What: Tomato salad
Where: Bar Issi, at the Thompson Palm Springs, 414 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
How much: $17
Contact: 442-334-2405; www.thebarissi.com
Why: It’s perfect.
There are many wonderful options on Bar Issi’s dinner menu.
The hamachi carpaccio ($29) is a delight. The gazpacho ($15)—with sun-gold tomatoes and cantaloupe—is delicious and refreshing (but beware if you are anti-cilantro). The ricotta-filled agnolotti in pomodoro sauce ($32) might just convince me to give vegetarianism a try. (OK, not really—but this dish is really good.) Even the pizzas are top-notch.
But it’s the tomato salad, with three simple components, that keeps me coming back.
Basil. A sherry vinaigrette. And—most importantly—fresh heirloom tomatoes. That’s all there is to this salad, unless you get the optional anchovies ($9), but trust me: Even if you like anchovies, they’re not necessary.
This simple, perfect dish shows that the folks in the kitchen of this “breezy and elevated coastal Italian restaurant”—which opened several months ago in the Thompson Palm Springs—know what they’re doing. Great food doesn’t need to be fancy or complicated; as long as you have quality ingredients and know-how, you’re likely to produce delicious food.
Yeah, Bar Issi ain’t cheap; on my journalist’s budget, I’m certainly not able to dine there regularly. But the big-city vibe, the excellent service, the fantastic cocktails and the well-thought-out dishes make Bar Issi worth a visit.
Given that heirloom tomatoes are a seasonal ingredient, I know that quite soon, Bar Issi will likely remove this tomato salad from the menu. On one hand, that bums me out. On the other, I am excited to learn what the thoughtful chefs in Bar Issi’s kitchen will concoct to take its place.