It’s not often one gets a royal invitation to dine, but that’s exactly what fans of The King get every day at Arnold Palmer’s restaurant in La Quinta, California. Appropriately named “Arnold Palmer’s,” the notable dining destination serves up great food for lunch and dinner with a fantastic view of the Santa Rosa Mountains. Known for its elegant presentations of straightforward American fare (much of it selected by Mr. Palmer himself) alongside family-style comfort food and some cutting-edge cuisine, the eatery maintains an atmosphere that is at once distinguished and relaxed. As much a museum of Arnie memorabilia as it is a restaurant, Arnold Palmer’s is enjoying a refreshed look thanks to a series of recent renovations, including a substantial new wine cellar with its own 20-seat dining table, a renovated putting green, enhanced dining rooms and a general tidying up. “We did a lot,” said Chef Brett Maddock, the restaurant’s longtime kitchen master. “We turned the courtyard into a wine cellar, re-did The Masters room… basically modernized everything to keep up with the times.” One of the most significant changes, the new wine cellar, is also a private dining room. Bottles of wine are stored in the walls of the large room and are visible through glass doors that line the space. “It’s all climate controlled inside the doors themselves, so people can walk by and enjoy looking in there,” said Maddock. “They’re all locked cabinets, custom made. We’re a big restaurant, we sell a lot of wine, and before we had wines stored everywhere.” In addition to the new storage and a substantial new dining table, there’s a fireplace in the room to ensure diners stay comfortable. “You can have the fireplace going and still have your wine chilling inside,” Maddock said. “We spent a bit more to make it right—you don’t want the ladies freezing!”

Feast for The King
One thing that hasn’t changed is the quality of the food—which is excellent. That’s thanks to Chef Maddock, who knows his stuff from the ground up. He started as an assistant in a Minnesota family butchershop and once said of the experience, “Within a year I knew how to cut, not cook.” From there he held a variety of jobs at top-tier dining locations in various states before heading to The Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples, Florida, and in Atlanta’s Buckhead area. Next came a Fine Dining Chef position at The Lodge in Rancho Mirage, with Maddock taking the restaurant to Four Star and Four Diamond for the first time. The rest, as they say, is history. Maddock’s work at Arnold Palmer’s is solid, constantly introducing modern, creative cuisine alongside the down-home comfort food for which many of the restaurant’s fans keep returning—among them the King himself.“Arnie was in for dinner last night,” Maddock told us this winter. In fact, Mr. Palmer is a frequent guest at the restaurant. For that reason, and so fans can get a taste of what a champion enjoys for dinner, the menu maintains a section entitled “Arnie’s Favorites. ”They include selections like Meatloaf with Mashed Potato and Gravy, and Organic Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Mashed Potato, Collard Greens, Grilled Corn and Sage Gravy. More modern fare includes a Vegetable Crudité appetizer, in which fresh seasonal and marinated vegetables are joined by pimento cheese, and Coachella Date and Bacon Skewers with Spinach and Mornay Sauce, which uses local dates from the Coachella Valley. For entrees, Maddock offers a selection of “Chef’s Creations,” which showcase his creativity in dishes such as Honey-Soy Glazed Chilean Sea Bass and Lemon and Herb Baked Steelhead Salmon. Of course, you can always get fresh seafood and a great steak at Arnold Palmer’s as well. As for dessert, it’s any sweet tooth’s dream. Vanilla Crème Brulee works fine, but we’ll take the Coffee and Doughnuts, thank you very much. “We’re always changing it up,” says Maddock.

Arnie memorabilia joins great food at Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant

Great Atmosphere
It takes more than just food to make a restaurant truly wonderful, and the atmosphere at Arnold Palmer’s is nothing short of spectacular for Palmer fans. Dining rooms are themed after events like The Masters, the British Open and the U.S. Open. Each room contains related memorabilia from Palmer’s personal collections, including one of The King’s Green Jackets in The Masters room and a large collection of personal photos in The Arnold Palmer Room. The bar features live music, more Arnie memorabilia and a great selection of cocktails to enliven any desert evening—especially when the night spills out onto the 9-hole putting green, which, if it doesn’t showcase your best short game, is at least a terrific amount of fun. Whether you’re dropping in for lunch or sitting down for a perfect end to a long day of golf, Arnold Palmer’s restaurant is a must-see destination for Arnie’s fans and fans of great food.

Visit the restaurant online at arnoldpalmersrestaurant.com, call 760.771.GOLF or stop in at 78164 Avenue 52,
La Quinta, CA, 92253 to taste food fit for a King.

Pouring Greatness
Arnold Palmer’s Restaurant is known for great food, but its drink selections are equally as remarkable. Wine Spectator has taken notice of the impressive bottled offerings and awarded the restaurant a coveted Award of Excellence, and with the new wine cellar the outpouring will only be better. Among the fantastic labels on offer, the restaurant is currently the only place serving the 2004 Arnold Palmer Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which has been heralded as one of the greatest creations ever to come out of Napa’s Luna Vineyards. Flavors of anise, dark chocolate and black cherry open to incredible intensity but offer a smooth finish in this exquisite wine. Also on offer, Seasmoke “Southing” Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills, Turnbull, “Black Label”, Napa Valley Meritage and the Kelleher Family “Brix Vineyard” Oakville and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, among others. Better still Palmer Advantage members receive a complimentary glass of champagne (and dessert) for them and their spouse when dining at the restaurant—the perfect accompaniment to any meal at Arnold Palmer’s.