Dining and Restaurant Search

Don Callender's Sweet Tooth Prevails as Babe's Prepares to Celebrate it's 10th Anniversary

The late Don Callender was known for his sweet tooth. From the candy he kept at his desk to the sweetness he added to Babe’s signature dishes like its Baked Yam with Honey Butter & Candied Pecans and the sweet flavor of its pumpkin ale. Try the coleslaw, bar-b-que sauce, baked beans and pies and it's evident Don’s sweet tooth is alive and well. Menu items remain exactly the same as when the restaurant opened in April 2002. That continues as a part of Don’s lasting legacy two and half years after his death.

The foundation Don built Babe’s on as it celebrates its tenth year is simple. Everything begins in the kitchen and ends with customers enjoying the best dining experience possible. “Keeping a quality product even when we have to throw out a dish or specific ingredients because they are not up to Don’s standards is how we continue to operate,” explains General Manager and Executive Chef Arthur Vasquez. “Don would tell the cook to make a dish again if it wasn’t good enough in his opinion to serve,” recalls Vasquez.

Don’s fundamentals prevail as golden rules. Always using fresh product on a “prep as you need” basis was Don’s way of running his restaurant. That remains in play today.

When Don was in the kitchen, he was always looking to find better ways to do things from cooking the fruit for the pies to rolling out the dough. Don instilled this in Vasquez from the day the restaurant opened its doors. I never knew when Don would walk in, and everything had to be perfect. That’s the way I still operate today, as if Don would walk in any moment,” Vasquez says.

Despite Don’s behind the scenes persona his wide circle of long time friends and his community involvement with local charities brought Babe’s a loyal customer base.

Babe’s began winning annual awards in 2006 most notably Palm Springs Life magazine's “Best of the Best” — another Legacy of Don’s. According to Vasquez, Don would have said, “Awards are nice, but don’t rest on your laurels.”

Don treated his entire Babe’s team as family. Vasquez and his staff honor Don’s legacy and do not rest on their laurels. That’s a winning recipe that would make Don proud.

At The River
71800 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, California 92270
1-760-346-8738
www.BabesBBQue.com

By Ellen Paris