During our trip to Palm Springs, we decided to explore the nearby cities and their restaurants. We found a nice looking brunch spot in Palm Desert. It was located in a shopping mall called The Gardens on El Paseo.
They had a nice directories in few places, making it easy to navigate through the mall. The Wilma & Frieda was on the second floor. They had large stairs leading to upper level, and also escalator in the middle of the mall.
The mall is very clean, organized and pretty. The greenery was well groomed, fancy and impressive. It created a really nice, relaxing atmosphere even thought it is a shopping mall. Well, you can shop with relaxation.
We found Wilma & Frieda at one side at the end, with outdoor seating next to the main entrance. The exterior is not loud, but classy to blend in with the rest of the mall.
When we walked in, the first thing I saw was a small sitting area. Looked like a dining room of someone’s house. It was kind of odd to have a seating there, right at the entrance by the hostess station…
Right next to it was a sign that said “please wait to be seated” and we could see a bigger room beyond curtains.
A staff came and took us inside, and asked if we wanted to sit inside or outside. It was a hot day out, so we first said that we want to sit inside. But guess what? No air conditioning!!! I felt like the locals are so used to the heat, unless it gets to super high temperature, they don’t turn on the AC… Well, the inside was really cute. Not as big as I thought it would be, but a good size. They had simple furniture and very noticeable neon light on a wall.
The interior was colorful with pop of colors everywhere. A fun contrast from the dark floor and furniture. Under the yellow wall held a yummy section with window showcase and refrigerator.
What “yummy” section, you might ask? All the yummy desserts, of course! They had cookies, cakes, brownies, and all the sweet baked goods. They had their famous home-made pop-tart, which looked really nice!!! I heard they are pretty amazing.
After several minutes of sweating at the table indoor, we decided to change our table. We asked the waitress if we could sit outside, and they took us out with no issue. It was soooo much better with a little wind going! Here, we finally got to settle down and ordered our brunch. I liked the condiments they had there, and the fancy pink salt.
The brunch menu was fun. They had few brunch sets, named Eeny, Meany, Miney, and Mo’ based on how much food you want. Cute! We went with Miney ($14) and Mark’s Short Rib Eggs Benedict ($16).
Miney comes with two eggs any style, and choice of potatoes, fruit or greens. Also, a choice of Toast, House Made biscuit or English muffin. And finally, bacon AND sausage. Lots of choices…we went with eggs over-easy, hash browns, and biscuit.
This dish was big! a plate full of goodness! The eggs, perfection, cooked just right. Loved the chives on top! Yes, we did have egg porn… House made biscuits, amazing. Flaky and fluffy, sweet and super tasty. Bacon had nice thickness, and great maple flavor.
Sausage was super juicy and packed with flavor. It was really nice, I liked the little peas in it. Everything on this plate was awesome. High quality, super tasty, and cooked with care and love.
Mark’s Short Rib Eggs Benedict comes with two eggs on English muffins, hollandaise, short ribs, & topped with sauteed arugula. This one was great portion too. One thing about their offering is that they don’t have tater tots on weekend brunch… I was a bit sad about that. Their hash browns are ok. It needed salt and pepper for flavor.
The benedict had generous amount of short ribs. The sauteed arugula was a nice touch. Their English muffin and hollandaise sauce are house made, which is awesome. The ribs were great, packed with flavor.
Eggs on the benedict was again cooked just right. Here comes the egg porn! It was great on crispy part of English muffin. We were completely happy with both dishes.
We also got a coffee, which I forgot to take a photo of. Just a simple Coffee ($3.50) which came with free refills. It was nice and strong, good cup of coffee.
They have one uni-sex bathroom. It was nice and roomy, and had Aveda hand soap with nice fragrance. They had hooks on the walls for jacket or purse. It was clean and well lit, spacious bathroom.
They had an old photo on the shelf, with people holding the names of the towns and cities nearby. Pretty cool…
The service was very friendly and polite. Our waitress, Karen came to check on us frequently to make sure we have everything we needed. Our water was filled almost at all times. We were so stuffed from the main dishes, that we did not have any room left for dessert…NOOOO! I was so sad, but we could not take another bite… So long, house made pop tarts… If you are looking for a tasty brunch or sweets, and maybe also feel like doing some shopping, you know where to go!
Wilma & Frieda – 73575 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA 92260