Workshop Kitchen + Bar
Braised Pork Cheek Fries – Red Curry, Shoestring Potatoes, Pickled Radish, Smoked & Shaved Brussels
Duck Study #1 – Duck & Kimchi Anson Mills Fried Rice, Chinese 5-Spice, Fried Duck Egg
Double Espresso – Ice
HA’s Honey Crisp Apple Tarte Tatin – Homemade Puff Pastry, Vanilla Ice Cream
Without doubt a polarizing spot in Palm Springs, several publications calling it the best Restaurant in Coachella Valley while many locals and tourists have harshly criticized Chef Michael Beckman’s cuisine as overpriced and underwhelming it was with reservations made over a week in advance that Dinner was planned at Workshop Kitchen + Bar, a 7:30pm seating easy to obtain but solo diners unfortunately relegated to the restaurant’s central communal table.
Originally opened in 2011 and awarded a James Beard Award for Best Restaurant Design several years later, a setting spanning the interior and courtyard of the historic El Paseo Building blending indoor alcoves and a well-stocked Bar with an open patio with the sort of lighting that makes everyone seem a little more glamorous, it was after a bit of time spent locating the hostess stand that the reservation was confirmed and with seating offered on backless Cubes at the center of the indoor space it was not long before water was filled with Food and Beverage menus presented.
Seated to the left of a late-50’s couple loudly proclaiming themselves “foodies” despite not knowing what Romanesco or Gravlax were, with a husband and his pregnant wife sporting more dietary restrictions than most further down the table, it was after lengthy perusal of the menu that the decision was made to begin with two “smalls” before placing orders for more substantial things, the choice to forgo Cocktails clearly disappointing a hirsuit server who was efficient yet abrupt with a hipster sort of indifference to the bulk of his tables.
Describing the menu as “market-driven” and “seasonal,” more a case of expected nomenclature than actual fact as the bulk of the plates seem not to have changed much from those seen on Social Media from months and years past, it was having given the go-ahead to serve items as they were ready that both plates arrived simultaneously, the “Duck Study” a fairly bland dish of pan-cooked Rice and Eggs with no Fowl to be seen while the $15 Braised Pork Cheek Fries presented a mountain of matchstick Potatoes atop a pool of Red Curry with a few slices of dried-protein, thin slices of Radish and a few Brussels Sprout Leaves.
Reportedly trained in several European Countries including a stint at Michelin 3* Lameloise, though nothing about the Chorizo Pizza or visually unappealing Black Cod presented to the “foodie” couple indicated Chef Beckman to have any more or less talent than the rest of Palm Spring’s Chefs, it was after some thought that the decision was made to forgo any further foray into the savory side of the menu that Dessert was requested, the Apple Tarte Tatin a respectable version of the classic with tender Fruit served glistening and hot beneath a melting ball of Ice Cream atop the flaky Crust.
http://www.workshoppalmsprings.com
