Melvyn's - Palm Springs

You can’t go to Palm Springs without reminiscing about Old Hollywood, where film stars escaped from LA to play in the desert. Ingleside Inn preserved that memory in the most lavish way with manicured lawns and polished chandeliers, dark woods and ornate furniture, enough to make me feel like a character stepping from a Fitzgerald novel..and even more of an upper crust, top drawer, fancy-pants for “taking lunch” on the veranda.


Melvyn’s, was the Inn’s enclosed restaurant to the side of the porch, so for lunch service outside they brought our own personal waiter specifically for us, which again brought that Gatsby-esque notion of decadence. Brambly roots wrapped around porch posts in a way that reminded me of the private serenity of Brair Rabbit’s briar patch.


The food here isn’t great, though they do have some interesting items from back in the day like the “alligator pear”, which is tuna or chicken salad served in a papaya or avocado (weird). Vichyssoise, cold potato and leek soup, is another old-time recipe not seem much anymore, and a cool touch on a hot desert day. The Caesar salad was loaded with too much parmesan, but again the atmosphere is really the main attraction.