PALM SPRINGS, CA
Just like a magical desert oasis, Chef Tanya’s Kitchen offers a delicious reprieve for vegans visiting Coachella Valley’s famed and retro hot spot, Palm Springs. The cafe is one of only two plant-based restaurants in the city.
The modest but mighty deli and marketplace has healthy leanings, with organic ingredients and tempeh cultured in house.
Love tempeh? Chef Tanya’s Kitchen makes their Tempeh Power Burgers four ways:
🍔 Caprese Tempeh Burger: caramelized onions, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pesto mayo
🍔 CTK Tempeh Burger: caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, and mayo
🍔 Gordo Chili Cheese: Heirloom Rancho Gordo bean chili, ‘crack cheese’ (creamy and housemade with cracked cashews), BBQ sauce, red onion, and jalapeno pickle garnish
🍔 Guadalajara: Anaheim chile, caramelized onions, guacamole, melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, and chipotle mayo
MORE TO LOVE
My mom and I tag teamed the menu, sampling as much as we could. We started with the daily soup—broccoli and cheese—and Mac N’ Cheesy: classic elbow macaroni in Chef Tanya’s dreamy, creamy, cheesy sauce with a garlic crumb topping.
We picked two different salads as our mains: the CTK Caesar—crispy romaine, garlic-rubbed croutons, toasted pepitas, walnut parmesan, and housemade Caesar dressing—and the OhMyGato Taco—romaine, cabbage, black beans, taco meat, avocado salsa, pickled purple cabbage, tortilla chip croutons, corn, cilantro, and chipotle ranch dressing. Yum!
OhMyGato Taco salad
Excuse the crappy photos. I usually try to eat as early as possible so that every gorgeous vegan dish can be fully appreciated in the flattering natural light of day.
I must also apologize for not being able to report on dessert! Chef Tanya’s sweet treats include chocolate cake, carrot cake, Lemon Drizzle Cake Bites, organic fruit cobbler, cookies, key lime parfait, Mexican chocolate pudding, and Choco Coco Banana Cream Parfait.
PLANT-BASED BOSS
Fresh news to me, Chef Tanya was also the mastermind behind the vegan, fast-casual chain Native Foods, which has grown to 11 locations since opening in Palm Springs in ‘94.
She decided early—in college, after discovering the magical makings of seitan and fresh-cultured tempeh—that she wanted to pursue the restaurant biz. And since day one she’s remained true to her desire for animal-free menus in her establishments.
706 S. Eugene Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92264
Wanna show her some love? Visit Chef Tanya’s Kitchen in Palm Springs or Palm Desert.
EXPLORING THE CITY
Palm Springs is a perfect destination for a three-, maybe four-day weekend. Stay too long and you might fry your brains out. Like right now, in mid-September, the temp is a stiff 93 degrees.
As soon as you enter the city limits, it’s like traveling back to 1967, the year Elvis and Priscilla graced Palm Springs with their lavish, newlywed romance.
According to VisitPalmSprings.com, “Palm Springs has one of the largest concentrations of preserved mid-century modern architecture in the world.” Hit Palm Canyon Drive for shopping and you’ll find a slew of businesses selling new and antique mid-mod goods. But what I really don’t want you to miss is…
Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium
It’s a cactus lover’s dream! Now, please enjoy my pictorial tour of the desert garden. TTYL. 💚
Wherever you are, be there totally.
Focus on the powerful, euphoric, magical, synchronistic, beautiful parts of life, and the Universe will keep giving them to you.
