a friend is retiring and I want to give him a gift card to a great restaurant in Palm Desert, or Indio. Any suggestions. Thinking about$100.00

Well... Not to be confused with the low-end chain... the La Quinta Resort (Waldorf Astoria) was delightful when we visited and hosted some guests for dinner at their nicest restaurant. Your budget would likely cover 2 entres but not alcohol:

http://www.laquintaresort.com/7_rest...morgans_chefs/

Hi-- don't mean to hijack your thread, but we are headed to the area next month and I hadn't considered staying outside Palm Springs. Is the Palm Desert area as nice?

jayne1973 not familiar with either. Our friend actually lives in Indio but I know that Palm Desert is close. sorry can't help. Perhaps others. You want to repost on your own with that question.

Thanks, Shar.

We had a wonderful meal at Cuistot in Palm Desert a few years ago http://www.cuistotrestaurant.com/menu

We just spent time in the Palm Springs area and our friends were staying in the Palm Desert area. I think whether you consider it nice or not depends on what you are looking for.

Palm Springs has more of the retro vibe while Palm Desert is newer and more of the practical things of life are there-the stores you want if you live there Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, etc. but they also have some nice golf resorts and restaurants.

A restaurant we tried while we were there was the 3rd Corner Wine Shop & Bistro www.the3rdcornerpalmdesert.com/#

It would make a nice gift card if you friend likes wine. The concept is that you shop for the wine in the adjoining store and then enjoy it with a nice meal-and they wines of all types and price ranges. The food was really tasty too

thanks all. My husband has a business friend in that area and he recommended a restaurant and we got the gift certificate.

Out of curiosity, could we hear which restaurant you chose?

jpie, thanks for the description of the differences between Palm Springs and Palm Desert. So many "palms" to choose from-- haha. I like a retro vibe so think we should stick with Palm Springs.