Not Distrito

We found ourselves back in the Palm Springs area again this weekend and decided to try Chef Jose Garces' other restaurant in the Saguaro Hotel, El Jefe.  If you try to research El Jefe on the Garces Group website all you really see is that its known as Distrito at its other locations, reservations are not available at this location, and the menu is not online.  So let me sum it up for you: its the hotel bar that serves nachos and tacos.  Now, don't get me wrong, the nachos and tacos are far from average, but the ambiance is a bar with limited seating.  It was actually hard to nail down what we were going to eat from all of the options, and yet the menu is listed on a simple laminated piece of paper.

We decided to try the goat tacos, because well, how often do you eat goat?  The tacos come three to a serving on a single tortilla, which I appreciated as I often find myself leaving the second tortilla behind as its too much "bread."  Be warned, the tacos are very saucy, so have your napkin handy.  The goat meat was tasty and soft, but not smushy.  The orange habanero salsa was not hot at all, which was a pleasant surprise.  And the tortillas are housemade, so they taste just right and aren't too corny.

Cabrito Tacos (goat, black beans, orange habanero salsa, goat crema)

A cabrito taco, up close

I've never had gazpacho before as I've been admittedly weary of eating cold tomato soup, but when I saw watermelon and crab in the contents, I knew this was the gazpacho I had to try.  The dish is served with the soup on the side for you to pour over the filling as you choose.  I was pleased with this dish.  I can't say that I had more interest than maybe four spoonfuls, but it was quite good and would probably be very refreshing on a hot summer day.

Gazpacho as its served, with the soup on the side for you to pour yourself

Gazpacho (watermelon, roma tomato, dungeness crab, chives)

I was most excited about the nachos, but unfortunately my server misunderstood which nachos I ordered and I ended up with the vegetarian Ignacio nachos and not the skirt steak laden Encarnacion.  The other primary difference between the two nachos is the beans, with the skirt steak being accompanied by refried beans and the vegetarian served with black beans.  I wish I had gotten the Encarnacion as I was disappointed with the Ignacio.  I did appreciate that the tortilla chips were made from the same tortillas used for the tacos, but there seemed to be too many of them and they weren't adequately covered with goo.  Also, radish should probably be the first ingredient listed as the nachos seemed covered in radish.  And while I'm not a fan of black beans, they seemed to be very few of them, which seemed unusual for a dish that lists the beans as the first ingredient.  If you are a true nacho fan, these are not the nachos for you.

Ignacio Nachos (black beans, tomato, queso mixto, jalapeno, chile de arbol, radish)

My husband wanted to try the yellowfin ceviche.  Its not a traditional ceviche as it doesn't have strong citrus flavor.  To get that you need to eat it with a small serving of the accompanying lime sorbet.  Also, the tostaditas that the ceviche is served with were too few and too small to be of any use.  I actually found myself using the lime on the rim of my margarita to season the dish, and the tortillas from the nachos to serve myself.  The fish was good and fresh, but this was not a ceviche to me.

Ceviche de Atun (yellowfin tuna, serrano coconut sauce, lime sorbet, tomatillo, tostadita)

If you want a quick easy way to dine on food prepared by an Iron Chef, then El Jefe is for you.  I'll probably go back to try more of the tacos, but that's probably it for me.  I'd much rather eat in the fine dining restaurant, Tinto, a few feet away.