Travel Review (Palm Springs, CA)

Having recently spent some time in Palm Springs, a friend asked "Where's the best place to eat if I only have a few days in Palm Springs?"  So, enjoy my insight:

Food:
Number one pick in Palm Springs:  Babe's Barbecue. 

It's reasonably pricey (expect to pay $12 for a pulled pork sandwich and $20 and up for an entree), BUT you get the finest BBQ in town.  They take reservations, and I recommend it--depending on the season.  Better get one for peace of mind.  The combination of a smooth sauce with the right amount of bite, the choice-cut meats used, and the absolutely dead-on cooking prep (juicy as it gets with all the flavor the meat can offer) is how Babe's nails the number one pick. 

There are a variety of types of BBQ that they offer.  I know I'm a fan of the vinegar-type bbq sauce, and they've got it-- along with several other varieties.  The pulled tri-tip will knock your socks off, which you should probably be wearing (not a flip-flops BBQ shack stand here, folks) in this not-too-casual/but very pleasant restaurant: the atmosphere is moderately up-scale, but not fancy, and is country-western in style. Expect your server to be sporting a cowboy/girl hat, boots, and some genuine hospitality that is very worthy of mentioning.  (Another couple I know that went here was offered a few drinks on the house to celebrate their honeymoon-- just an example of the kind of people you'll find working at Babe's BBQ.)


Freebie Review*
Sadly, it is with heavy fingers that I try typing anything positive about The Crab Pot.  Slow service, slow food prep, slow service again, and light-lunch fish sandwiches that were priced as heavy as a full dinner entree.  Now, my mama taught me to have something nice to say or nothing at all-- so here it is.  The atmosphere looked outstanding: lots of carved wood fisherman and nautical decorations from outside the restaurant, to the inside walls, and hanging from the ceiling.  A fun and exciting-looking place.  The hostess was polite and prompt in seating us (we were the only ones there at lunch-time).  It was inviting enough to try, but the rest of the experience was a disappointment.  To their credit, I will admit I did stop there for lunch, and not dinner.  Perhaps their service at that time was a fluke (no pun intended... or maybe it was just a little- ha ha), but eating lunch or dinner-- for the price of what you got (greasily fried fish)-- was a bust. 

I hope this helps you make greater leaps, Little Crickets!