"Justin Eat Drink FYI: Justin is apparently closed for the summer. You will find the following message on their website: WE ARE CLOSED FOR THE SUMMER! WE 'LL BE BACK ON SEPTEMBER 18TH. How did we end up here...? So it was our 12th year anniversary recently and we had nothing planned. Our goal that day was to head out to Corona and enjoy the waters in Glen Ivy Spa for the afternoon, and then afterwards grab something to eat nearby, some place like the Woodranch Grill or something along those lines. Fortunately, none of that happened. We were actually turned away at Glen Ivy because we had no reservation for entry OR for services. I guess it 's their new summer policy. Whatever. Disappointed, but undeterred, we turned around and headed to Palm Springs, hoping to get into ARRIVE, which has an awesome public pool and a great bar/restaurant. Luckily, there weren 't too many people there that early in the morning and we got ourselves setup at the pool and ordered drinks and enjoyed the rest of our day swimming, drinking and eating...for a lot less than what we would have spent at Glen Ivy and a much better experience because it wasn 't crowded at all. Which leads us to Justin. My wife 's co worker had told her there was this new restaurant in Cathedral City called Justin, and since we were already in Palm Springs and wanting to try something new, we decided to take a chance on it. And we 're so glad that we did. It 's a really cool place with great food. Not only that, but we apparently lucked out again because we got to eat there just before they closed for the summer. Location/Ambience: So if you didn 't know where Justin is located, chances are you 'd never find it. It 's in a small little shopping center, if you can even call it that. You have to park in the back, and then follow the little painted arrow that points back to the front where Justin has a patio. The interior has a rustic elegance to it, sort of like a modern cowboy. Soft wood walls, hard floors, angular furniture. Menu: My wife and I decided to do the prix fixe so we could try a little bit of everything between us and a bottle of sparkling wine to go with it. For the Table: Crispy Kale Chips These were absolutely addictive and delicious. We could 've eaten a truckload of these, I kid you not. Appetizers: Cowboy Candy Candied jalapeno, cream cheese, crostini. My wife and I loved this dish. It reminded us of this one item we used to order at our favorite coffee shop (Milagro 's) in Las Cruces New Mexico, which was a Hatch Green Chili Cream Cheese on a toasted focaccia. That combination of spicy and sweet is just incredibly delicious. Calamari garam masala/Moroccan Mayo When you look at it, they almost look like Mexican Chicharrón. Really interesting and exotic flavors, but a little too salty for my tastes. This may be the only dish the entire evening that I felt was not something I would order again. Charcuterie duck prosciutto/midnight moon cheese So whenever we order charcuterie at restaurants, we typically get a large wood block filled with meats and cheeses and other cool stuff like honey and jam and nuts/berries. Not here! The portion was incredibly small. However, what it lacked in size/quantity, it more than made up in terms of flavor and taste. The duck prosciutto had a jerky like texture and paired beautifully with the cheese. I 'm actually glad it was a small portion, because we ended up ordered a few dishes and we didn 't want to get too full. Wild Boar Carnitas ayocote beans/cara cara orange/snow pea tendrils This was an excellent dish. A mouthwatering mix of savory and citrus cooled down by the beans and snow peas. I would definitely order this again. Soup Salad Spring Vegetable Vichyssoise (VISH ees WAHZ) asparagus/potato/Mexican herbs This is a vegetable puree soup and can be served hot or cold. I prefer mine hot. And it was so rich and flavorful. You could really taste the veggies and herbs. Definitely a fave dish. Little Gem Caesar White Anchovy/Parmigiano Reggiano A nice refreshing salad right before the main course. Main Courses: Caccio e Pepe with shrimp Amazing! Perfect al dente in a wonderful sauce. Big juicy shrimp. This was definitely a standout dish. Grilled Wagyu Tenderloin mole verde/cippolini/asparagus/Aaron 's oca leaf This was so succulent and delicious. The meat was amazing and paired beautifully with the mole sauce. The veggies were perfectly done. I think I even commented to my wife how excellent the vegetables were. Summary: All in all, we really lucked out by finding this place and getting to eat here before their summer break. It was an excellent dining experience and I would love to come back again and try anything else the chef has to offer."
