(Vegan) Weekend in Palm Springs

My boyfriend, Jesse, and I were on the hunt for a weekend getaway for our third anniversary. We weren't finding anything we were really vibing with that also had availability, and then a few days before Jesse found a magical oasis on Hotel Tonight that was right up our alley! It was a deal we couldn't pass up, but we were also a little nervous of how hot it would be (but it's so damn dry that it wasn't even that bad) so we slept on it. We woke up and said screw it, it's so rad, let's book it! And I'm SO glad we did! (ps code MGLAZEWSKI1 gets you $25 off on Hotel Tonight!)

Before the trip I decided I wanted to fully enjoy and be completely present during our 2 days / 1 night away. I've found my relationship with my partner thrives SO much more when we're both away from our phones. So, I deleted Instagram and Facebook and it was magical! I rarely looked at my phone the entire weekend and was fully embracing JOMO (joy of missing out). I highly recommend an occasional social media detox.

Ok, onto the trip! On our way out of town, Jesse stopped at Triniti for coffee and breakfast and I stopped at Honey Hi and got an amazing (vegan and gluten-free) sweet potato avocado toast and a matcha. Also got a green juice from Lassen's that is not pictured. We ate our breakfast in the Lassen's parking lot and then off we went!

I was obsessed with Pee Wee movies growing up, so naturally we had to stop at the Cabazon Dinosaurs on our way to Palm Springs. Any other Pee Wee's Big Adventure fans out there?! This is my second time here and it's always so damn windy, but we got some great pics and went inside the dinosaur gift shop.

Next stop, Palm Springs! We hit up Chef Tanya's Kitchen on our way into town since it's not open Sundays. Incase you don't know, Chef Tanya is the badass who started Native Foods Cafe. Then she sold it and now it's pretty terrible. But anyways, back to her kitchen... This place is in a random industrial type area. It's pretty tiny and very much like a deli. We walked in and I was so excited to see Tanya in there working and talking with customers! It was packed so I didn't get many pics of the space. This place is all vegan, but the menu isn't super gluten-free friendly, as she seems to specialize in seitan which I'm sure is amazing. I did get some potato salad that was incredible and a chickpea tu-no salad that was pretty good. Jesse got a grinder that smelled INSANE, as well as macaroni salad. He loved both of them.

Our hotel wasn't ready at first, so we went to some nearby antique malls/shops. They were all great and I'm pretty sure I could have recreated my great-grandpa's entire house - they was all nostalgic and made me very happy.

After antiquing we checked in to our hotel, Sparrows Lodge. This lodgy hotel was so beautiful - seriously, I couldn't stop taking pictures and they probably thought I was a huge weirdo. They only have 20 rooms making it a super quaint, mellow place to stay. All of the employees were accommodating and friendly and the attention to detail made me feel special. I think my only complaints would be lack of vegan (and gluten-free) options and the dirty pool (lots of bugs, leaves, oil skimming the top, etc.) However, I would absolutely stay here again and after you see the pictures below, you probably will too!

After an afternoon by the pool, we decided to get ready and go to Palm Greens Cafe for dinner. I've been here once before, maybe 4 years ago, and remember having the tempeh reuben. I don't remember what my experience was like back then, but after this visit, I will never forget and probably won't go running back tbh. For starters they served the water in single use plastic cups, which blows my mind considering they have real glasses. There is no reason for a restaurant to serve single use plastic to people dining in. My ranting on this continued when we got our food and the 8 sauces came in single use plastic sauce cups. WHY?! Moving on... Here's what we ordered: Beyond Beef Lettuce Cups with Green Onion, Water Chestnuts, Ginger & Tamari Glaze ($9), Half Roasted Cauliflower with seasonal sauces ($9) and Steamed Artichoke with seasonal dipping sauces ($9) to share, and then Jesse ordered the 'Avocado Roll in a Bowl' Bowl ($12). The service was friendly, and I don't want to rip this place a new one, but so much was wrong that I feel the need to put this info out there for you! You can probably gauge most of this by the pictures, but let me break down each item:

Lettuce Cups: Romaine was fresh, meat came in a tiny dish and was pure oil. All it tasted like was sweet oil. I wish I had photographed my napkin that I used to dab the meat with. Cauliflower: Plain and flavorless and served with sauces that didn't really go. Pesto which was pure garlic, had no basil flavor. It was so strong my pesto loving boyfriend couldn't even eat it. Tahini which was just tahini. Turmeric Aioli which was whatever. And my favorite of the 4 and the only one I ate, Tzatziki.

Artichokes: Not steamed long enough and were inedible. We had to return them. Served with the same 4 "seasonal" sauces as above.

Avocado Roll in a Bowl: Definitely the best out of everything we ordered despite it being a salad and not a bowl. I only had a handful of bites, but it had a good flavor. Also, this bowl was huge and I'm just so confused at how they came up with the prices for things.

Overall, a disappointment. NEXT! We walked around the neighborhood for a bit before going to Kreem for ice cream! This place was small and cute. They have a few gift-y items for sale and a hilarious painting in the bathroom. They had a good amount of vegan flavors. I tried Ube, Rocky Road, and Matcha. All of them were good, but I went with Ube. It basically just tasted like marshmallows and I was fine with that. I probably would have ordered matcha, but it was too late and I didn't want caffeine. I also need to note that they serve Heart Coffee! I rarely drink coffee these days, but Heart is one of the best and it's exciting that they serve it!

At this point we were satisfied and went back to the hotel to find this cute crate waiting at our door! Then we went and sat by the fire. Perfect ending to the day.

The next morning we checked out the continental breakfast at our hotel. Not very vegan friendly (though I did eat some berries), but damn was it cute!

Then we ventured to Ernest Coffee. Palm Springs is definitely lacking in good coffee shops, but I got a chai with coconut milk that I thoroughly enjoyed. Jesse got a pour over coffee that somehow had coffee grounds in it. They also had some vegan baked good options, and great decor.

After coffee we went to Raw Remedy Juice Bar which is in a super cute part of town and had a gazillion vegan and gluten-free options. We both got the loaded (with what they had available) avocado toast, mine on local GF bread which was delicious. We really enjoyed this place and I will definitely go back here to try more of the menu!

Now that our bellies were satisfied, we went back to the hotel and got in some more pool time before leaving. I was very grateful they had misters by the pool because it was HOT, and also that I was able to stay hydrated with my Healthy Human bottle that I use EVERY SINGLE DAY! (You can use code FORKIN10 to get 10% off!)

Then we packed up, said our good-bye's to this beautiful oasis, and checked out. Upon checkout out they gave is this bag with sage and matches in it. Could they BE any cuter?!

We hit up some more stores on our way out of town, including Nature's Health Food & Cafe. The only thing we ended up getting here were some Vegan Rob's snacks - these cauliflower puffs were so dang good!

We then continued west. We stopped at the Cabazon Outlet malls because #nike, and Jesse did some shopping. I wasn't really in the mood, so I just tagged along. After a couple hours there we started heading home, but first, we stopped for dinner in Redlands. We decided on Naan Cafe because it had great reviews. It is very much a quick-service take-out type of place that serves everything in take-out containers. I got the vegan and gluten-free Aloo Gobi with a side of rice and thought it was just ok. Jesse got a couple of vegetarian items and loved them.

After dinner it was finally time to go home! My only goal for the trip home was to make it there by 8pm to watch Big Brother, and thankfully we made it home with a little time to spare! (Don't ask me why I watch this show)

What are your favorite things to eat and do in Palm Springs? Comment below and let me know!

View all of my travel must-haves here:

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fyi none of this trip was sponsored, we paid for it ;)