Ask Lindsay: Your Desert Questions, Answered

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: chicken strips are my all-time favorite food. (I’m definitely a “most likely to order off the kids’ menu” kind of gal.) So when I learned that my friend Cherry — owner of fave store Roam.e in Old Town La Quinta — shares my love of the dish, it was like finding a kindred spirit.

Naturally, when she asked who makes the best strips in the desert, I had an immediate answer: The Local on 50th.

I first tried the tenders earlier this year while attending the Indio eatery’s weekly trivia night and devoured them in about two seconds. Since then, I’ve chosen the restaurant—and its strips—for every special occasion I’ve celebrated: my birthday in June, wedding anniversary in August, and plenty of random nights out in between.

Housemade to order, perfectly crisped, and served with their signature cheesy fries (which are equally excellent!), no other tenders in the desert can compare!

This question comes from my Instagram friend @marryb (one of my favorite locals to follow), who is looking to get festively creative this holiday season. And I’m happy to report there are four upcoming events that fit the bill:

Wine + Wreaths at Boozehounds
with local floral artist Lucie Doughty of The House of Florals
Dec 4th, 7–9 p.m. | $50
Fresh seasonal greens, ribbon & decorative items included — plus half-off wine & wine flights all night.

ItsLunaVisuals’ DIY Wreath Workshop at Canvas Palm Springs
Dec 6th, 2–5 p.m. | $65
Greens, ribbons & ornaments included.

TresRosas Floral’s Holiday Wreath Workshop at Rutina Coffee
Dec 6th, 6:30–8:30 p.m. | $55
Dried florals, fresh greens & your coffee drink of choice included.

Wreaths, Bagels & Mimosas at the Mizell Center
also led by Lucie Doughty of The House of Florals
Dec 7th, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.| $65 members / $85 non-members
Bagels, mimosas & all needed materials included.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned DIY-er, these workshops are a perfect way to kick off the holiday season!

While talking local delis with my good friend — and the queen of all things historical in the Coachella Valley — Kim, she hit me with this question. Though I’m not much of an adventurous eater (see the chicken strip question above), I take my sandwiches very seriously. And among the many fabulous delis dotted throughout the desert, I have a definitive favorite: the French Ham & Brie from the Wine & Cheese Shop on El Paseo!

I literally dream about this sandwich — and I don’t typically like ham! But the Wine & Cheese Shop’s Jambon de Paris is delicately sliced, deliciously flavored, and layered most sublimely with French double-cream brie and a pineapple conserve inspired by the holiday hams of owner Jen Iglehart’s childhood, all tucked into a buttery croissant. Calling it divine is not hyperbole.

I can’t tell you how many times I was asked this during our recent wet spell. My top pick for a rainy day activity in the Valley? A Taking of the Waters day pass at The Spa at Séc-he, which also happens to be my go-to gift for local loved ones.

The state-of-the-art, 73,000-square-foot facility in downtown Palm Springs sits atop an ancient hot mineral spring stewarded by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Since opening in 2023, it’s earned countless accolades, including #1 Spa in the U.S. by Spas of America, #2 Best Day Spa in the Nation by USA Today, and Best Spa in Palm Springs by Palm Springs Life.

While the wellness center offers an impressive menu of treatments — massages, facials, cryotherapy, IV therapy, body scrubs, manicures, and more — you can spend countless hours simply enjoying the day pass, which grants access to 22 private mineral baths, a fitness center, salt caves, halotherapy rooms, two pools, a eucalyptus steam room, a menthol inhalation sauna, a cold experience shower, an earthing zone, a café, and a poolside bar. It’s a lovely escape — rain or shine.

Other fun rainy day ideas:

• Cozy up with a book and warm drink by the fireplace at The Rowan Hotel’s Window Bar.
• Partake of the many events at the Rancho Mirage Library — my mom recently spent two rainy Fridays in a row enjoying a film lecture series there.
• Go ice skating at the Berger Foundation Iceplex.
• Explore The Estate Sale Co., a sprawling, 100,000-square-foot family-owned desert staple comprising nearly an entire block of indoor antique shopping, with everything from art to furnishings up for grabs — perfect for wet-weather wandering.

The Salton Sea seems to be top of mind for everyone in my orbit lately—from local friends asking about its current state to a pal in Atlanta who texted me a link to a podcast covering its history just last week. So . . . what is the Salton Sea, exactly? And is it even still there?

The Salton Sea (which isn’t actually a sea at all, but an endorheic lake) is a geographical anomaly, unintentionally created in 1905 during what the fabulous documentary Miracle in the Desert: The Rise and Fall of the Salton Sea (recently recommended by yet another friend) calls “one of the greatest engineering disasters of modern American history.” Simply put, the lake formed when poorly constructed irrigation canals — built to carry Colorado River water into the newly formed Imperial Valley — overflowed during a massive two-year flood, inundating the surrounding basin.

The Sea went on to become a buzzing mid-century tourist destination, but rising salinity, fish die-offs, frequent flooding, and that infamous sulfur smell led to its eventual decline in the 1970s. Today, the lake and the communities surrounding it face a deeply uncertain future.

But yes—the sea is very much still there. In fact, it remains California’s largest lake, spanning over 343 square miles (nearly twice the size of Lake Tahoe!). That said, it’s currently shrinking at an alarming rate—about 1.3 million acre-feet of water each year, according to the Salton Sea Authority—due to Colorado River water reallocations. Left unaddressed, the evaporation and toxic dust left behind on the dried lakebed could have potentially catastrophic impacts on the Imperial Valley, the Coachella Valley, and beyond.

Curious to learn more? I highly recommend Miracle in the Desert (available to rent on Amazon Prime). It makes for a fascinating and absolutely sobering watch.