Way back in my very late youth we thought it was cool to trek down  to Palm Springs, swim and tan outdoors in the winter, play tennis at the Racquet or Tennis Club, and hope to see Rita, Sophia, Marlon, Frank and or Ava hanging out.……somewhere. The somewhere then,  for many  was the above tennis clubs and Melvyn’s restaurant at the 40 year old adjacent  Ingleside Inn.  The latter two were the show biz "hot spots" in Palm Springs. 

But little by little things changed. Palm Springs  lost its cool and its show biz population. Those folks were private jetting to Puerta Vallarta, The Caribbean  or even the French Riviera in almost the same time as the drive on the !0 from Beverly Hills and Malibu.

Palm Canyon Drive became a geriatric tourist trap most noted for a theater show with 65 year prox chorus girls and aging comics. There was also the Chi-Chi (No kidding, that actually was the name) night club which featured entertainment and food both of which were equally passe'. When you added in that Mayor who was soon to be their Congressman, the entire area and its aging residents became reminiscent of the brilliant Alec Guiness film called “The Over The Hill Mob”.

It also became somewhat dangerous to walk or drive as resident septuagenarian ladies who needed fat cushions to see over the steering wheel  tried to negotiate the traffic in their Titanic sized Lincoln, Caddie or Chrysler “Town Cars”. Automobile insurance rates soared. Restaurants were mostly expensive, overrated and peopled by generally arrogant wait-staffs.

Perhaps the romantic appeal hit near  bottom for me and my cohorts when major thoroughfares began to be named after Dinah Shore, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, Gene Autry, and Gerald Ford. Obviously Dwight Eisenhower is worth a street, but Fred Waring and Buddy Rogers???? Talk about Dinosaurs, I began to think  the town should be renamed ...................    Jurassic Springs.

Only recently did such relatively lesser  names such as Washington and Jefferson get a nod. But you have to be on the outskirts of Indio before you see them. If Lincoln made the list, I never saw it. 

Either Roosevelts clearly don't stand a chance.

What finally finished me off was when my wife and I were in a tennis shop and observed “Sonny” purchasing a racket. He clearly didn’t know the difference between a forehand and a backhand and his pallid skin indicated limited time outdoors.  Yet he was ostentatiously and arrogantly telling the intimidated 18 year old clerk why his knowledgeable and very superior game required a $250 resin-titanium weapon. He knew as much about tennis as he did about politics. You could see why Cher dumped him.

So how could we take the place seriously? The residents actually elected him mayor and  compounded the felony by  insulting the Congress of  The United States with his presence. Not even the permanent anticipation of pristine mornings with clear views of the gorgeous mountains or clear views of the gorgeous Sophia could overcome that.                               

Thus, we pretty much stayed away for almost 20 years except for a couple of 3 day jaunts to the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament. Dining experiences during those short visits continued to be mostly dismal, overpriced , self inflated  and unrealistic hype joints from The Pseudo Showbiz and Sonny  mentality. After all if you lived or had a restaurant on Frank Sinatra   Drive, the folks back East had to figure that you had hit it big. 

However recent business activities in Palm Desert required a trip to The Desert.  In a miraculous coincidence, we were offered   a well appointed 1,000 sq. ft 3 room condominium at an upscale resort spa. We were 20 feet from a magnificent pool. We could swim every day and bask in the sun while gazing at those still pristine mountains. The pleasures of the earlier years  slowly returned to us in spite of no Sophia or even Scarlett Johannsen sightings. 

A big turning point took place that night after  we checked in. We were presented  with an invitation  to dine (guess where?) at Melvyn's at the now 70 year old Ingleside. At the time  it seemed to us that it represented the ultimate “over the hill- dinosaur” reasons that caused our long time loss of interest  in the " The Desert". But, just out of somewhat morbid curiosity  we decided to take a chance.   Luckily we had brought some desert casual dress up clothing.

