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I will be visiting Palm Springs, CA soon to attend a conference and on my to-do list is to sample an American style breakfast and try to recreate a piece of my childhood. To wit, when I was but a wee slip of a lad 20 odd years ago, we visited Disney World Orlando, which to a young 11 year old lad from a provincial UK town, was a fairly big deal. In the town near the motel where we stayed, there was a restaurant where we had breakfast. It wasn't one of those chain restaurant, just a local run place. In there, I used to get a fabulous breakfast; eggs, grits, those little sausages that look like burgers. bacon etc etc. It all tasted very exotic and wild to my inexperienced sensitises especially coming from a childhood where having a bit of jam on toast was seen as a wild breakfast time extravagance.

Next month will be the first trip back to the USA I have made since I was 11 so I would like to find somewhere to have another good breakfast once again. Somewhere like the local run places you see on man versus food. I have no desire to eat a steak the size of a baby; just some good, honest cooking and Americana. So residents of the USA and specifically Palm Springs (or at least, those who have visited) can you recommend places to go? I am also looking for places to eat in the evening where I can get a traditional American burger and decent bars where I can get a good pint. Dakka, be my travel guide!

I got a couple buddies who were stationed at the Marine Corps base near there. I'll get some intell off them.

In-N-Out Burger? Not "highest" quality by far, but it seems to be a staple of the American West burger chains... I'd suggest hitting them up. I went to Vegas, and with all the gak my parents wanted to do, I simply asked for 2 things (since I couldn't drink or gamble). 1) To buy me a ticket to a comedy show or something in Vegas where they wouldn't be, and 2) Take me to In-N-Out Burger... Trip was totally worth it because of that.

In-N-Out... not high quality? Die blasphemer! Actually as far as I've experienced In-N-Out's about as good as you can do for fast food burgers. Fresh ingredients, meat that was killed this year instead of in 1957 and flash frozen, and of course there's the secret menu.

In-n-out is awsome, its the best quality fast food burger you can find.

Another good burger place is A&W, as in A&W Rootbeer. Not sure if there are any down in Palm Springs though.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 KalashnikovMarine wrote:
In-N-Out... not high quality? Die blasphemer! Actually as far as I've experienced In-N-Out's about as good as you can do for fast food burgers. Fresh ingredients, meat that was killed this year instead of in 1957 and flash frozen, and of course there's the secret menu.

Preach it brother

In-N-Out burger you say? There is one down the road on the Sonny Bono Memorial highway (really?) but I fear it is not within walking distance

In and out sucks, especially for palm springs. Carls jr. Is better there for chains flavor wise, but in and out is "fresh". Surprisingly for fast food in palm springs ca, Dell taco is pretty good or was when I lived there. Weinersnitzels is good for the all American chili dog.

Look up local burger establishments when you get there, there is gray place in cathedral city that is excellent for homestyle Americana food, breakfast lunch and dinner. I think it's called Suzies, but it's been a while not sure. It's Don and sweet sue's. I've had s hard time finding a beret burger anywhere, and large breakfasts.

Some of the country clubs have excellent, often, all you can eat brunches. Which despite being ayce pretty good.

Don't forget to book two seats home.

Sorry, I'm comparing my experiences with In-N-Out Burger against 5 guys, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, and B Spot... In-N-Out ties 5 Guys, beats the next three, and loses miserably to B Spot, but to be fair, B Spot isn't a fast food chain.

I enjoyed every morsel of my 3x3 at In-N-Out, but it can't compare to this:

and most of everything else on B Spot's menu.

Filbert, go to In-N-Out, you won't regret it.

 filbert wrote:
I have no desire to eat a steak the size of a baby

I've sent this to INS and TSA. Your passport will be flagged and you will be barred entry.


That being said, if you are able to smuggle yourself in somehow you shouldn't have trouble finding almost any of those things listed, as they are pretty much staple breakfast foods. The only thing that may not be on all menus is grits, which isn't rare, but not as popular outside the South, so not all restaurants serve it. Some places may not serve sausage patties either and only have sausage links, but really most have both options.

