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Dining options in the gateway towns around Joshua Tree National Park are extremely limited—you'll mostly find fast-food outlets and a few casual cafés in Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms. The exception is the restaurant at 29 Palms Inn, which has an interesting California-cuisine menu that features lots of veggies. Still, you'll have to travel to the Palm Springs desert resort area for a fine-dining experience.
Rock climbers and Marines swear by the rejuvenating margaritas that come in numerous flavors at this Mexican eatery. Specialties include prodigious portions of fajitas, chimichangas, seafood enchiladas, and chile verde.
Turns out you can go home again, and, sometimes, when you do, you also quit your day job and open up the kind of restaurant you'd like to hang out in—at least, that's the case with the ex-teacher behind this downtown den that promises (and delivers) "good eats, rad beer." In addition to having the best beer list for 100 miles (with 13 on tap and roughly 70 more in cans and bottles, plus a few ciders, hard kombuchas, seltzers, and wine) it also has delicious food created by a Swedish chef (for real) who worked in big-name kitchens in Copenhagen, New York, and L.A. and who makes falafel so moist and zesty that it will leave carnivores rethinking their stance on veganism.
The husband-and-wife team behind this upscale, weekends-only restaurant likes to mix and match culinary cultures, resulting in a world tour for your tastebuds that might include dishes such as ahi tostadas with kimchi slaw or penne slathered in salsa verde. The menu changes monthly, but you'll consistently find attentive service, large portions of high-quality food, and an intimate low-lit atmosphere.
When in doubt, order pizza from this tidy, tasty spot on the main drag, within walking distance of the national park visitor center, where toppings include things like smoked Gouda, Fresno chili, soppressata, or fried eggs. Sky also turns its ovens on early most mornings to prepare fresh quiche and pastries, which are served from a takeout window and can be enjoyed with a cup of Joe in the expansive courtyard that's shared with the neighboring Joshua Tree Coffee Company.
One of the founding businesses/set pieces of Pioneertown's movie colony and a legendary hangout of the Western actors and crews who worked on location there, the Red Dog has been reborn, and its second coming was worth the wait thanks to from-scratch Tex-Mex that's filtered through a California lens and takes full advantage of the Golden State's agricultural bounty. All three meals are available daily although the lunch and dinner menus are the same—chile relleno; tacos (mushroom asada with tomatillo salsa is simple but sapid!); and standard sides like chips and queso or salsa, street corn, and churros. Service at the bar can be slow, but the flavorful margaritas, and fascinating people-watching—from the porch, the main room where they stage concerts and run bingo nights, or the dark den—make up for that annoyance.
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