A delicious time in Palm Springs

I just spent a too-short weekend in Palm Springs celebrating my good friend Katie’s upcoming nuptials. The dozen of us had an absolute blast in this desert oasis eating, drinking and being merry due to the fact that our girl’s getting hitched.

She's the cheese and I'm the macaroni

We stayed at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club, a hip little joint that feels a bit like the Urban Outfitters of lodging. They’ve got a great pool (open until 2 a.m., brilliant!) where we sipped on all sorts of frosty beverages while working on our tans. A group favorite was the Desert Facial, featuring muddled cucumber and mint, vodka and pineapple juice. The tall boys of Pabst Blue Ribbon ($6) weren’t too shabby, either.

We had a taco party Friday night on Ace’s star-gazing deck. The meal featured all kinds of delicious meats, veggies and other goodies, as well as one of the best ceviches I’ve had.

Prepping the taco table

 I also enjoyed brunch poolside Saturday morning. The Ace Hotel’s restaurant, called the King’s Highway, has a menu packed with tempting dishes. The big ol’ plate of chilaquiles (scrambled eggs, chiles, ranchero sauce, corn tortilla chips and house-made chorizo) I ordered after much deliberation had just the right amount of heat and was just what the doctor ordered after a late night out.

 
We were in town during Palm Springs Restaurant Week, when top restaurants across the Coachella Valley offer three-course meals for $24 or $36. The menu at Matchbox 369 featured three choices each for starters, main dishes and desserts. My picks were the spicy ahi tempura roll

 
the “adult” macaroni and cheese (grilled shrimp and andouille sausage, sharp white cheddar and smoky gouda)
 

and for dessert, chocolate chip bread pudding with caramelized rum bananas.

The collective food coma threatened to slow our group down, but we snapped out of it and ended up dancing the night (and dinner) away.

We could have spent the whole weekend eating nothing more than cheese balls and bean dip and it would have still been the same shenanigans-packed, laugh-until-you-hurt bachelorette party, but the dining experiences were the cherry on top of the sundae of this wonderful whirlwind weekend.