bluEmber
A Classically Modern Dining Space

Chef de Cuisine Todd Claytor, Executive Chef Leanne Kamakona, Manager Raphael Lopez on the picturesque Ember Patio at dusk.

After a $35 million renovation, Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa is ready to show off, and bluEmber is just the place to do it. If you’ve visited La Costa Resort and Spa near San Diego and dined at their Blue Fire Grill, you can see where bluEmber gets its spark. The Puccini Group has created another classically modern dining space with upscale personality and style for KSL in Rancho Mirage.

Inside, rich colors and clean lines create an intimate yet vibrant atmosphere throughout the dining rooms, bar and private Wine Room with seating for 24. Outside, the Plaza Patio and Ember Patio take the dining experience to a whole new level with gorgeous views and the signature blue flame of two fire pits.

Chef de Cuisine Todd Claytor has created an equally inspired menu that showcases California’s bounty, with creative infusions of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Asian flavors. Chef Claytor worked his way up through the culinary world from the Chicago kitchen of Charlie Trotter’s to L’Auberge in Sedona and an invitation to cook for then-Secretary of State Colin Powell at the James Beard House.

At bluEmber, he puts his own spin on fine dining with such innovations as a “Mac and Cheese” orcchiette pasta with duck confit, port wine onions and wild mushrooms; a Turkey and Brie Panini with a twist of dried peaches; and a hearty Pork Shank puttanesca-style. Expect great things at Sunday Brunch, an event for which Chef Claytor received high praise from the Food Network while he was at L’Auberge.

bluEmber offers a number of semi-private and private dining options for groups as small as two and as large as 70. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The bar stays open until midnight on weekends.

SHOWN ABOVE: A delectable selection from Chef Todd Claytor’s eclectic menu, clockwise from the bottom — an appetizer of Seared Sea Scallops with chanterelles, pear tomatoes, and pea purée; an entrée of Pan-Roasted California Sea Bass with braised Napa cabbage, cardamon, and crisp fried leeks. A must before dinner is the bluEmbertini, made with Grey Goose Citron, Blue Curaçao, Triple Sec, and muddled lemons. Photographed on the stunning copper-topped bar in the popular lounge.

“ A classically modern dining space with upscale personality and style.”

MENU HIGHLIGHTS

APPETIZERS

Orecchiette, “Mac & Cheese”
Spicy Grilled White Shrimp.
Extensive Tapas Menu

ENTRÉES

Baked bluEmber Lobster Tail.
Braised Pork Shank.
Seared Duck Breast and Confit.

DESSERTS

Sweet Potato Crème Brûlée.
bluEmber Banana Split (for two), caramelized bananas, strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla bean gelato.
Coachella Valley Fresh Strawberries, torched Grand Marnier-marinated strawberries, orange-vanilla biscotti, and crème fraîche gelato.

BEST OF THE CELLAR

RED WINES

Silver Oak, Napa, 2003
Opus One, Napa 2004
Joseph Phelps, “Insignia,” Napa, 2004

WHITE WINE

Mer Soleil, Central Coast, 2004
Louis Latour Chassange Montrachet, Burgundy France, 2005

SPARKLING WINE

Dom Pérignon, France, 1999
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, France
Perrier-Jouët Fleur de Champagne, France 1998

SIGNATURE DRINKS

bluEmbertini

BLUEMBER
RANCHO LAS PALMAS RESORT AND SPA,

41-000 BOB HOPE DRIVE
RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA 92270
(760) 568-2727

More Information - Websites, Maps and Directions

BY GAYL BIONDI
PHOTOGRAPHY: ARTHUR COLEMAN / ASSISTANT: TIM CARTER
FOOD STYLIST: ROLAND BIERI