What: Sam’ beignets
Where: Sam’s Place, 155 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
How much: $12
Contact: 760-464-0024; www.samsplaceps.com
Why: They’re amazingly pillowy.
I’ll never forget the first time I had beignets, at Café Du Monde in New Orleans. I was so excited to finally try this legendary treat … and I was wholly disappointed by the experience.
That was decades ago, and I don’t think I’ve tried a beignet since then—that is, until my recent breakfast visit to Sam’s Place, which opened a while back in the downtown Palm Springs space that was previously home to Ruby’s.
Now … I don’t know what happened during that Café Du Monde visit. Maybe the café was having an off day. Perhaps I was having off day. All I know is that I had the exact opposite reaction to the beignets at Sam’s Place: They were incredible.
When the plate of beignets you see in the photo arrived, my husband and I figured we’d be needing a to-go box. But these nuggets of deep-fried pastry dough—topped with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream, with agave syrup on the side, and dusted with powdered sugar—were so addictive that we didn’t want to stop eating them. Before we knew it, an empty plate sat before us.
The thing that shocked me about these beignets was how light, airy and pillowy they were. It was surprisingly easy for us to devour what seemed like a significant pile of them, and I feared we’d be suffering with not-so-thrilled stomachs later—but that was not the case. The only way these beignets overwhelmed was via their deliciousness.
The rest of the fare we had at Sam’s Place—including a breakfast melt, buttermilk pancakes and a Bloody Mary—was good as well. As a result, Sam’s Place has earned a spot on our rotating breakfast/lunch spot list … our waistlines be damned.
Just wanted to tell you that the Apple pancake at Sams is very decadent and a must try.