We’re still looking for that foodie experience in Palm Springs. Dinners out have been passable, but nothing to really blog about.

Portions are typically American-style (quantity trumps quality in the home of the brave and the land of the free). Salt and fat are abundant – even with the “healthier” salad fare.

And I’ve never seen more bacon and shellfish in my life. EVERYTHING comes wrapped in bacon or prociuto and finished with a shrimp or scallop. We’ve been to restaurants where 7 or 8 of the 10 mains had pork or shellfish incorporated somehow. It just seems over the top.

Probably the best dinner so far came on the first night at Hamburger Mary’s on Palm Canyon Drive. It was kid-friendly, the food was acceptable and there were good options. Service was charming if a bit slow, but a good choice for our first night out.

I can’t really explain how we eneded up at Pinnochio. It was really just about following the crowds that seemed to flock there everytime we drove by. The food is very average. The booze is  cheap (bottomless champagne  on Sunday). Service was friendly, if frazzled. We had the best seat in the house which explains a lot of the charm of the place. But it seemed more appropriate as a breakfast spot when you have a wicked hangover after a wild night on the town. 

The finest restaurant we tried so far was Copley’s, house in guest house of Cary Grant’s former Palm Springs home. It was a lovely setting and a lovely warm night and had all the promise of the best meal yet. Again, the menu was chock-a-block with pork and shellfish. Even the steaks were “finished” with a shrimp or a scallop, as if you couldn’t serve a filet without something else to complete it. My “Charred Bone-in Veal Steak” was tough and chewy, the flavours overpowered by the char and the complements, frankly, not so complimentary. The wine, which shall remain nameless, that the waiter recommended to accompany our dinners was lovely.

So, we are still on the look-out for some friendly, flavourful, foodie destinations in Palm Springs. Any ideas anyone?