Story and photos by Julie Diebolt Price (unless otherwise indicated)
La Copine Kitchen in Yucca Valley CA
La Copine
848 Old Woman Springs Road, Yucca Valley, CA
La Copine Kitchen opened in 2015 as a roadside diner. Over the years, Claire and Nikki have built their reputation and following in this desert community. As a dine-in only restaurant with eight tables and 42 seats, high demand for their unique menu required reservations.
Located between Landers and Yucca Valley, Flamingo Heights is La Copine Kitchen’s working home. With the extenuating circumstances of COVID-19, however, they are now offering catering only until December 2020.
Here is a glimpse of their intriguing Catering menu. If you want to add some custom seasonal dishes, be sure to ask.
La Copine sharing dishes to begin includes tapas, salad trios, and wood-fired flatbread. The ingredients in these dishes embrace smoked shishito, pistachios, chickpeas, morel mushrooms, pickled Fresno chile, truffle oil, and thyme blossoms – not in the same dish, of course.
Small Plates offerings include soups, salads, Ceviche, Ricotta Crostini, Chicken Liver Mousse, Salmon Toast, and Mini Báhn Mi.
The Medium Plates will satisfy any palate with noodle dishes, smoked salmon, cheesy grits, pork belly, pickled bok choy, skirt steak, and Lasagna Bolognese.
To end the meal, key lime or chocolate panna cotta, chocolate-almond or lemon-polenta cakes, coconut rice puddin’, or beignets are your dessert choices.
La Copine extends On-Site catering at your home (in your home or rental in the Morongo Basin – fully masked, practice social distancing and cooking outdoors) or Pick-Up catering with curbside service. Be sure to ask for all of the details when making your contract with them.
John’s Place
John’s Place
72132 Twentynine Palms Hwy, Yucca Valley, CA
John’s Place offers casual dining for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Yucca Valley and 29 Palms.
Breakfast, served all day, includes a wide selection of omelettes, breakfast burritos, many styles of eggs with meat sides, biscuits and gravy, waffles, and pancakes, along with a special kid’s breakfast menu.
Lunch and dinners include burgers, South of the Border specialties, American sandwiches, entrees, soups, and salads. Again, the kids get a special menu of chicken strips, grilled cheese, corn dog, cheese quesadilla, or bean cheese burrito.
Dinner Specials are featured every day of the week and served after 4 pm.
Extras consist of appetizers, non-alcoholic beverages, and desserts round out the menu.
John’s Place is convenient to the freeway and gas stations as you enter the Morongo Basin from US 10. It’s sure to satisfy any hungry family member.
La Casita for Great Mexican Food
La Casita
57154 Twentynine Palms Hwy, Yucca Valley, CA
La Casita is an authentic Mexican restaurant on the main drag in Yucca Valley. They are open for take-out as of this writing, and their menu is listed on their website.
We sampled traditional dishes when my husband and I visited their dining room. I enjoyed the Puebla Fajitas – chicken on a bed of grilled onions and peppers topped with cilantro. My husband had the Enchiladas Verdes with chunks of pork. Of course, the frequently replenished chips and salsa were delicious.
The current Take-Out menu introduces El Molcajete. It includes shrimp, carne asada, grilled chicken, nopales (cactus), green onion, avocado, chorizo (sausage), in a mouthwatering tomato-based sauce with a kick. It comes with a side of rice and beans, too.
The Take-Out menu is sizeable with appetizers, tostadas, soups, salads, fajitas, especialidades, enchiladas, and combo meals. Breakfast is served all day, and they also have a kid’s menu.
Deep-fried Ice Cream, Sopapillas with Ice Cream, and Churros with Ice Cream complete the dessert menu.
La Casita has excellent food with superior service. The place is enormous, but it can get crowded. I understand they make a superb Cadillac margarita!
Frontier Café in Yucca Valley
Frontier Café
55844 Twentynine Palms Hwy, Yucca Valley, CA
The Frontier Café anchors the main highway intersection in Old-Town Yucca Valley with Pioneertown Road.
Specializing in breakfast and lunch meals, Frontier Café also serves bottled beverages like kombucha, coconut water, wines, and a couple of craft beers. Plain lemonade is freshly made in-house. Small batch fresh organic roasted coffee beans are available by the bag and coffee by the cup.
Every morning meal for me would be a bagel, lox, cream cheese, and capers. Frontier Café’s Lox Bagel did not disappoint. The added onion, dill, and lemon zest with radishes was a nice finishing touch.
Sunrise and Mojave Grain Salads make an exciting presentation on the plate for lunch. They complement the traditional Grilled Cheese, BLT, and Tuna Melt. The Fig & Brie grilled cheese sandwich with a luscious spread of housemade fig-onion jam is definitely on my list for the next visit.
More than just an eatery, this eclectic restaurant boasts a “sitting” room with a couch and bookshelves filled with interesting reads and a stage for live performances. Order your meal at the counter, then select your seat inside or outside on the front patio.
As of this writing, they are open for pick up only.