Melvyn’s is on that still very dark street one block west of Palm Canyon on the south end of the business district. The entrance sign is dim and small. You drive on to a narrow lane of dense horticulture past the hotel section to the restaurant. It was as I remembered it  28 years ago and seemingly  hadn't aged as well as Sophia. Valets still  awaited … . We became a bit apprehensive.

We entered the bar and our apprehensions  concerning "The Desert"  vanished ......immediately. Melvyn's  was jammed midweek with well dressed attractive adults. Live music emanated from the rear playing Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll”. There was a fine vocalist and dancing 7 nights a week till 2 AM. Melvyn's was both now cool and hip.

The head waiter, Bobby Bolduch, rapidly and  warmly came over to provide menus, wine list and announce the specials. We were amazed to be informed that all dinners include soup or salad.  Venison and New York Steak are $28. Chateaubriand for two is $55. Chicken Pomeroy with Shrimp is $23. Fresh Grilled Whitefish is $24.50. There are 8 seafood, 4 fowl, 2 pork, 2 lamb, 4 veal and 7 beef dishes all served with interesting vegetable combinations and the prices were certainly right.

Overall, service was flawless. A very slight wine mishap resulted in an immediate offer by the Maitre‘d to make amends with a ½ bottle ….of a superior vintage… to take back to the room. Instead we opted for wonderful molten chocolate cake and espresso. Forget the espresso.

Then there is the bonus of having an after dinner drink in the bar and working off the meal with dancing. It is a perfect evening.

But know this. The food at Melvyn’s is very good but not truly adventuresome “haute cuisine”. However, our overall dining experience was still the most enjoyable we ever had in “The Desert”. We are looking forward to returning. It may have been a dinosaur in years past. But that now seems 50 million years ago. Owner Melvyn Haber has turned an  old ugly duckling  into a lovely mature swan.  

"The Desert" had resurrected The Fountain of Youth and had gone from geriatric to Hip and Cool.

However, in order to duplicate our experience, insist upon dining in the main dining room. The adjacent Garden Room is somewhat disappointing. Also be sure that Bolduch is working that night. He alone is worth the visit.

Thus this overall experience also confirmed that very important reality.

While food is the primary reason to go to a restaurant, ambience and service are of almost equal importance. We have all been in a situation where the food was fine but arrogant service and unpleasant surroundings resulted in an “I’ll never go back there again” conclusion.

Jillian’s on El Paseo immediately comes to mind. Amazingly it is rated as among the top three in the area. Yet the food execution and menu are average. Service is arrogant and the main dining room is ordinary. Wine prices are exploitive and the menu is at least 25% higher than Melvyn’s for food that is not on the same level. It seems typical still of many of the other overrated and expensive tourist traps still on or off the 111.

We also dined again at “Shame on the Moon”.  It continues to be a great value with well prepared food and very pleasant service in amiable surroundings. Prices are about 25% below Melvyn’s. If you want excitement, ask for the main dining area. If you want conversation request the Garden Room.

As a disclaimer, you should know that we have been friends of Roy Yamaguchi since 1987 before  the now popular Roy’s of Hawaii existed . He was then an unemployed chef in Los Angeles .  

You already know that we usually eschew any type of chain dining. But for old times sake we dined at Roy’s in Rancho Mirage on the 111. We believe that Roy, even from a distance provides more interesting Asian fusion food than any one in the world.

We were not disappointed. They offer many interesting main courses but we opted for the three course special dinner at $32.95. It was great. It included a wonderful 5 appetizer plate that included a spare rib, lobster wonton, special shrimp and two other items that I can’t remember.

I had Asian short ribs and my wife had a wonderful moistly medium rare salmon that was perfectly cooked. Dessert again for us was wonderful dark chocolate; a semi soufflé. Service was good but somewhat spotty and chainlike. However the owner manager immediately recognized it and made amends above what was expected.

Frankly Noted