Recently in Dining Category

Happy Spa-lidays! The Spa Resort Casino will celebrate Christmas with a veritable feast at the Oasis Buffet. The restaurant will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Christmas Day.

The holiday menu includes roast duck with Montmorency cherry sauce, seafood Newburg and oysters Rockefeller, pork pozole, stuffed leg of lamb, and glazed turkey breast. Save room for all those seasonal sweets, including pumpkin and pecan pie, warm chestnut bread pudding with brandy crème anglaise. The Christmas Day buffet is $26.99.

Want to sparkle like a snowflake this season? The Spa's spa has pumpkin spiced massage and gingerbread mani/pedi specials. Packages start at $89, and include the "Taking of the Waters," a signature part of the whole Spa spa treatment.

Find details at the Spa website. Or phone the spa at (760) 778-1772.

Spa Resort Casino

What: The Corner Deli

Where: 401 East Amado Rd. Palm Springs

Hours: 24/7

Type of food: Sandwiches and coffee.

Hours: 24/7.

Beverages: Coffee.

Information: 888-999-1995, http://www.sparesortcasino.com/dine.html

The Noodle Bar in the Spa Resort Casino is simplicity itself: a rectangular dining room with a picture window looking out to the slot machines, a short but interesting menu and crisp service.

It will add to your enjoyment to have some familiarity with sushi, but if you're a novice you can get the California roll or Chinese chicken salad, both for $8.

The understated décor of the room shows off the sushi, which is presented with flair.

I had sushi-grade tuna that looked like a work of art served in a martini glass.

In a nod to Inland produce, the $7 Hearts of Palm Springs Roll (above) features hearts of palm, orange wedges and baby lettuce, served with pecan vinaigrette. It will be on the menu a few more weeks before being changed out in mid-October.

The Noodle Bar lives up to its name with noodle soups featuring beef, chicken or tsa tsai for $10-$12.

There are also dim sum dumplings and pot stickers for $8-9.

Specialty drinks with colorful names such as Godzilla cost $8.59. That particular refreshment includes fruit-infused vodka, Midori and sake, the Japanese rice beverage that occupies a place of honor on the menu here. There's a section devoted to "Sake2me" "super premium" cocktails such as ginger mango, Asian pear and green tea. They cost $8.

Reach Fielding Buck at 951-368-9551 or fbuck@PE.com

All meals for restaurant profiles are paid for by The Press-Enterprise.

What: The Noodle Bar, Spa Resort Casino

Where: 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs

Hours: 5 p.m.-1 a.m. weekdays; noon to 1 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Entrees: $6-$16

Beverages: Full bar

Reservations: Not necessary

Information: 888-999-1995

Spa Resort Casino

What: Oasis Buffet

Where: 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs

The spread: The 300-seat dining room has serving stations along the back wall, plus an island for salads, desserts and cold items.

Spa Resort Casino's Oasis Buffet boasts a variety of items from different cultures. At the Asian food station, guests can help themselves to tempura vegetables, sole Mandarin, Chinese long bean salad, sticky rice and Asian cucumber salad topped with wonton crisps.

There is also a Mongolian station where guests select their own ingredients, which are then prepared on a grill, giving patrons the option to create their own unique buffet item.

And to end a meal, diners can head on over to the Dryers ice cream station to pick up a scoop, a sundae or even a shake.

Breakfast: Saturday and Sunday, 7-10:30 a.m., $9.99

Lunch: Monday; Thursday - Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., $14.99. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Dinner: Monday and Thursday, 4-8 p.m.; Sunday 4-9 p.m., $19.99

Specialty meals: Seafood Sensation, 4-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, $23.99; Sparkling Sunday Brunch, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday; $23.99

Information: 888-999-1995, www.sparesortcasino.com

The Steakhouse in the Spa Resort Casino is a Father's Day kind of place.

Not only does it have a big, beefy menu, it has a long-standing two-for-$49 special (above), thus managing to be splurge and something of a bargain at the same time.

The special includes an entrée choice of filet mignon, prime rib, grilled salmon, pork chop or crab legs, soup or salad and dessert.

The Steakhouse has a great atmosphere, partitioned so the sounds of the casino seem far away. The lighting is subdued and the décor suggests the heritage of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. In the back of the room, a fountain drips into a dramatic replica of Indian pottery.

I loved the sirloin steak, served thick with wild mushroom sauce, one of five sauces available. But the highlight of the meal was my choice of "interesting sides," thinly sliced potatoes au gratin with Irish cheddar cheese.

A berry-flavored souffle made a satisfying dessert.

The Spa Resort is in the heart of Palm Springs, a couple of blocks from the action on Palm Canyon Drive.

The casino is a block from the hotel, originally the site of bathhouses and now the site of an established spa.

So clearly Father's Day here is also Mother's Day.

Reach Fielding Buck at 951-368-9551 or fbuck@PE.com

What: The Steakhouse, Spa Resort Casino

Where: 401 E. Amado Road, Palm Springs

Hours: 5-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Entrees: $32-$42

Beverages: Full bar

Reservations: Recommended

Information: 888-999-1995, www.sparesortcasino.com

Spa Resort Casino

What: Sundance Tequila Bar

Where: 401 East Amado Rd. Palm Springs

Type of food: Mexican, bar food.

Hours: Monday-Friday: 4 p.m.-1 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 12 p.m.-1 a.m.

Dinner: $3.95-$13.95. Features tacos, hot wings and grinders. Daily happy hour specials are also available.

Beverages: Tequila.

Information: 888-999-1995, http://www.sparesortcasino.com/dine.html?showDine=sundancetequilabar