For a true American breakfast, find a 'greasy spoon' near you. Waffle House tends to deliver the goods any time, day or night. Local joints probably have better ingredients or specialties- Waffle House just does a generic American breakfast in all of its glory. Just remember to bring cash- most of them still don't take cards.

Waffle House might let him experience American E. coli, too. The best breakfasts aren't going to be at chains, but I think Cracker Barrel is a step up from Waffle House and would be an interesting American experience. Even without all the kitsch, the idea of selling stuff to patrons before they even set foot in the restaurant has to be uniquely American.

And Five Guys > In-and-Out, but it's not an apples-and-oranges comparison for me.

In-and-Out is more of a true fast food burger -- it's cheap and fast with a thin patty -- and is the king in that category (I'm an Animal-style guy, FYI). Five Guys isn't cheap or fast -- there are no drive-throughs and in fact they'd be impossible given their service model. Both use fresh meat, but Five Guys grills thicker patties that are pattied at the store (In-and-Out's are pre-made). In-and-Out probably gets the edge in toppings...Five Guys doesn't seem to focus much on topping quality. But then Five Guys' fries easily win out.

To me, In-and-Out tastes like the best fast food burger you'll ever have, while Five Guys is closer to a burger you'd cook for yourself at home.

Five Guys is excellent this is true, especially their cajun fries. Holy gak those are good.

I dont know about where you live, but where I live we have like 20 Five Guys and they're all trash.

 filbert wrote:
I have no desire to eat a steak the size of a baby

That's the most un-American thing I've ever heard.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 LordofHats wrote:
I dont know about where you live, but where I live we have like 20 Five Guys and they're all trash.

Be that as it may, I think they're generally perceived as being good. There are none near me so I have no personal dog in that fight but I generally hear people raving about them when it comes up.

Traditional American food..... pshhhh boring..... Find a mexican restaurant go in the morning and order Chilaquiles with a side of Carne Asada... youre going to SoCal! Its northern mexico without (as many) kidnappings, and murders! Seriously though in-n-out is a staple along with Carl's Jr. ( for innout order stuff animal style its not on the regular menu so heads up) and for carls jr order everything with a large combo for that true 'murica after lunch feeling

I return:

From my buddy:

Buffalo Wild Wings, Wings, beer, fantastic sports bar. Obviously the wings are what they're famous for but they do a killer burger as well.

Cheeky's apparently has breakfasts so good you'll have a religious experience

Sullivan's is apparently killer and has great steaks. Ask for the kid's menu if you don't want a proper man's steak.

The other reccomendation for breakfast is Country Kitchen.

-----------
Added by me:
Sherman's Deli & Bakery is one I found poking around online but it has good reviews on Yelp, but if you want real deal Americana then stoping in a New York style deli for chow is a must.

Excellent, that is a good list - I will bear them in mind.

I'd second Cracker Barrel for a good chain restaurant where you can get a solid breakfast. Not sure if they have Bob Evan's out west, but they're pretty decent as well. Both are much better than Waffle House.

If you come across a greasy spoon mom-and-pop diner type place though, I'd definitely give it a try. Some of those places are excellent.

@filbert - Matty goes to California fairly often. Drop him a PM to get a Brit's perspective on where to go.

 Albatross wrote:
@filbert - Matty goes to California fairly often. Drop him a PM to get a Brit's perspective on where to go.

That is good advice, but also be prepared for lots of inappropriate language that seemingly has nothing to do with subject.

"[censored] bacon? That [censored] is amazing and [censored] [censored] with a [censored]. There is a [censored] in Burbank that [censored] your [censored] and tickles your [censored] like it's [censored]. Breakfast is good too."

Last time he posted a picture of himself eating in California, it was at a place called Sambo's. He took a picture of the sign.

I gak you not.

I have similar puerile sense of humour - I was chuckling yesterday after finding a restaurant on Google Maps called 'Wangs in the Desert'....