Giant Rock Meeting Room in Yucca Valley
Giant Rock Meeting Room
1141 Old Woman Springs Rd, Unit A, Yucca Valley, CA
Located in Flamingo Heights, between Landers and Yucca Valley, Giant Rock Meeting Room began in 2016. From its simple beginnings as a gutted building, the owner formed this successful restaurant with grit and stamina – and no experience or background in the restaurant industry.
Giant Rock Meeting Room quickly earned rave reviews for their pizza. Referred to me by a local in the early spring of 2020 (before COVID-19), I stopped by before pizza-making time so I missed out. I was told Giant Rock Meeting Room makes remarkably delicious pies and is quite an improvement for the Valley.
Re-opening after the summer on September 18, 2020, this restaurant has an outdoor seating area with a covered patio. Call ahead for hours, seating, and take out.
Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace
Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace
53688 Pioneertown Road, Pioneertown, CA
Pappy & Harriet’s is a famous and historic restaurant in the movie sets in Pioneertown. P&H is usually crowded, and you won’t want to be in a hurry here. On a busy weekend day, before COVID-19, customers were two and three deep at the bar.
The lunch and dinner menu at P&H’s include burgers and dogs, meat or fish sandwiches, TexMex, beef, pork, or salmon entrees. Hearty sides include steak or cheese fries, Mac & Cheese, red rice, coleslaw, a small salad, pinto beans, or garlic mashed potatoes and gravy.
All P&H’s meats and fish are cooked on a giant outdoor grill with mesquite wood. They proudly state that they only have one grill with only so much space, so meals can take a little longer to deliver on their busy nights.
Since 1982, Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace has been serving mesquite barbeque, live music, and dancing. Initially, the building was a façade for western movies, then became an outlaw biker burrito bar. It’s developed into more of a family atmosphere with bikers still hanging around.
This legendary bar has hosted musicians like Robert Plant, Leon Russell, and Sean Lennon with an indie rock favorite vibe.
As of this writing, P&H is open for outdoor dine-in service, take out, and delivery.
Upcoming shows (limited capacity) with outdoor socially-distanced seating begin again in late September 2020. See their website for details and the requirements for masks and temperature checks.
Mission Lakes Country Club
Mission Lakes Club House
8484 Clubhouse Boulevard, Desert Hot Springs, CA
If you are taking the waters in Desert Hot Springs, the picturesque Mission Lakes Club House is a dining destination with a view. The picture windows look out over the verdant green golf course and valley to the San Jacinto Mountains. The snow-capped mountains are spectacular during the winter months, and the air is clear.
The elegant but casual dinner menu appeals to many dining preferences, from hearty beef dishes to chicken, pork, and seafood entrees, vegan and gluten-free items for those with food restrictions.
Coconut shrimp (always my favorite) with coleslaw, potato skins, calamari sticks, and a bubbling hot spinach crab dip are on the Appetizer menu. What stands out on this list, however, is the Gluten-Free Crusted Cauliflower Vegetarian Pizza. There is no guessing about the ingredients, as everything is listed on the menu.
Dinner specials available only on Friday and Saturday are a great way to order the restaurant’s best meals. Because I was in the mood for a lighter meal, I ordered the vegetarian quinoa bowl, one of the specials that evening. It was a substantial dish with crisp, peppery arugula, mushrooms, quinoa, avocado, and other fresh vegetables, topped with a creamy, house-made yogurt dressing, hummus and served with grilled pita bread.
Open to the public, reservations are highly recommended on Friday and Saturday evenings at the Mission Lakes Club House with live music for dancing and background entertainment on Saturdays.
The Dress Code for the Bar and Dining Room, found on their website, provides specifics for men and women. Call for seating or take out.
Private Chef V for a Joshua Tree Treat
Private Chef V
v@privatechefv.com
An Aussie/ Kiwi/ P.N.G. private chef based between Joshua Tree, California & Los Angeles, Chef V services all surrounding areas.
I first met Chef V at her pop-up location inside Giant Rock Meeting Room. While pizzas were served after 5 pm, the space was perfect for Chef V to create her unusual Breakfast Cup Cups (that’s not a typo) during the morning and early afternoon hours. These delectable little signature cups are filled with vegan, vegetarian, eggs and salmon, or prosciutto. There is even a French Toast version.
The pandemic had Chef V pivoting like so many restaurateurs. She pivoted right into creating custom, small-scale, intimate dining experiences in the high and low desert. Talent and consistently high Yelp reviews keep her booked out for several weeks. Tested for COVID-19 regularly, she proudly shares the negative results on her Instagram page…along with photos of her unique food creations.
If you have plans to visit the Joshua Tree area, plan ahead and make your dining experience memorable with Chef V.
Conclusion
You may have noticed that these places to eat are in surrounding towns near Joshua Tree. That’s because I’m usually sitting by the campfire at Joshua Tree National Park and have brought tasty meals to eat before (or after) the s’mores.
When I’m heading into the Morongo Basin, seeking adventure outside of Joshua Tree National Park, meeting friends around the corner in Desert Hot Springs, or heading out of town, that’s the time I try to find noteworthy meals to experience.
If you’ve been to the high or low desert, what is your favorite place to eat?
