The Glacier 51 Toothfish at The Steakhouse at Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOLLIE KIMBERLING
Best Way to Sample All the Soups at Once
A bowl of soup can feel boring. But a try-’em-all trio served in cute little espresso cups? Much more fun — and hard to pass up.
“When I dine out, I like to taste a lot of things, and I order multiple appetizers,” says Chad Gardner, chef and co-owner of Willie’s Modern Fare in Rancho Mirage. “So the thought process behind the Demitasse Trio of Soup was, ‘Let’s give people a taste of three different soups.’ And they love it.”
All three of the smooth, purée-style soups are vegan and gluten-free. The wild mushroom is derived from portobello and creminis and garnished with truffle oil; the cream of asparagus with lemon oil utilizes cream of coconut to impart richness; and the kitchen roasts its own tomatoes to create the silky roasted tomato soup, finishing it with chive oil. Those house-infused oils give the soups a pretty final touch as well as an extra layer of flavor, Gardner says.
“We felt that finishing each with a different oil brightens them up and elevates them to a different level.” — Lizbeth Scordo