Palm Springs Life / Desert Guide / December 2010 / Best of the Best 2010

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Best of the Best 2010

Best of the Best 2010 Winners as voted by the Reader's of Palm Springs Life Magazine and Users of PalmSpringsLife.com

You picked ’em!

Each year, Palm Springs Life readers weigh in on their favorite people, places, and things in the Coachella Valley that make the desert special. We call these the “best of the best.” For 2010, we added several categories at readers’ request for a total of 72 entries covering everything from restaurants, spas, and resorts to favorite singles bars and best places for a first date. And you, the reader, responded enthusiastically, with hundreds of votes tallied from online and paper ballots.

The following are the results of our 2010 annual readers’ choice awards, your picks for the desert’s Best of the Best. 

People Watching
1. Downtown Palm Springs
2. The River at Rancho Mirage
3. El Paseo

Places to Spot a Celebrity
1. El Paseo
2. TIE: Palm Springs International Film Festival/ Downtown Palm Springs
3. Parker Palm Springs

First Date Location
1. TIE: Spencer’s Restaurant/
Le Vallauris Restaurant/The River at Rancho Mirage/Jackalope Ranch/Riviera Resort & Spa
2. Tie: Las Casuelas Terraza/Copley’s on Palm Canyon
3. Palm Springs VillageFest

Tourist Attraction
1. Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
2. The Living Desert
3. Palm Springs Art Museum

New Thing in the Desert
1. Cooking with Class
2. TIE: The 3rd Corner Wine Shop and Bistro/The Blue Pear Texx Mexx and The Pool House
3. TIE: Al Michaels Eterna Salon & Medical Day Spa/Aunt Effie’s Garden/Morgan’s in the desert/The Show at Agua Caliente Casino • Resort • Spa /Trio Restaurant

Art Gallery
1. Coda Gallery
2. Royale Projects
3. m modern

Movie Theater
1. Camelot Theatres
2. Century Theaters at The River
3. Regal Cinemas Palm Springs Stadium 9

Festival
1. Coachella Music and Arts Festival
2. Stagecoach Country Music Festival
3. La Quinta Arts Festival

Local TV News Station
1. KESQ (channel 3)
2. KMIR (channels 4/6)
3. KSPS (channel 2)

Local TV News Anchor
1. Gino LaMont (KMIR)
2. Kris Long (KPSP)
3. Tamara Damonte (KESQ)

Local Radio Station
1. KJJZ 102.3
2. EZ-103
3. KDES 104.7

Local Radio Personality
1. TIE: Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald/Dan McGrath
2. TIE: Danny Fox/Bill “Bulldog” Feingold
3. Bradley Ryan

Meteorologist
1. Ginger Jeffries (KESQ)
2. Patrick Evans (KPSP)
3. Bryan Scofield (KMIR)

Auto Dealer
1. TIE: Jessup Auto Plaza/ Honda of the Desert
2. Desert Lexus
3. BMW of Palm Springs

Auto Repair
1. Jack Sauter’s Tire Factory
2. TIE: Jessup Auto Plaza/Lou’s Automotive / Mountain View Tire & Service/Palms to Pines Automotive
3. Kelly’s Auto Mechanix/Ozzie’s Automotive Inc.

Men’s Apparel
1. R&R Menswear
2. TIE: Tommy Bahama’s Emporium/Don Vincent Menswear/Saks Fifth Avenue
3. TIE: Trina Turk Boutique/ Mares for Men/Wil Stiles

Women’s Apparel
1. Saks Fifth Avenue
2. Macy’s
3. Caché

Cosmetics Counter
1. M•A•C
2. Saks Fifth Avenue
3. Macy’s

Antiques
1. The Estate Sale Company
2. No clear winner
3. No clear winner

Vintage Furnishings
1. Modern Way
2. Revivals
3. No clear winner

Consignments
1. The Estate Sale Company
2. Revivals
3. Resale Therapy

Home Accessories
1. HomeGoods
2. The Alley
3. TIE: Cost Plus World Market/Bed Bath & Beyond

Florist
1. Palm Springs Florist
2. Jensen’s Finest Foods
3. Rancho Mirage Florist

Pet-Sitting Service
1. Grand Paws Pet Sitter
2. No clear winner
3. No clear winner

Public Golf Courses
1. Escena Golf Club
2. Desert Willow Golf Resort
3. Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort

Private Golf Courses
1. Bighorn Golf Club
2. O’Donnell Golf Club
3. TIE: PGA West/La Quinta Country Club

Pro Sports Event
1. BNP Paribas Open
2. Bob Hope Classic
3. Kraft Nabisco Championship

Fitness Club/Gym
1. Balanced Training Boot Camp
2. World Gym Palm Springs
3. Underground FitClub

Yoga Instructor
1. Deb Nuffer
2. Kaleo Indigo/Kristin Olson
3. TIE: Scott Cole/Ken Horst/David Jeffers

Hiking Trail
1. Bump-n-Grind
2. Indian Canyons
3. TIE: Tahquitz Canyon/
Lykken Trail

Golf Pro Shop
1. Bighorn Golf Club
2. Pete Carlson’s Golf & Tennis
3. Indian Wells Country Club

