{"id":1815,"date":"2009-12-04T06:05:03","date_gmt":"2009-12-04T14:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/burgersdogspizza.com\/?p=1815"},"modified":"2009-12-04T06:05:03","modified_gmt":"2009-12-04T14:05:03","slug":"salton-city-ca-travertine-sports-bar-grill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.peterstromquist.com\/?p=1815","title":{"rendered":"Salton City, CA – Travertine Sports Bar & Grill"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"salton<\/a><\/p>\n

A review on Yelp said this place was “better than it deserved to be”, and although I am not exactly sure what that means (I think it is a compliment), this place is a big surprise for where it is located.\u00a0 The Salton Sea isn’t exactly a dining (or anything ) destination these days, but I was idling away around the California desert, drove down this highway, and found myself here at lunch time.<\/p>\n

It has a surprisingly diverse menu, covering most of the pop ethnic cooking categories.\u00a0\u00a0 A couple of days hence, I was anticipating being in L.A. and hitting Felippe’s or Coles for a dip, and couldn’t wait, so I ordered the French dip here, fully prepared for it to be mediocre.<\/p>\n

And I was surprised.\u00a0 It was excellent, and a good value.\u00a0 I hesitatingly upgraded the side to rings for a dollar more, and they were excellent as well, with a crispy tempura batter, nice size, nice crunch. The sandwich bread is some of the best I have had, second only perhaps to the best in the country, Leidenheimer’s<\/a> in New Orleans. No kidding, it was that good, crispy and moist french.<\/p>\n

The au jus for the sandwich had none of the negative qualities one can often find accompanying these sandwiches.\u00a0\u00a0 This tasted akin to home-made.<\/p>\n

I doubt I will ever be in the area again, but I would go back.\u00a0 They serve all three meals, have a nice bar, and hoity-toity coffee drinks as well.\u00a0\u00a0 They were surprisingly busy, so wait service was a little slow, but not enough to result in a negative remark from me.<\/p>\n

This Google map is slightly off, the restaurant fronts the highway.<\/p>\n