At The Penney in Rancho Mirage, Local Ingredients Meet Artistic Flair

The Penney celebrates indoor-outdoor living with large walls of glass that roll away to open the restaurant to the covered patio and the gorgeous mountain views beyond.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOLLIE KIMBERLING

Only a year out from a re-opening by conceptual artist Miguel Nelson, The Penney Restaurant & Bar on Desert Island has already won a selection of awards including Best Fine Dining, Best Farm-to-Table, and Best Bar by Palm Springs Life.

Helmed by renowned chef Jon Butler (previously at République in Los Angeles), The Penney presents ingredient-driven, seasonal menus with key ingredients sourced day-after-harvest from local farms including Temalpakh Farm, run by the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians, and County Line Harvest, a farm started on the county line of Petaluma and Sonoma, with a second location in Thermal. Ingredients are also gathered from the renowned Santa Monica Farmers Market. “We use that produce to create an ever-changing menu leaning toward classic flavors but also audacious ones for guests who are feeling more adventurous,” Butler shares.

Desert Island also offers a library of rare spirits, a cocktail lounge and piano bar, a ballroom, an art gallery, and a tournament golf course with artisan on-course refreshments. Guests can bask in panoramic views of the lake and mountains from the terrace and dining room, and all can revel in the sunken cocktail/dining bar and a taste from their collection of over 500 spirits.

Nelson describes the experience as “an escape, with a touch of 20th-century glamour and indulgence.”