Sherman’s Deli & Bakery

Sherman’s has been feeding the desert since 1963 and shows no sign of slowing down. This is the valley’s most beloved deli — a proper East Coast institution transplanted to Palm Desert, where the booths are worn-in, the pastrami is still piled high, and the regulars arrive before 8am. For guests used to resort dining, it is a wonderful reset: unpretentious, generous, and completely delicious. The menu runs breakfast all day alongside a full deli counter stacked with house-cured meats, handmade salads, and enough baked goods to make restraint almost impossible. The matzo ball soup is the stuff of local legend. The rye bread, baked fresh each morning, deserves its own mention. Weekday mornings are calmer; weekends fill up fast. Worth the wait either way, but if you would rather skip the queue, arrive by 8:30 on a Saturday and the booths are usually still free. Sherman’s is roughly 15 minutes from La Quinta on Country Club Drive — easy to find, easy to park, and the kind of place you will want to return to before your stay is done.