Chef Tanya's Kitchen - Palm Desert — Restaurant in Palm Desert

Intended to try Chef Tanya's the last time I was out in Palm Springs. So I was very happy to see they have a newer location in Palm Desert which was not too far off from where I was staying for the labor day weekend.

Such a great spot for vegan food, so I can definitely see what all the hype is about.

ITEM'S ORDERED:

Modern Hippie Veggie (added seitan)

TASTE:

First off, if you just browse through a few Yelp photos you'll see this sandwich looking very aesthetically pleasing & mine turned out just like that.

This sandwich is not just looks though since it also tastes good as well as gets great marks for texture. It comes with crack cheese, avocado, gomasio (sesame sea salt), tomato, jicama, shredded carrot, cucumber, purple pickled cabbage, beautiful lettuce, mayo on country levain bread. I added seitan to make it more "meaty".

There's definitely lots of ingredients in this sandwich but everything actually works out so well resulting in a fantastic sandwich. All the veggies were very fresh, & crisp which makes the sandwich kinda refreshing. Flavor wise, the crack cheese has a tart flavor that somewhat comes off as hummus. Sweetness from the carrots, light pickling of the cabbage, meatiness of the seitan & nutty flavor from the gomasio all somehow works together pretty much perfectly for a great bite. I'd eat this sandwich several times a week & feel good about it. The levain bread has that sourdough vibe just so you know.

It's also a well sized sandwich & can be shared among two if you are not overly hungry.

SERVICE:

The cashier who took my order was friendly & had a good attitude. Always makes the food taste better. You just place your order at the register and they bring the food to your table.

I was there within 30 min of opening (11 am) on Saturday (Labor Day weekend) & I walked right in & ordered without waiting. But it did get busy since, as I finished my meal, someone was waiting to sit at my table.

LOCATION & PARKING:

This might be as much as a cool retail store as it is a fast, casual restaurant. Once you enter you'll see the register among many other offerings. When you walk to the other room you'll see a few tables as well as other take home items you can purchase (soap, seitan, books, etc). There's also a few tables outside as well. Overall the place has a nice homely vibe which I like.

They are located in Palms to Pines West Shopping Center, off El Paseo. There is ample parking so it's very easy.

Honestly, if I was local I'm quite sure I'd be a regular here. I was impressed my this sandwich enough I'd probably get the same thing again, although I am intrigued by the other items, & the desserts of course. I definitely plan on coming back when I'm in the...

Our new favorite place in the low desert, with an all vegan menu and kitties next door 🥰 I hardly know where to start! Hubs & I first ate here the last Saturday in May, and Chef Tanya's Cat Kingdom next door was open for adoptions with kitties from local shelters 😻

We ate outside on the patio which is a nice ambiance with misters and a pesticide-free bird and pollinator habitat. We took home food to go, including their spicy queso dip which was on sale so they were giving samples out. Really tasty and hard to believe it was vegan.

The next time we were in the area was a Friday and we got there in time for breakfast. I tried their rosemary latte because the syrup is made with real rosemary, and it was so good I wanted another, but left room to try their haboobs!

Hubs enjoyed a Mocha latte with caramel, so following up with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Haboob was a no-brainer. I was feeling adventurous with Crystal Blue Persuasion, and it was exotic tasting, but I probably should have gone easy on the blueberries and ginger.

Everything we ate was delicious and amazingly vegan. For some reason I received caramelized onions on my to-go sandwich when the receipt noted I had requested without. The onions didn't ruin the taste since they were caramelized (and became food for our compost bin so they weren't completely wasted). Our second visit we brought an ice chest and took home some of their ready-to-go items in addition to meals for dinner. Hubs got the weekly special both times which comes with an agua fresca, so we enjoyed different flavors on the patio and at home.

There is a gift shop as well, with colorful and funny cards, stickers and pins, and books that make you think about the earth and its innocent creatures. Hubs and I have been vegetarian since 2001, but I ended up buying The Pig Who Sang to the Moon, a Book by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, because the title made me cry 😿

Friendly staff and a convenient rewards program to keep you coming back. I rec'd $5 off our order when signing up at the register, and our meals earned us $5 off our to-go order. On our next visit after ordering breakfast, we'd earned $5 off our dessert 👍

Finally, when visiting La Quinta we've often driven across the 111 to Palm Springs to eat on the patio and take food to go at Native Foods. We were thrilled to discover CTK in Palm Desert, see Chef Tanya's timeline and make the connection that Chef Tanya also founded Native Foods! Chef Tanya's Kitchen makes me wish I lived in Palm Desert, I'd support this place...

Exceptional first impression! My first time visiting Chef Tanya's and I wasn't entirely familiar with the location, and it took me a minute to find it on the side of the building. Then there were three doors but I wasn't sure what was what, and then a door opens and I'm invited inside in the most warm and welcoming manner! Any awkwardness or discomfort I might have felt as a first time visitor went right out the door, or rather, it stayed out the door and I went in!

I tried to contain my excitement because I had already read previous reviews and had a good sense of the food menu, which was my primary reason for visiting! I've been 100% vegetarian for more than 20 years but finding good vegan options can be a challenge. It gets easier every day but unfortunately a lot of that is due to the abundance of fake meat products, not good quality homemade food. So from what I read, this was the place to go!

I decided to make it really easy on my first visit and asked for a recommendation and ordered it without hesitation. It was the chupacabra style chicken sandwich and it was amazing! I loved the slight heat, the slight tanginess of the jalapenos, the ratio of filling to bread, everything. It is going to be hard to come back and try something new based on how good this sandwich was.

When I finished eating I had to look around the store but didn't really have plans to shop. I will definitely return and browse the unique selection of foods and other items. I did, however, take home a deli salad the "Tu-no" and a couple of desserts, All of which I have already enjoyed. I also got their plant-based soft serve before I left. The texture and taste was spot on for me.

I cannot wait to come back. Although this location is a little far from me, I do end up going out to Palm Desert quite often to shop. But I was told about another location closer to me in Palm Springs.

Overall, I was amazed by the friendliness, the warm welcome, and of...