fresh agave

Culinary Escapades

Fresh Agave in Palm Desert is among the newcomers to Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week.

Erin Peters Restaurants, Watch & Listen - Restaurants

fresh agave
House-made margaritas are a favorite at Fresh Agave, a new participant this year in Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FRESH AGAVE

Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week celebrates the Coachella Valley’s dining scene, spotlighting new culinary styles and mouthwatering desert dishes, June 2–11.

Specialty prix-fixe menus with lower price points make this a popular time to dine out for visitors and locals hungry to try a new restaurant (or an old favorite). Enjoy coursed lunches for $15, $20, or $25 per person, or $29, $39, and $49 dinners at famous eateries like the Purple Room in Palm Springs and Jackalope Ranch in Indio.

Founded in 2007, Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week aims to not only provide diners with great deals throughout the Coachella Valley, but also to promote restaurants during a traditionally slow time of the season. This year 109 (and counting) restaurants are participating, including 28 newcomers.

VIDEO: Watch Chef Andy Salazar create Three Jimadores, a featured dish during Restaurant Week.

Although new to Restaurant Week, Fresh Agave in Palm Desert has been serving traditional and contemporary Mexican cuisine for nearly seven years. Owners Rigo Garcia and his wife Cecilia got their start in the restaurant business as teenagers working together at Don Diego’s of Indian Wells and Armando’s Dakota Bar & Grill on El Paseo. Many of the customers they knew and loved followed the couple when they opened Fresh Agave.

“Every year, we’ve grown more and more and we gain a lot of new customers,” Cecilia says. “A lot of tourists … they come every year. We’ve gained a lot of new clientele besides the one we already had.”

threejimadores

PHOTO BY ERIN PETERS
Three Jimadores is three tacos — beef fajita, chicken fajita, and carintas — topped with pico de gallo, avocado, and cheese.

Part of Fresh Agave’s success — aside from its popular fajitas and house-made margaritas — stems from the friendly staff members, many of whom have worked with the Garcias since the restaurant’s inception.

“I want to say, 80 percent of us here, we’ve know each other for years, or for life! Brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces … people [that come in] feel like they’re home … they feel comfortable because they don’t just come to a restaurant, they come to a place where they know everybody. Everybody knows them,” Cecilia says.

During Restaurant Week, Fresh Agave will serve a $15 lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The first course includes a choice of taquitos, quesadilla, or ceviche. For the main, guests can opt for a tostada fresca, three jimadores (a trio of chicken, beef, and carnitas tacos), or the fish taco plate. You can also add a half-size house margarita, nieve frita (fried ice cream), or churros with ice cream for just $5.

nievefrita

PHOTO COURTESY OF FRESH AGAVE
Add Nieve Frita to your meal at Fresh Agave for just $5.

Fresh Agave, 73325 Highway 111, Palm Desert, 760-836-9028; www.freshagavemexicanbarandgrill.com

Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week, June 2–11, www.visitgreaterpalmsprings.com/restaurantweek