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Palm Desert: A Shopping & Dining
Paradise
PALM DESERT, CA – Palm
Desert’s reputation as the desert’s retail oasis is
rivaled only by its remarkable selection of more than
200 restaurants – making it the ideal vacation
destination for travelers who love to shop ‘til they
drop, then revive themselves with fabulous cuisine. The
City has been the Coachella Valley’s retail center since
the early 1980s when the desert’s first enclosed mall,
now known as Westfield Palm Desert, was built on Highway
111 by the late Ernest Hahn, southern California’s
premier shopping center developer. Today, this mall is
anchored by Macy’s, JC Penney, and Sears and is a future
home of Nordstrom. It also offers a 10-screen cinema,
newly expanded food court and nearly one hundred shops
and boutiques.
There are more than a
dozen other Palm Desert shopping centers and plazas
including Desert Crossing and One Eleven Town Center,
which boast nationally known "big-box" retailers of
clothing, home furnishings, sporting goods, electronics
and toys for every age and inclination. For the ultimate
in upscale shopping, head to elegant El Paseo. Often
referred to as the "Rodeo Drive of the Desert," El Paseo
is a mile-long mix of upscale art galleries, jewelry
stores, beauty salons, haute couturiers, home décor
stores, specialty boutiques, and apparel shops. There
also are more than two dozen restaurants, bistros,
coffee shops, and bakeries along El Paseo, many with
outdoor seating that affords a great vantage point for
people-watching. The western end of El Paseo features
St. John and newly opened Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Cos Bar,
Optical Shop of Aspen, with Burberry opening soon.
While cruising El Paseo,
be sure to visit The Gardens, a beautiful complex of
shopping, dining and entertainment that’s anchored by
Saks Fifth Avenue and includes such notable national
retailers as Tiffany & Co., Coach, Cole Haan, Williams
Sonoma, Pottery Barn, J Jill, Quicksilver, Banana
Republic, Talbots, and Brooks Brothers. It’s soon to be
joined by a companion center, El Paseo Village (November
2010), which will be home to more retail and two
additional restaurants.
And then there’s the
weekend College of the Desert Street Fair. You can find
practically anything at this friendly, down-home,
open-air market including arts and crafts, jewelry,
clothing, silk plants, cosmetics, home furnishings, golf
clubs, new and used items, and fresh produce from local
farmers. The COD Street Fair is a favorite of locals and
visitors alike.
Hungry yet? There’s a
restaurant in Palm Desert to suit virtually every taste
and budget. You can start your day with a down-home diner
breakfast at Keedy’s Fountain Grill, grab a fast-food
lunch at the food court while shopping at the mall,
recharge with a late-afternoon cappuccino enjoyed
outdoors at a local coffee shop, then savor a gourmet
candlelight dinner at one of dozens of fine-dining
establishments – and never leave Palm Desert.
Steak-lovers can choose
from LG’s Prime Steakhouse, Sullivan’s, Ruth’s Chris the
ChopHouse, or Morton’s. Seafood aficionados can catch a
great meal at Pacifica in the Desert at The Gardens on
El Paseo. And if ethnic cuisine is to your liking, it’s
all here: Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Mexican,
Indian, French, Irish, and more.
Casual diners can kick
back and relax in such fun eateries as California Pizza
Kitchen, Elephant Bar, Daily Grill, or Tommy Bahama’s
Tropical Café.
Information: For a dining
guide, complete visitor information on Palm Desert, and
a free Vacation Guide, call the Palm Desert Visitor
Center at 800-873-2428 or go to
www.palmdesert.org
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