Scenic Drive
1. Highway 74 (Palms to Pines)
2. TIE: El Paseo/Joshua Tree National Park
3. Tram Way Road

Dog Park
1. Palm Springs Dog Park
2. Palm Desert Civic Center Dog Park
3. La Quinta Dog Park

Day Spa
1. The Well Spa (Miramonte Resort & Spa)
2. The Spa at Spa Casino Resort
3. The Terra Cotta Inn

Resort Spa
1. The Well Spa (Miramonte Resort & Spa)
2. Spa Desert Springs (JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa)
3. Spa Terre (Riviera Resort & Spa)

Facial Services
1. The Well Spa (Miramonte Resort & Spa)
2. Salon 119
3. No clear winner

Mani-pedi
1. TIE: J. Russell – The Salon/The Well Spa (Miramonte Resort & Spa)
2. Best City Nails
3. No clear winner

Hair Salon
1. J. Russell – The Salon
2. Brien O’Brien Salon
3. Hi-Lites Aveda

NightClub
1. Dink’s Restaurant & Ultra Lounge
2. Hunters Palm Springs
3. TIE: Costas Nightclub/Stir

Singles Bar
1. Village Pub
2. The Nest Restaurant & Piano Bar
3. Toucans Tiki Lounge

Gay Bar
1. Toucans Tiki Lounge
2. Hunters Palm Springs
3. The Barracks

Sports Bar
1. The Beer Hunter
2. Burgers & Beer
3. Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery

Party Venue
1. Cooking With Class
2. Ace Hotel & Swim Club
3. PartyLab

Alfresco Dining
1. Spencer’s Restaurant
2. Pierro’s Aqua Pazza
3. Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café

BBQ Restaurant
1. Babe’s Bar-B-Que & Brewhouse
2. The Cowboy Way Bar-B-Que
3. TIE: Tootie’s Texas Barbeque/Big Mama’s Soul Food

Chinese
1. Wang’s in the Desert
2. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
3. China Wok

Continental
1. Spencer’s Restaurant
2. Johannes Restaurant
3. Copley’s on Palm Canyon

Martini
1. TIE: The Falls Prime Steakhouse/Pacifica Seafood Restaurant
2. TIE: The Tropicale Restaurant & Coral Seas Lounge /Spencer’s Restaurant/Sullivan’s Steakhouse
3. TIE: Dink’s Restaurant and Ultra Lounge/ Riviera Resort & Spa/Babe’s Bar-B-Que & Brewhouse

Margarita
1. Armando’s Dakota Bar & Grill
2. Blue Coyote Grill
3. Las Casuelas Terazza

Mojito
1. Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café
2. The Falls Prime Steakhouse
3. TIE: Riviera Resort & Spa/Viceroy Palm Springs/Babe’s Bar-B-Que & Brewhouse

Wine List
1. Spencer’s Restaurant
2. The 3rd Corner Wine Shop & Bistro
3. Cooking with Class

Coffeehouse
1. Koffi
2. Starbucks
3. Just Java Coffee

Burger
1. Tyler’s Burgers
2. In-N-Out
3. Burgers & Beer

Sunday Brunch
1. Spencer’s Restaurant
2. JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa
3. TIE: Cheeky’s/Las Casuelas Nuevas/ Escena Grill

Power Lunch
1. Spencer’s Restaurant
2. TIE: Palm Greens Café/Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café
3. Pacifica Seafood Restaurant

French
1. Le Vallauris
2. Cuistot
3. Le St. Germain

Indian
1. Indian Oven
2. Monsoon Indian Cuisine
3. Delhi Palace Cuisine of India

Italian
1. Johnny Costa’s Ristorante
2. Castelli’s Ristorante
3. Ristorante Mamma Gina/La Donna Cucina Italiano

Mexican
1. El Mirasol
2. Las Casuelas Terraza
3. Blue Coyote Grill

Seafood
1. Pacifica Seafood Restaurant
2. Fisherman’s Market & Grill
3. The Crab Pot

Steakhouse
1. Sullivan’s Steakhouse
2. Ruth’s Chris Steak House
3. TIE: LG’s Prime Steakhouse (La Quinta  & Palm Springs)

Sushi/Japanese
1. Okura Robata Grill & Sushi Bar
2. Kobé Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar
3. No Da Te

Thai
1. Thai Smile (Palm Springs)
2. Peppers Thai Cuisine
3. Le Basil

Vegetarian
1. Native Foods
2. Palm Greens Café
3. Nature’s Health Food & Café

Buffet
1. Spa Resort Casino
2. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
3. HomeTown Buffet

Chef
1. Eric Wadlund  (Spencer’s Restaurant)
2. Andie Hubka (Cooking with Class)
3. TIE: Vince Costa (Johnny Costa’s)/Andrew Copley (Copley’s on Palm Canyon)

Caterer
1. TIE: Spencer’s Restaurant/East Meets West Catering
2. TIE: Love at First Bite Catering & Event Planning/Jennifer’s Kitchen & Catering
3. Savoury’s Catering

Bakery
1. Aspen Mills Bread Co.
2. Jensen’s Finest Foods
3. The Pastry Swan Bakery

Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt
1. Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt
2. Mango Tango Frozen Yogurt
3. Yogurt Island