February Is for Festivals With Food
It is time once again for the annual Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival, taking place at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, at 46350 Arabia St., in Indio, from Thursday, Feb. 12, through Sunday, March 1. Agricultural exhibits highlight the farmers, ranchers and growers in our county, and there are carnival rides, monster trucks, a rodeo—and, of course, tons of fair food! General-admission presale tickets are $12, with kids’ tickets for just $10; tickets to special events and rides are extra. Find more information and buy your tickets at www.datefest.org.
Be Greek for the weekend at the 29th Annual Palm Desert Greek Festival, returning to St. George Greek Orthodox Church, at 74109 Larrea St., from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21 and 22. Experience authentic Greek food and delicious Greek pastries; dance to Greek music; and take a church tour. Admission is just $5; kids 12 and under are admitted for free. Food must be purchased separately. Visit pdgreekfestival.org for all the information.
In Brief
Last month, we mentioned the opening of Sunset, at 369 N. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. Since then, the proprietors have opened the upstairs area as speakeasy-style space called After Hours, with an assortment of appetizers and craft cocktails. I can see this becoming a real hot spot. Find out more at instagram.com/afterhourspalmssprings or afterhourspalmsprings.com.
Luchador Brewing Company is opening a second location/tasting room at 250 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs, between Pomme Frites and Thai House. There’s no word yet on what they will serve, and the new location isn’t listed on their website as of this writing, so check back here for updates.
A new lounge has opened next to Bar Cecil: Beaton’s at Bar Cecil, at 1555 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. You’ll find cocktails and light snacks, perfect for before or after dinner. Find out more at beatonsatbarcecil.com.
Yucha Donut and Boba is set to open next to La Baguette, at 34580 Monterey Ave., Suite 105, in Palm Desert, offering mochi donuts. Instagram is the best place for information that we could find, although the page didn’t say much as of this writing: instagram.com/yuchadonut.
The popular food truck Birrieria Sinaloa has opened a brick-and-mortar location at 73120 Dinah Shore Drive, in Palm Desert. Watch www.instagram.com/birrieriasinaloa for updates.
The owners of TQLA’s Agave Bar and Grill have changed the space via an upscale makeover into a Latin tapas bar: Lola’s at the Cove, at 78015 Main Street, Suite 109, in La Quinta. The menu includes empanadas, ceviche and other small plates. The best information seems to be at facebook.com/Lolasatthecove.
El Paseo Chop House will be opening at 72595 El Paseo, in the Palm Desert space that formerly housed Cuistot. Sign up for updates at elpaseochophouse.com.
Heartbreaking news: PS Air Bar and the Bouchet wine and liquor store, at 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite 22, in Palm Springs, have closed. They had been listed for sale for quite some time.
Also closed: IHOP, at 471 S. Indian Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. The locations in Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage and Indio remain open.
Now, here all sorts of big chain-restaurant news. First: Sumo Dog, the hot dog/Japanese fusion chain with existing locations in Indio and at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden (during special events), will be opening new locations at The Palms shopping complex at Avenue 42 and Monroe Street in Indio, and at the Cabazon Outlets; www.eatsumodog.com.
Jersey Mike’s is opening a new location at 1751 N. Sunrise Way, in the same Palm Springs shopping center as Albertsons; www.jerseymikes.com.
Farmer Boys is opening in the new Cathedral Cove development on East Palm Canyon Drive and Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City; www.farmerboys.com.
Two chain restaurants are moving into the former home of Tuscanos and BrewQuinta, at 78772 Highway 111, in La Quinta. Shake Shack (shakeshack.com), and CAVA, a Mediterranean/Greek fast-food restaurant (cava.com).
Just down the street: Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, a Florida-based diner chain with locations across the country, has announced plans to open at 79892 Highway 111, in La Quinta; kekes.com.
Finally: The fried-chicken joint everyone loves to hate, Chick-fil-A, and a new Dutch Bros. Coffee will be opening at Avenue 42 and Jackson Street in Indio.
I remember hearing that Keke’s (or something like it) would open in the Gelson’s plaza.
Wonder if that’s still happening or if they decided to open in Indio instead. It took Capriotti’s forever and a day to open in that plaza…..