Dining Around The Desert: Sirocco, Indian Wells

After returning from a recent trip to Italy we longed for great Italian food here in the desert. On past visits to Sirocco, Chef Livio Massignani and his pastry chef wife, Margherita, prepared and served the best Italian food in the desert. Simply amazing! We noticed upon sitting down for dinner this time, however, that the menus had been changed extensively. We were told that Livio and his wife had retired just four months ago. Unfortunately, it appears that Livio and Margherita took their great recipes with them.

Our salads were swimming in dressing and the signature lobster bisque was room temperature. We sent them back and the next attempt was an improvement. However, our main courses of four different pastas were not even Olive Garden quality. Sirocco may still make pastas in-house but they were not fresh. Further, each pasta dish was drenched in sauce that in all cases was not even average quality for a pricey upscale establishment. Our waiter was not trained in upscale cuisine and service and he swore the food was as good now as before. A real shame!

Sirocco is located within the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort, Indian Wells