Palm Springs & the Deserts - California - page 1718

Downtown & Off-Strip

Restaurants downtown offer better value than on the Strip. West of the Strip, the pan-Asian
restaurants on Chinatown's Spring Mountain Rd are budget-saving options.

Container Park FAST FOOD
( GOOGLE MAP ; 702-637-4244; http://downtowncontainerpark.com ; 707 E Fremont St; menu
$3-9; 11am-11pm Sun-Thu, to 1am Fri & Sat)
With food truck menus, outdoor seating and late-night hours, vendors inside downtown's
Container Park satisfy all appetites. Over-21s only after 9pm.

Raku JAPANESE
( GOOGLE MAP ; 702-367-3511; www.raku-grill.com ; 5030 W Spring Mountain Rd; shared dishes
$2-12; 6pm-3am Mon-Sat; 203)
LA chefs come to dine when they're in town on this Japanese owner-chef's small plates of
robata -grilled meats, homemade tofu and more. Book ahead.

Culinary Dropout AMERICAN, FUSION
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 702-522-8100; www.hardrockhotel.com ; 4455 Paradise Rd, Hard Rock;
mains brunch $8-14, lunch & dinner $14-32;

11am-11pm Mon-Thu, 11am-midnight Fri, 10am-mid-

night Sat, 10am-11pm Sun; 108)
With nouveau comfort food, a pool-view patio and rockin' live bands, there's no funkier
gastropub around. Weekend brunch brings out bacon Bloody Marys.

Lotus of Siam THAI
( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 702-735-3033; www.saipinchutima.com ; 953 E Sahara Ave; mains $9-30;
11:30am-2:30pm Mon-Fri, 5:30-10pm daily; ; SDX)
It may look like just a strip-mall hole-in-the-wall, but the authentic northern Thai cooking
has won almost as many awards as the wine cellar. Make reservations.

Firefly TAPAS