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Palm Springs Travel / California Travel / Drinking Travel / Booze Travel / Brunch / Food Travel / → All Tags

Your First and Last Stop in Palm Springs Should Be Pinocchio's

Tis the season to head for sunnier, warmer climes. For many this means the Caribbean and Mexico while for others, they're keeping it closer to home in Palm Springs, CA. Since we know many who'll head to the desert on Virgin America's new route to Palm Springs, we're thinking it's time to let you in on a few of our own personal favorite PS secrets.

There's nothing quite like driving into Palm Springs, or flying in for that matter. From every which way, the scenery is beyond stunning. This is truly a desert paradise, and a playground all the same. It's not too difficult to understand the way we feel about the city, if you watch the bodacious Ann-Margret do her thing from 0:55-1:45 in this scene from The Who's Tommy.

"Today it rains champagne," indeed, and nowhere more so than at Pinocchio's, a restaurant in "downtown" PS that specializes in monster brunches washed down with $3.95 bottomless champagne.

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Food Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / Palm Springs Travel / California Travel / Photo Gallery / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: Date Shakes a la Palm Springs

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Did you know that 90% of America's dates are produced in the Coachella Valley? We didn't...until we visit Palm Springs, CA and indulged in one of the city's specialties: a Date Shake. It sounds weird at first, right? All great unique foods usually do (sound weird), but a date shake is both quenching in the 90+ heat of a late spring day in the desert and tasty enough to nearly fill you up. We highly recommend them, especially if you're as big a fan of bacon-wrapped dates as we are.

The Taste: The shakes, made of dates and vanilla ice cream, are mixed old-school style in metal tumblers. They don't come out frothy, but nicely creamy and chock full of the little date bits (which are lovely to bit onto for a teensy flavor burst). Because of the ice cream, the date isn't as intense as we had hoped it'd be; you get more date flavor from eating one of course, but the date shake is a great way for those who've maybe never tried date to get acquainted with its yumminess.

The one size is not too little and not too much; the shake isn't so rich that you'll get tired of drinking it halfway through, either. Basically, we loved it and would like another soon, please.

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Film Festivals / Palm Springs International Film Festival / → All Tags

Back of the Envelope Travel Guide: Palm Springs International Film Festival

Palm Springs: So Retro...

As most of us struggle through frozen winter weather, a trip to the Palm Springs International Film Festival from January 3-14 sounds just lovely. High temperatures aside, though, the festival also offers 11 days of films from a variety of genres, made by filmmakers from around the globe.

And with the city's close proximity to Los Angeles, selections are more likely to not suck. To wit: Not only did the Palm Springs Film Society screen No Country For Old Men this November; they also brought along its star James Brolin to the premiere. Be prepared to pony up some cash, though, if you plan on staying in a hotel or going out to eat on a regular basis: this is, after all, Hollywood's playground.

OUR BACK OF THE ENVELOPE GUIDE

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