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RESTAURANTS
Adobe Grill / 2*
49-499 EISENHOWER DR, LA QUINTA; 760/564-5725
Located upstairs above the hotel's famed fountain, Adobe Grill's dining
patio seems almost to press against the velvet night sky. But seating
accommodations aside, the menu here has long been a wonderful alternative
to the steak-steak-steak mantra of other desert chefs. Adobe Grill
has an elegant, inventive, and also quite traditional touch with Mexican
cuisine. Sure, you can order a combination plate (wonderful tamales, enchiladas,
tacos, etc.), but it's in the mysterious mole sauce that the Aztecan authenticity
really shines. Seafood is a highlight, especially the
halibut in a maple pecan crust with orange butter sauce. What's Mexican
about it? It arrives with fideo, a Mexican pasta like angel hair or vermicelli
where the thin strands are deep fried for about a minute before being
doused with chicken stock, tomatoes, and herbs, then simmered until tender.
Caldo de marisco, their bouillabaisse with a Southwest flavor, and ceviche
de mariscos marmera, also showcase Mexico's love of seafood. Don't miss
the margaritas here; the largest comes in a huge handblown glass filled
with 1800 tequila, orange liqueur, and fresh lime and lemon juice. As
you sip, wondering how you'll ever walk out across the tile flool; your
eyes will wander to the open beam ceiling, Guadalajara-made glass art,
and the passing dessert tray filled with orange custard flan, sopapillas
dripping with honey, and lemon tarts with prickly pear sorbet. You're
not in Kansas anymore, Toto. $$; AE, DIS, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner
daily; full bar; reservations recommended; www.laquintaresort.com; from
Hwy 111, take Washington St south and turn right on Eisenhower Dr.
La Quinta Grill / 2*
78045 CALLE CADIZ, LA QUINTA; 760/564-4443
Arriving at La Quinta Grill will test your faith. The parking lot is
bare desert sand. The building has all the architectural profile of a
Texas road house. But beyond the front door, you enter a big-city environment
where soft tunes from a piano player float around a dark burgundy room,
tasteful nudes gambol in gilt-framed paintings, and tablecloths are crisp
and white. So popular in winter you may wait two hours unless you have
a reservation, La Quinta Grill (formerly named Cunard's) draws a clientele
hungry for its wonderful chicken Marsala or its popular scampi in a
parsley-butter-white-wine-lemon sauce. Pasta dishes, like the grilled
Italian sausage tossed with generous chunks of fresh tomato, fresh basil,
white wine, and shaved Parmesan, are redolent of garlic and big enough
for two. Service is friendly and efficient. La Quinta Grill offers big
por-
tions and a nice atmosphere for prices about 25 percent less than if they
were located "up canyon" (closer to Palm Springs). The only
drawback here is the bread: a pitiful, bland substance that could please
only a den- ture-wearer. $$; AE, DC, DIS, MC, V; no checks; dinner every
day; full bar; reservations recommended; from Hwy 111 go south on Washington
St to 52nd Ave, right to Avenidas Bermudas, right to Calle Cadiz
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