What: The boneless slow-braised beef short ribs
Where: Spencer’s Restaurant, 701 W. Baristo Road, Palm Springs
How much: $39; included in the $60 summer dinner prix fixe
Contact: 760-327-3446; www.spencersrestaurant.com
Why: It’s a delicious version of a classic dish.
Spencer’s Restaurant is a Palm Springs classic for good reason. The food is solid; the service is excellent; and the location, tucked up against Mount San Jacinto as part of the Palm Springs Tennis Club, is unparalleled.
The restaurant is known for its climate-controlled patio/courtyard—and as luck (?) would have it, the hubby and I wound up sitting on that patio on the hottest day ever recorded in Palm Springs. While the experience was certainly warm, the climate was indeed controlled, for the most part.
But what about the food? If you’re looking for cuisine that’s avant-garde or unique, go elsewhere—but if you’re looking for classic meat, seafood and pasta dishes done well, Spencer’s is a fine place to go.
On that toasty July evening, I took advantage of Spencer’s dinner prix fixe deal: an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert for $60. While my Caesar salad appetizer was decent, and my carrot cake dessert was divine (and very much worthy of an endorsement within an endorsement), it’s the short-rib entrée that made my mouth water the most. The slow-braised beef was so tender that no knife was needed, and the savory rib jus was, in a word, perfect. The accompaniments—mashed potatoes, baby carrots and asparagus—were all prepared well, as one would expect.
Spencer’s also offers breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch menus—but just don’t go on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, as the restaurant is currently closed on those days. But whenever you go, you’re in for a fantastic classic dining experience.