I'm wondering how much if this advice is generic, much has little to nothing to do with palm springs. As a heads up there isn't a whole lot in palm springs proper I can recommend. There is a decent down town, and like many American cities had merged with 5 other cities, Cathedral city, Palm Dessert, Laquinta but unless you like Meth won't be going to those I didn't list.

I only recall one in and out in the valley there and we didn't go there. Honestly most of the chain restaurants in the area are pretty bad. I recommend trying stuff with a local fare.

While I might recommend buffalo wild wings (was not impressed by Fresno's either) cracker barrel in other cities, those kind of chains seen poorly managed/served there.

Here is my local recommendations:

Don and Sweet Sues - Breakfast, and lunch, This is a must try I think.

Shermans deli, it's fine for lunch. Better than you average Jewish deli.

The light house - great appetizers, 150 beers on tap. Nice for dinner/young hipster hang out.
In the same mall there is a great sushi place with 1/2 price sushi after 9. AVOID all other restaurants in that mall.

The Fisherman's market. Not a big fish fan but thy have a trash soup that was good and cheap for lunch.

Honestly, most of the sushi was good there, for some reason, probably a large Asian tourist/resident population ?

The draw back is most of these are in palm desert, and a lot of stuff may have changed since i lived there. There are good places in palm springs, but I'd say most are simply just above average If you're into whatever there specialty is.

 firmlog wrote:
I'm wondering how much if this advice is generic, much has little to nothing to do with palm springs. As a heads up there isn't a whole lot in palm springs proper I can recommend. There is a decent down town, and like many American cities had merged with 5 other cities, Cathedral city, Palm Dessert, Laquinta but unless you like Meth won't be going to those I didn't list.

I only recall one in and out in the valley there and we didn't go there. Honestly most of the chain restaurants in the area are pretty bad. I recommend trying stuff with a local fare.

While I might recommend buffalo wild wings (was not impressed by Fresno's either) cracker barrel in other cities, those kind of chains seen poorly managed/served there.

Here is my local recommendations:

Don and Sweet Sues - Breakfast, and lunch, This is a must try I think.

Shermans deli, it's fine for lunch. Better than you average Jewish deli.

The light house - great appetizers, 150 beers on tap. Nice for dinner/young hipster hang out.
In the same mall there is a great sushi place with 1/2 price sushi after 9. AVOID all other restaurants in that mall.

The Fisherman's market. Not a big fish fan but thy have a trash soup that was good and cheap for lunch.

Honestly, most of the sushi was good there, for some reason, probably a large Asian tourist/resident population ?

The draw back is most of these are in palm desert, and a lot of stuff may have changed since i lived there. There are good places in palm springs, but I'd say most are simply just above average If you're into whatever there specialty is.

The "American" diner I used to frequent has changed into a Mexican diner in the 20 some odd years since I lived there; PS is now chock full chain restaurants it seems, with little to no 'mom and pop' establishments left.

 firmlog wrote:
I'm wondering how much if this advice is generic, much has little to nothing to do with palm springs. As a heads up there isn't a whole lot in palm springs proper I can recommend.

Will be going through all the suggestions listed here and have a snoop on Google Maps. I will only have a day or two 'free time' max - the rest will be spent in and around the conference centre and I can only assume that I won't have transport so any potential eating spots or bars need to be within walking distance. I will realistically limit myself to stuff within the generic downtown area.

Ouch, most of the restaurants directly downtown, are trendy posh type places, or ethnic cuisine. There may still be a burger joint in walking distance called suzies, it gets high praises, but I was not fond of it. Then again I prefer flame broild to fried hamburgers

If hooters isn't in the UK, you should start there.

 Shredsmore wrote:
If hooters isn't in the UK, you should start there.

Please don't encourage people to eat that garbage attempting to pose as food being pushed by middlin at best girls in spandex.

There's a Hooters in Nottingham, I believe GW is based there too.

Coincidence.......?