Palm Springs: The Bachelorette Party

This past weekend was my bachelorette party!

We laid low in the desert and mostly vegged out by the pool.

And I'm sure you'll all be surprised to hear me say, I LOVED IT AND WANT TO DO IT EVERY WEEKEND.

Five of us girls piled into a minivan (hells yeah.) and road tripped it to Palm Springs.

Obviously we packed light.

Little known fact: Palm Springs is in the desert.

We stayed at The Palm Springs Riviera and I can honestly say that it was the perfect hotel for our trip. The decor was a little bit of 1960's modern, with a touch of modern day glamour, and a ton of Liberace gaudiness. Our hotel seemed like the happening spot to be, as we saw lots of guests who looked like they were there to party.

Hotel lobby

Our rooms

Paaaaarty time. Exxxxcellent.

4:00 pm on a Friday, hanging out at the "family" pool

The pool bars at the hotel had an impressive selection of cocktails. Seriously, they were GREAT. I probably tasted about 5-6 different drinks and they were all light and fruity and tasted nothing like alcohol. Just the way I like to get tanked.

This was the Linda Lee

I miss this already...

Friday night, we had dinner at Trio- "...where Palm Springs eats and drinks." 

I cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. From the decor (1960's pop culture with some Andy Warhol-esque flair), to the service (our server was Daniel and he did a fabulous job at accommodating our large group, taking photos for us, and interacting with us like we were long lost friends), to the food (not one complaint in the bunch). If you're in Palm Springs, don't even bother with any of those other flash-in-the-pan restaurants. TRUST ME.

This was either the Palm Springs Punch or the Wil Stiles

We've watched enough of RuPaul's Drag Race to know how to work a room

Good

Better

After dinner, we ended up at some low-budge bar/club/alternate universe called Zelda's. It was located in a strip mall and I remember someone in the van saying "Just drive over his barf and park the car" while we were pulling into the parking lot. 

Our arrival couldn't have been planned any more perfectly because as we walked in, they were starting "The Men of the Hollywood Strip" show. It was a super cheezy show and involved songs like Will Smith's Men in Black. The dancers weren't really my cup of creatine, but I gotta hand it to them, they have a full-on workout with those routines. Also, the women in that place were getting all kinds of X-rated, you'd think they just got released from a life sentence in solitary confinement. Filthy animals.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel... (I love these chairs)

Saturday morning, we all met up at the hotel restaurant. Breakfast buffet - French toast, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, a yogurt parfait station, and coffee/ OJ - for only $15.

Bacon

Watching footage of the "stripper"

Just about all of Saturday's day time hours were spent poolside with cocktails

MmMmMmMmmm...

For dinner, we went to Kaiser Grille. They have good outdoor seating, with overhead misters, that can accommodate larger groups. The drink menu was solid with a wide variety of cocktails to choose from. The downside: my food was cold and pretty lackluster, and there's an awful sulfur smell that hovers over the entire patio area.

 Good

Better

After dinner, we walked around the downtown area. There was a hat shop that we spent way too much time in and bought absolutely nothing. 

"What did you do for your bachelorette party???"

"We tried on hats."

Sunday morning was check-out (sad...) and we all went out for one last group meal: Breakfast at Lulu's. 

The decor inside of Lulu's was very cool and relaxing- lots of white and plexiglass. The place was fairly packed with patrons, so we saw that as a good sign of things to come. Unfortunately, my food was less than impressive and I don't think I would recommend this place. I got the 3-course Sunday brunch: mixed greens salad, cobb scramble, and strawberry crepe. Everything in my meal was bland and it seemed like they focused more on the presentation, than the flavor or quality. Maybe we just went on a bad day...

And that's pretty much where our vacation ended. 

I had a great time with my friends and I'm glad that each one of them was able to make it. 

Also...

Palm Springs, I'll miss you.

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The Golden State.

Eric's birthday was a few weeks ago and we celebrated at one of his favorite eateries: The Golden State.

Located on Fairfax, between Melrose and Beverly, you could totally walk right past the place without ever knowing it exists. Much like my social life in high school.

The inside of the restaurant is small. There are maybe 10 tables in the whole place, and some of them are only two-seaters. 

We walked up to the counter and briefly looked over the menu. There aren't too many options, but I had looked online, so my chins were already quivering with excitement at the thought of a good burger. 

The guy working the counter was friendly and welcoming. He didn't rush us as I took my time deciding on a beer. I got the Victory Swing, btw. Great summer drink.

Eric and I both ordered The Burger. With a description like "Harris Ranch beef, Fiscalini Farms cheddar, glazed applewood smoked bacon, arugula, aioli, ketchup" it seemed like the perfect choice.

I'm just going to cut straight to the chase here:  This was the best burger I've ever had IN.MY.LIFE.

The meat was tender and juicy and flavorful. I didn't detect any spices in the ground beef, which meant it naturally tasted fucking delicious, which is totally crazy because I'm not a fan of "meat flavor" and guess what I totally loved it.

The bacon was thick and cooked perfectly. It wasn't soggy or charred.

The combination of the aioli and ketchup added just the right amount of savor and sauciness that it enhanced, not overpowered, the burger itself.

Also, I'm pretty sure the bun was a brioche. A freshly baked, almost-sweet, carby piece of brioche heaven.

The whole thing just tasted clean and naturally delicious. Not heavy or pumped full of flavorings.

Not much talking took place once our food was delivered.

If you're in the area, try to stop in. Let me know what you think. Seriously. Those burgers are the shiznit.

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A Recycled Vlog from My Facebook Page.

A couple weeks back, I asked on my Facebook page for some on-the-spot vlogging topics. I was bored, and had important things to do. Which essentially means, I was not doing said important things, and instead, wasting time and begging for vlog topics.

Michael chimed in and asked about restaurants that I'd recommend in the Ventura County area.

And then... the vlog was reborn.

The bad news is that it probably won't benefit you if you don't live in the area. The good news is that it might not even benefit you if you DO live the area because I'm the world's worst restaurant critic.


RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS IN VENTURA COUNTY


Here's the link to my Facebook post. I'd upload the actual video, but it's too big and I can't figure out how to resize it and The People's Court is starting in 15 minutes and I need a nap.

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