Hopefully you aren’t tired of hearing about our fabulous experience at the BOLD Summit, because we’re rounding out the conference talk with a Designer Escape piece featuring the one and only Palm Springs, California. While we spent most of our time down there focusing on keynotes and speakers, we did manage to take a peak at the lively and luxurious city and found a few spots we wouldn’t mind visiting again.
The area of Palm Springs that doesn’t get much press is the newly revamped Uptown Design District. If that doesn’t scream KKDL, I don’t know what does. We got a few tips from the locals and scurried around to hit all the cool spots this swanky neighborhood had to offer. This particular region has gotten a lot of love recently, sprucing it up to make it a rising star in the city where locals and tourists all gather to appreciate the yummy food and interesting art shows. From the pack of contestants, we’ve chosen our top spots.
Workshop Kitchen + Bar
Being from Sacramento, we aren’t unfamiliar with industrial kitchen design and farm-to-fork restaurant concepts. So we were pleasantly surprised by this kitchen and bar. Even if you aren’t hungry, Workshop Kitchen + Bar’s aesthetic is enough to make you order an appetizer. Located in a sensational Colonial-esque building, the architects forged a contemporary style kitchen that oozes farm chic (Is that a thing? That should be a thing.). Clean lines, sleek tabletops, concrete slabs, cathedral ceilings– you’d swear this place jumped right out of Architectural Digest. The next item on the menu to drool over is the actual food they serve. What makes them truly authentic farm-to-table restaurateurs is the legitimacy of their literal farm-to-table promise. Located on their website is a list of food they promise to pick only when fresh and only when local. How cool is that? With a summer dinner menu boasting such entrees as KOROBUTA PORK-LOIN + BELLY and COLORADO LAMB TWO-WAYS, it’s hard to think about much else than their mouth-watering cuisine. That is, unless, you’ve already ordered a cocktail from their American-inspired bar. Our favorite? The BEE’S KNEES:
“Ransom old tom gin, lemon juice, fresh honey, lemon oils; prohibition-era cocktail originally made to mask the flavor of bad gin. Updated with modern ingredients this drink is bright, fresh, and complex.”
Um, yes please.
Lavender Bistro
Not quite in Palm Springs, but barely almost there, lives a quaint yet sophisticated restaurant called the Lavender Bistro. Doesn’t the name just ooze elegance? Apart from their feminine and flirtatious interior decorations, there food is absolutely to die for. With some of the most simple yet decadent seafood plates we’ve ever seen, we’re surprised this place hadn’t bleeped on our radar before. So if you’re in the mood for low-maintenance, luxury dining, you will be well taken care of at Lavender.
Not Neutral
If you’re a fan of patterns, textures, and whimsical plating, we highly suggest visiting this funky design store. From playful plating to cool coffee mugs, we were entranced by the fun designs we found in this shop. If we were able to, we would have bought every single plate in the store. But alas, plates are breakable and budgets are real. Anyway. Not Neutral’s space boasts some of the most interesting and specific designs we’ve seen on tableware like carefully crafted mugs and hand-painted bowls. What we found most helpful, though, was their website. We snooped around on the pages and found the About section, from where we borrowed this snippet that perfectly describes the brand:
“In our process, we do not discriminate between the ornament and the object. The surface and the shape inform each other; both are imbued with narrative qualities that determine the look and feel of our work. With rigorous attention to form, pattern, and function, our products demonstrate unwavering attitude and conviction.”
If you click through the images you’re automatically whisked away to Online Shopping Land. When you eventually snap out of it, they show you what to get for the guy that has everything or for the girl who wants everything. Friendly gift guides and interesting suggestions make even their online store seem personable and welcoming.
Good news: you have now been informed on the best spots in Palm Springs and we can’t wait for you to check them out for yourselves. Bad news: we aren’t still in Palm Springs. Sigh.
