Chomping Ground // Palm Springs: Birba

Photos courtesy of birbapalmsprings.com

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Spent the weekend in Palm Springs and had to share a cute, fun little place with a really great pizza, worthy of the 1-hour trip outside of Los Angeles. It was a bit off the beaten path, away from the downtown drag, hidden away from the street a bit; seemed like a local crowd that frequented the place (plus us tourists, of course). It was my first time to Palm Springs, so thanks to Yelp I was able to find a great Saturday night spot with yummy food and fancy cocktails.

The pizza was the best part: crunchy, bubbly crust, tangy/sweet/hearty sauce (homemade), and their toppings to die for. We had the Homemade Sausage, Mushroom, and Onion but other pizzas include Braised Greens, Green Olive, Serrano Chile, and Smoked Mozzarella and a great white pizza, Egg, Pancetta, Pecorino, and Spring Onion. I'd love to try other goodies next time - they had some tempting appetizers like Burrata w/ Cherry Tomatoes, English Cucumbers, and Toast and Homemade Tuna Conserva w/ PeeWee Potatoes, Haricot Verts, Green Olives, Cherry Tomatoes, and Grainy Mustard Dressing.  

Their salads were equally as great - we ordered the simplest one on the menu, but it was probably the most refreshing, tastiest, and best salad I've had in a long time: Radicchio, Endive, Arugula, Fried Garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon juice, and olive oil. Sounds right up my alley, so I'll be copying this salad in the days to come.

The decor was fun, hip, mid-century, sleek... quintessential Palm Springs, but with that nostalgic charm. Charcoal-grey outer walls accented with wood textures, white highlights, and pops of bright orange. There was also a beautiful courtyard with sand/gravel that was bordered with benches and plush pillows, where we spent most of our evening. 

The cocktails were mediocre; deliberately creative, but overly sugary and watered down. I'm sure their wines were better! 

From the Market // Last Days of Summer... and Fall Preview!

Transitional months between the seasons are just a bit depressing, especially when all the great summer fruits and vegetables are waning away. The variety of goodies this time of year tend to be either over-ripe or under-ripe, but you're bound to find the last bit of berries and peaches (great for cobblers and pies). 

The plus side is that fall is just around the corner, theoretically. Once our trademark Californian Indian Summer passes, there are loads of fall crops to look forward to: 

Apples

(crisps! sauces! pies!)

Beets

(roasted, of course)

Brussel Sprouts

(buy on the stalk, they are more fresh)

Chard

(colorful greens, so fun)

Eggplant

(my favorite vegetable)

Figs

(green, purple, Adriatic varieties... one of my favorite fruits)

Kale

(curly or dinosaur - the best)

Leeks

(yummy with potatoes)

Okra

(slice and fry them up, n'awlins style)

Parsnips

(great with a chicken noodle soup)

Pears

(poached, braised, liqueured, baked, broiled)

Persimmons

(my favorite sign of fall)

Pumpkins / Squashes

(fall = duh)

Quince

(pastes, jellies, etc.)

These late summer/early fall fruits and veggies are a sampling from the Larchmont Farmer's Market this weekend - don't forget to check out their incredible flowers!