BREAKFAST TIP: A Desert Blast to the Past

I arrived at La Quinta Resort in La Quinta, Calif., late Saturday afternoon with the full intention of waking up the following morning to enjoy the famous La Quinta Sunday brunch, drowning myself in unlimited champagne and seafood. But alas, upon my arrival, the hotel concierge told me that this splendid tradition had fallen by the wayside some 15 years ago.

Yes, you could say I’ve been living in a bubble, but I didn’t let the disturbing breakfast news torpedo my search for an alternative site. A quick search on my smart phone yielded up the name, Keedy’s Fountain & Grill in Palm Desert, and on Sunday morning that’s where I headed.

Although Palm Desert is well known for its upscale nouveau galleries, Keedy’s, located at 73-633 Highway 111, is truly a blast from the past. Designated a local landmark, it still sports the same Formica tables, counter, stools and soda fountain as the day Bob Keedy opened the restaurant on June 30, 1957.

Although Keedy passed away in 1996, the restaurant has remained in good hands, with the owners preserving the diner’s old fashioned fountain goodness.

You’ll find all your breakfast and lunch favorites on the menu: eggs with corned beef hash, huevos rancheros, feather light pancakes, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, country ham, country fried stead, egg salad sandwich and Rueben sandwiches, Cobb salad, ham and bean soup, and, maybe, best of all, hand-dipped old fashioned malts or shakes, including date shakes.

All my food came hot and fast. The entire time I was chowing down I enjoyed the breakfast buzz inside the place. From what I could see, everybody was here, from barbers and caddies to Sunday church-goers. Indeed, on its menu, Keedy’s boasts, “Probably more contracts and deals are made here than in the office. There is not room to list the many celebrities who made this a regular stop when they are in town.”

Keedy’s is a great place to spend breakfast, although I never saw Don Rickles or Joan Rivers walk. I have just one other complaint, “Where’s my champagne?”