King's Highway, Amigo Room Partner on New Menus at Ace Hotel & Swim Club

Chef Ken Addington and partner Jud Mongell interpret diverse international flavors with a focus on fresh, locally-sourced ingredients

Lori Cohen-Sanford Restaurants

 

VIDEO: Chef Ken Addington talks about the ideas behind the new menu items, and what the desert experience has been like.

 

 

With a focus on fresh, local, organic ingredients and diverse cultural dining traditions from around the world, Jud Mongell and Ken Addington have brought a diner-centric menu to King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs.

The duo, who are the partners behind Brooklyn-based restaurants, Five Leaves and Nights and Weekends, boast flavors from international “desert food traditions” such as Morocco and the Middle East blended with local ingredients and flavors from the California desert. Additionally, the Amigo Room will offer a revamped cocktail menu and a bar menu featuring tastes of Oaxaca, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, with an emphasis on artisan tacos.

 

Lamb Barbacoa Tacos are one of those “menu must-haves” that will have you returning for another fix. The slow-roasted lamb is served with spicy chickpeas and a fresh cucumber relish.

The Mahi Mahi Tacos are served grilled or lightly battered and fried, with a lightly-crunchy radish and frisee slaw and a fresh, tangy-sweet, flavor blast of mango salsa.

 

Grilled Mahi is a fish selection that strikes just the right balance of meaty, yet light in the Mahi Mahi Tacos.

 

Make sure to take a few extra laps in the pool so you can make room for one of the signature, house-made desserts on the new menu. With selections like Sticky Date Pudding, made with dates sourced locally from a farm in Thermal, Desert Lime Pie or Chocolate Torte, late-night sweet cravings can easily be sated.

 

This is no humble pie. Desert limes are fresh and tangy in the filling and the burnt meringue garnish takes it over the top. A bright, floral, hibiscus reduction dots the plate, daring you to drag each forkful through it to enjoy the contrasting flavors with every last bite.

 

Chocolate lovers will not walk away denied of a full-throttle chocolate fix. The Chocolate Torte is a myriad of textures and flavors layered for a darn-near perfect chocolate chomp-down. And, it is gluten-free, to boot.

 

A walnut and chocolate meringue-based layer adds a lovely chew to this cake. Layers of rich, silky, chocolate mousse offer a most complementary contrast.

 

To make matters even more desirable, King’s Highway will  participate in the 2015 Palm Springs Restaurant Week, May 29 through June 7, and you can select from a three-course offering of new menu selections for $26 per person. Save room for dessert.

Kings Highway, 701 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, 760-866-6180; www.acehotel.com/palmsprings

 

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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