What: The lobster bisque
Where: Gelson’s Market, 36101 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage
How much: $8.99
Contact: 760-770-0010; gelsons.com/store-locations/rancho-mirage
Why: Great flavor, fine price.
The grocery store located at Bob Hope and Gerald Ford drives has had a turbulent history in recent years. It was a Pavilions; for about 15 minutes (give or take), it was a Haggen; and then it became a Gelson’s.
When Gelson’s opened in the space a little more than two years ago, however, the new owners brought with them a different mindset: The people behind the Southern California mini-chain not only wanted to genuinely become part of the community (including some events with this newspaper, I should disclose); they had big plans for the space.
Those big plans have now come to fruition: The Rancho Mirage store has been completely renovated—and the prepared-food options in Gelson’s are nothing short of epic.
Wolfgang Puck’s pizza. A downright-reasonably-priced salad bar. A sushi bar. All sorts of deli meats, salads and prepared entrées. A wine, craft-beer and tapas bar. And even a seafood bar—with oysters, shrimp, crab, lobster, poke and other tasty treats.
One of those “other tasty treats,” the 12-ounce bowl of lobster bisque, made for a mighty fine lunch one recent weekday. It was rich, creamy and flavorful—everything a great lobster bisque should be. There were also tiny little lobster bits in almost every bite. Yum!
Beyond the quality of the bisque itself … of the best things about the dish was its price: $8.99 is a fine deal for this amount of good lobster bisque. However, I had one teeny, tiny complaint: My bisque came with oyster crackers (which are supposed to go with the clam chowder, $8.99) instead of crostini slices, as promised on the menu; that would have been a slightly better pairing.
But that’s a minor nitpick; I thoroughly enjoyed my first dine-in lunch at Gelson’s. It certainly will not be my last.