Fashion-seekers will be in abundance when the Tenth Annual Saxony Group Fashion Week El Paseo hits the runway under the big white tent, March 21-28, off El Paseo in Palm Desert.
As the most-fashionable know, the life of a runway groupie can be taxing. Even the most die-hard fashion show fans need to take a break and make a run from the runways to refuel. For the “best-styled plates” on El Paseo, strut in to any of these dining destinations and strike a pose.
The Venue Sushi Bar & Sake Lounge
Executive Sushi Chef, Engin Onural has every reason to strut his stuff. His restaurant, The Venue Sushi Bar & Sake Lounge, has recently been voted Best Sushi Restaurant 2014/15 by Palm Springs Life's “Best of the Best” Reader Awards. This is the third such honor bestowed upon The Venue. For an exclusive peek at what goes into a truly stylish, sushi plate, watch an award-winning chef as he prepares the most popular sushi roll on the menu, The Venue Roll.
VIDEO: Chef Engin Onural prepares The Venue Roll
Open for dinner only. 73-111 El Paseo Ste. 103, Palm Desert, 760-346 1500; www.thevenuepalmdesert.com
Café Des Beaux-Arts
Photo Courtesy of Karine Gornes/DigitalTouchDisplay.com
Café Des Beaux-Arts has been a long-time fixture on El Paseo, bringing classic French cuisine back in fashion. The Salade Nicoise is a fitting example of a classically -styled plate.
Café Des Beaux-Arts translated from French to English means “Fine Arts Cafe.” One look at the menu confirms the café-style cuisine as authentically, classically, French. French Onion Soup, Escargots, Crepes and Croque Monsieur are all represented and accounted for. The casual, yet elegant décor and attention to detail in both food and service serve as the perfect canvas to brush a little bit of the hue of haute couture into Saxony Group Fashion Week El Paseo.
73-640 El Paseo, Palm Desert, 760-346-0669; www.cafedesbeauxarts.com
Photo courtesy of Karine Gornes/DigitalTouchDisplay.com
Bacon Wrapped Scallops served over a Lentil Salad makes for a tres chic lunch fit for a famished fashionista.
Wilma & Frieda
Photo Courtesy of Wilma & Frieda
The patty is made from ground short rib and choice chuck roast and is cooked to customer specification. Served on a brioche bun with a variety of custom-fit add-ons, this burger is not an ‘off the rack’ experience.
Wilma & Frieda is perched in the upper deck of the shops and restaurants in The Gardens on El Paseo. This restaurant serves breakfast and lunch with a menu featuring fresh, local ingredients and an emphasis on gourmet comfort food. In addition to elevated versions of grilled cheese, mac-n-cheese, tater tots and substantial salads, fashion-conscious folk will find locally-roasted coffees and house-baked cakes and desserts offered up in a casual, contemporary, and friendly setting.
Photo Courtesy of Wilma & Frieda
Pastry Chef Todd Konkol creates fresh-baked desserts fit for divas pre-or après-trunk show. The carrot cake is made in both traditional and gluten-free versions.
73575 El Paseo, Palm Desert, 760-773-2807; www.wilmafrieda.com
Clementine Gourmet Marketplace & Café
Photo Courtesy of Clementine
Offering a prepared case of salads, quiches, pastries and desserts, Clementine Gourmet Marketplace & Café is custom-fit for the haute-to-trot. The “Menage a Trois” allows ladies-who-lunch to style their own plates with a variety of fresh and flavorful salad options – kale, beets, greens, peas, cous cous and quinoa.
Clementine (just off the main retail strip on El Paseo) is a full-service gourmet café and retail shop featuring French and Mediterranean-inspired offerings. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and offers a series of special dinners on a monthly basis with themed menus. Owned by a French chef and his wife, the dessert case entices with a variety of tartlets, gallettes, filled croissants, cream puffs and macarons.
Photo Courtesy of Clementine
Dessert hardly counts if it is as fashionably fruity and visually-stunning as these Fresh Berry Tartlets made in-house at Clementine.
72990 El Paseo, Ste. 3, Palm Desert, 760-834-8814; clementineshop.com
Lori Cohen-Sanford is a private/personal chef, cooking class instructor and owner of Nourishfoods Organic Meal Services www.nourishfoods.biz. Her food column, Tastes Around Town, will appear weekly on Wednesdays. Have a story idea? You can contact Lori at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @nourishfoodsps.
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