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Right: Fusion One 11, a tapas restaurant and martini bar, is fast becoming a local favorite. Small plates include (clockwise from top right) Tuna Sashimi stacked with avocado and napa cabbage; Roasted Breast of Duckling over garlic mashed potatoes with a mixed berry and whole grain mustard sauce; and Baltimore South Key Lime Pie. The Island Hopper Martini made with Citron vodka, Key Largo schnapps, and orange and cranberry juices is a favorite among regulars.

Fusion One 11 is an unexpected gem in a  shopping strip along Highway 111 between San Luis Rey and Portola avenues. Blue drapery and pin spotlights envelop diners in this small, sophisticated restaurant. Dominated by a chrome and slate bar that curves from the front door to the kitchen, diners sip and taste. One section of the bar offers views into the exhibition kitchen.

Guests also may sit among a scattering of black-clothed tables centered with hammered-metal chargers. A blue-lit, bubbling-water sculpture separates the dining room from a semi-private area with couches for a third dining option.  

Whether you choose hot or cold tapas or one of the salad selections, each dish is hand-decorated with a swirl of red chili and brown hoisin sauces and presented with a flourish before it is placed on the spot-lit charger. Small, square tasting plates are provided, and silverware presented in small wire baskets is refreshed at every course.

Pepper-seared North Atlantic salmon is stacked between puff pastry with wild rice finished with an artichoke beurre blanc. Braised lollipop lamb chops over rosemary mashed potatoes and chocolate mint pesto are topped with tobacco (breaded and browned) onions. Fusion Caesar tosses hearts of romaine, garlic croutons, and Asiago cheese with house dressing. The list of martinis is almost as delicious — Purple Haze, Creamsicle, and Caramel Apple among them.

Co-owners/brothers Rob and Scott Wilson honed their cooking and management skills starting as teens in their step-father’s High Desert restaurant and then for five-star restaurants in North Carolina and Aramark in Virginia before returning to the Low Desert.

Mallard's, one of a series of duck-inspired restaurants from Fresno and Stockton, opened at Highways 74 and 111 in the old Palomino space. Brothers Brooks and Ritchie Sang also own and operate Cedar Creek Inn in Palm Springs and Inn on El Paseo in Palm Desert.

Mallard’s décor has not significantly changed from Palomino’s Italian-inspired, black-and-white marble tabletops, terra cotta walls, Tuscan curved arches, and rich wood finishes — save for a couple of mallard ducks strategically tucked here and there.

Chef Dante Nunez is a passionate chef whose free hand in the kitchen includes anything that can be cooked in the authentic wood-fired pizza oven, broilers, grills, and/or stovetops. The menu includes Chinese duck salad, pan-roasted duck breast with creamy mashed potatoes, macadamia nut-encrusted halibut and salmon, among other fresh fish, and delectable, thin-crust, wood-fired pizzas.  

Trattoria Tiramisu, a quietly elegant small restaurant in the Palms to Pines Center, offers authentic Italian cuisines with signature dishes infused with a variety of flavors — rich, spicy pastas; wine-drizzled lamb; and garlic and herbed chicken with rosemary potatoes. With shades of frothy cappuccino walls, pale stone tiles, dark chocolate mahogany chairs, and an antique marble-topped bar, Trattoria Tiramisu offers a warm and welcoming elegance.

Antipasti includes Mare Caldo, a warm seafood salad; Prosciutto di Parma; Caprese; and Insalata Romana. Pasta and risotto in-clude linguine with pesto, pappardelle pasta with duck ragout, and risotto with porcini mushrooms. Fish and meat include salmon with julienne vegetables in caper sauce and veal in breadcrumbs with arugula and tomatoes. Trattoria Tiramisu is open for lunch and dinner.

A bright, bold Italian eatery, Cali Pasta, is one of the newest dining additions at The Gardens on El Paseo, with a sister location at Sunrise Way and Ramon Road in Palm Springs. The Palm Desert location is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (Palm Springs serves lunch and dinner only). In addition to the full coffee bar with espresso, latte, cappuccino, blended coffee creations, and smoothies, it features a full bar and lounge open until midnight. Appetizers, filled pasta entrées, classic specialties, pizzas, and sandwiches comprise its endless menu.

A reproduction of the Windy City’s fine dining and nightclub atmosphere can be found at Chicago Freddie’s. Nostalgia and fun were combined to resurrect this locale that had been Smoky’s and then Bash’s, two former locals’ hot spots along Palm Desert’s Highway 111 corridor.

Family of the late Freddie Brzozwski, owner-partner of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox, continue his tradition of casual comfort under the gaze of his cigar-chomping, etched-glass portrait. Frequently ordered dishes are prime steaks; the prime rib special Thursday through Saturday; and the Chicago Dog, a broiled bratwurst served in a long toasted bun with condiments and coleslaw on the side. Daily sandwich specials include Monday’s prime rib, Tuesday’s hot pastrami, and Friday’s fish ’n’ chips.