What: Arancini
Where: Enzo’s Bistro and Bar, 70030 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage
How much: $11.90 (bar menu)
Contact: 760-321-7635; enzosbistroandbarranchomirage.com
Why: The beauty, then the taste.
Eating encompasses all of the traditional five senses. Sounds, textures, visuals, odors and flavors all help determine whether we enjoy our food—but I’ve always personally put visuals near the bottom of that list. A dish can look ugly, but if it tastes and smells good, I’ll be happy. If a great-looking dish tastes, smells or feels wrong … no thanks, not interested.
Still, when a plate of food comes out looking as wonderful as the arancini did during our recent visit to Enzo’s Rancho Mirage, I am going to take notice.
The picture here—taken with an iPhone in poor lighting—does not do this plate of food justice. The yellow/orange breaded and fried three-cheese blend (fontina, Parmigiano Reggiano and mozzarella), swimming in a mixture of red marinara, green pesto and white bits of cheese, then topped with fresh greens … it was wonderful to look at—and it tasted as good as it looked. By 2026 standards, the price was better than reasonable.
Enzo’s offers two dining areas: the dining room, and the bar/patio area. Pro tip: Go with the bar, which is more fun, with better deals—and you can order anything on both the bar and regular menus there.
While the arancini in the two wonderful sauces was our favorite dish during our visit, we also enjoyed the smaller portion of lasagna ($14.90) and the pizza with homemade sausage, pepperoni, salami and Italian ham ($19.90). The dirty Tanqueray martini ($16) was damned good, too, as was the service.
Pretty, tasty and affordable food, served with a smile … can it get any better?
