PHOTOGRAPH BY BUBBA ESPEJO / ON THE MARK FOOD & PROVISIONS
Bet you didn’t expect to see all this and a bag of chips on this page. Let’s blame it on Bubba. With summer looming like a dragon sitting on the top of Mount San Jacinto breathing fire down upon us, I needed some ideas for getting out of the kitchen — for the next three or four months. I popped into On the Mark Fine Food & Provisions, where when it’s too hot to cook or even eat hot food, they’re happy to create gourmet deli sandwiches and artisan cheese boards.
Amid the jars of specialty barbeque sauce, small-batch oils and vinegars, and all manner of hot sauce this Ohio girl won’t touch, manager Bubba Espejo pointed me to a display of Tutu’s Tortilla Chips when I asked about local items. He told me these are made right here in La Quinta, so they’re always fresh. (Chips and guacamole is a legitimate dinner, right?) Then he said two magic words: “dessert nachos.” While the original Tutu’s are coated with a signature blend of spices, the cinnamon, he said, are fantastic under a dollop of ice cream, hot fudge, sliced banana, nuts, and whipped cream. I didn’t stick around to hear his other recipe ideas; I opened the bag of the regular flavor for the drive home.
Skipping dinner altogether (chips in the car aside), I attempted a reverse dessert nachos move, crushing those churro-chips over some Butter Cookie & Sweet Cream gelato. Summer, I’m ready.
While I appreciate the zip-close on each bag of Tutu’s, the chances of needing to close them and reopen on another occasion seems slim. Open, share, and enjoy.
• READ NEXT: Where to Find the Best Barbecue in Greater Palm Springs.