A friend, Paula Johnson, had driven down from Vancouver, Washington to
deliver to me my artwork. I was not able to get it into my car when I headed
to Palm Springs. After unloading the artwork, it was time to show her Coachella
Valley. Most people do not understand that the Coachella Valley is composed of
various cities or how different they are from one another.
When it was time for lunch, I took her to downtown Palm
Springs. I had heard that the hamburgers at Sammy G’s Tuscan Grill were
outstanding. She wanted a great salad, so I figured we had found the perfect
outdoor setting for her to enjoy the outdoors here and terrific weather before
heading on her way to Los Angeles.
Sammy greeted us. I immediately recognized him from the
television ads. No, I hadn’t met him before; remember I had just moved here. He
greeted us with a wonderful smile and took us to a lovely spot shielded from
the sun, yet surrounded by blooming marigolds. We talked with him a bit, but
then we had to get serious about what we were to eat for lunch.
In the end, I ordered the Sammy G’s Hamburger—pure heaven
from my point of view for it contained a sauce laced with blue cheese and bacon
strips. The hamburger was twice as big as I needed and can only be described as
true, absolute delight to the palate. (There was no problem taking the other
half home with me. I have to confess that it was my dinner too. It was just as
good when I heated it up.)
My companion ordered the “Southwest ‘Broken’ Crostini salad.”
Again, the proportions were extremely generous. During the meal, she kept saying,
“This is the best salad.”
Sammy wandered over to check on us. The broad smile ever
present. Then he said, “Normally, I’m not here for lunch I am at my other
restaurant Trilussa Ristorante in Cathedral City. You have to come and visit us
over there.”
We looked at our watches and it was time to get my friend on
the road so she could beat the rush hour traffic on the way to Los Angeles. We
got up and stopped at the concierge’s desk to talk to Sammy some more. He
pulled out his flyer for The 3rd Annual Meatball Festival inCathedral City on Sunday, October 28. which will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Catherdral City
and Soroptimist International of Palm Springs.
It was then we
learned how much time Sammy spends with young people. Often this means teaching
them some of his favorite recipes. That comment led to us asking, “Do you have
your own cookbook?” To which, Sammy replied, “No, but I have been thinking
about it.”
The bantered between all of us was an absolutely a delight.
For those of us in Coachella Valley, I think it is time we start the campaign
to motivate Sammy to write down and share his recipes. Imagine the interesting
comments he could add to make reading a cookbook not only a delight, but also a
document that records history.
Sammy G’s Tuscan Grill is located at 265 South Palm Canyron
Drive, Palm Springs. His restaurant Trillusa Ristorante in located at 68718
East Palm Canyon, Cathedral City.
PS We spotted a movie
star and had a chat with her. In order to preserve her privacy, I’m not going
to say who it was. I guess I need to get use to dining with people that I’ve
seen in the movies and watched on television. They are individuals moving
through their lives—they need privacy too.
