazz as a special attraction.
What kind of food is served here? Owner Kipp Downing, speaking for his Executive Chef Jason Long (sous chef has the sporty moniker of Fernando Valenzuela) and versatile kitchen staff: "We specialize in California coastal foods"
That means a wide selection of fresh fish, two steak choices, an oven roasted chicken breast in Madeira, choice vegetables, many from the nearby valley ranches, stunning California-original salads.
A sampling of appetizers: Three customer favorites are crispy Atlantic calamari, roast garlic, chive aoli (a garlic/olive oil style mayonnaise, Vietnamese dipping sauce, $10.50; Pacifica crabcakes, chardonnay butter sauce, apple julienne, micro greens, chili oil, $12, and a sensationally fresh and upbeat sashimi grade tuna tartar, $13, with avocado, mango, wasabi creme fraiche and won ton crisps.
Four excellent salads, including a classic Caesar; a freshly innovative: Asian pear and endive salad, with white truffle walnut oil vinaigrette, Roquefort and hazelnuts, $7; and warm goat cheese salad, with pine nuts, balsamic fig, pumpkin see oil, ratatouille and petit lettuces, $9.00
Signature fish dish here is BBQ sugar-spiced salmon, $22, with mustard sauce, Chinese beans, garlic mashed potatoes A choice of fishes simply grilled is the runner-up, salmon, $18, swordfish and ahi, $22, with seasonal vegetables, a trio of sauces on the side, caper vinaigrette, tomato sauce and grain mustard sauce.
Other wonderful fish dishes out of a full dozen choices: Lake Superior whitefish, $19; scampi prawns, $21, pan roasted sea bass, $22, and more.
Luncheon menu includes entree salads, sandwiches, pastas, even a Black Angus chuck burger, $9, with caramelized onions and garlic mayonnaise.
Pacifica in the Desert has a full bar and an extraordinary wine list, some choices by the glass. Restaurant can be reached by elevator or escalator and there is ample parking on the ground level or one may drive up a circular ramp almost to the restaurant entrance. Inside dining, in soothing but ultra-modern decor, a giant high-wall fish tank with a paradise of brilliant tropical fish. Also a view-site dining terrace. Luncheon check, without bar service, $10 to $15, dinner, without bar service, $40 to $45.
Pacifica in the Desert, The Gardens on El Paseo, 73-505 El Paseo, Palm Desert, Ca. (760) 674-8666.
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