When Smell and I decide upon a city, we do the whole thing. We usually start with a plate of food and by the time we know all the waitresses were usually already moved into a shop and setup to connect with makers, do-er’s, creators and achievers.
We need to eat, and travel so much that we keep a record of or favorite restaurants where we go for great food, great people, and to go where everyone knows our names.
This is our record of our favorite places in California.
California Restaurants Near Me
THE JOSHUA TREE SALOON
61835 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree, CA 92252
Menu
Nearest one of my company’s new locations is the Joshua Tree Saloon, a restaurant and bar using it’s desert location as part of the atmosphere of this modernized wild west saloon. Don’t trust your eyes here, because Joshua Tree Saloon played into the wild west theme so effectively that you’ll mistake it for a saloon only and miss out on the incredible menu!
While expansive in appearance, the menu is concisely organized and reveals that the Saloon focuses on select dishes it does well rather than the standard, bare basic items most chains rely on, or bars just generally are known to lack. For something to snack on with a beer, there are loads of appetizers and even salads for those who wish to pretend to be healthy. But it’s beef that’s the main focus here with a wide selection of 1/4 and 1/2-pound burgers, steak, and tacos. I could eat here every day, and I love how the inside expands on the natural desert beauty by having cute waitresses.
JT Country Kitchen
61768 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree, CA 92252
Menu
Fast service and elevated greasy spoon, the food at the JT Country Kitchen is off the chain. Located directly kitty corner of the Joshua Tree Saloon, this is the spot for breakfast and brunch. The food fare is pure homestyle country cooking. Quality ingredients, superb service, and reasonable prices give you the best bang for your buck on this stretch of Twentynine Palms Highway.
The Cactus
5670 Adobe Rd, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
Menu
This is probably my favorite place to eat in Twenty-Nine Palms. I can’t wait to do an entire 1,200-word blog post about this place. The family is wonderful, and the menu has a little something for everyone. But if you like to travel and eat delish food that less common but more scrumptious, this is the spot.
Snake Bite 62
55405 29 Palms Hwy, Yucca Valley, CA 92284
Menu
This place is pretty wild, I got a little sauced at the bar, but the food was worth the wait. Top notch staff and food. You can’t go wrong with the Snake Bite burger! The decor is high desert biker bar with dusky low light and snake motifs.
Frontier Cafe
55844 29 Palms Hwy, Yucca Valley 92284
Menu
The definition of high-desert Bohemian corner coffee hang. Frontier Cafe is a hub of good food with a singer-songwriter type vibe about it. They’ve got open mic nights. You can get a bacon bowl for your furry best friend because the staff are generally lax about giving well-behaved pets a pass. Great specials, plenty of space to post up, plug in, and work on whatever you need to work on with a cafe backdrop. Perfect for writing up a quick desert restaurant shout-out like this!