the cafe at shields date garden

beautiful place! been some time that i wanted to pass by here. we stopped by for some late breakfast. we all loved what we had! the shield date pancakes were amazing!! especially with the date butter. mysaladwasn't too good though but everything else was just great! stop by the shop, theater, souvenir shop etc next time i'll have their date shake at the shop!

shields date garden has been here since 1924. walk inside to the gift shop. they have an ice cream bar and make their famous date shakes.
it's a fun tourist stop that is like stepping back in time.

the tasting bar has containers of sample pieces of their date and banana breads sprinkled with walnuts, pecans or almonds.

behind the store is the cafe. it serves breakfast from 7 am to 2:30 pm they offer omelets, steak and eggs and some mexican favorites that include chilaquiles.

they also make shields date pancakes from scratch with organic eggs and flour, mixed with date butter and deglet boor dates on top.

our server jose was very nice. on the menu, lunch specials include chipotle crab cakes, a shieldssaladwith deglet noor dates, dried cranberries, walnuts, pears, crumbled blue cheese and a house mango vinaigrette.

they also have date burger with sautéed deglet noor dates with bacon and melted blue cheese.

we ordered a grilled turkey w/ melted pepper jack cheese on brioche bread. the sidesaladwas enhanced with dates.

the chef was nice to make our daughter a veggie wrap. the fresh fruit was cut in large pieces.

the ice tea was my favorite unsweetened tropical tea. finish your meal with a vanilla date shake.

lot's of free parking in front and on the side. be sure to peek inside the date theater.

lots of fun in indio, california. i read about shields, i wanted to experience it for myself. the parking lot is huge. the gift/souvenir shop is huge. there are lots of date samples. there is a theater showing a film about dates. our lunch on the patio was most pleasant. my half a shieldssaladwas interesting: spinach, asian pear, mango, walnuts, blue cheese, dates and cranberries. barc had a perfectly prepared medium rare cheeseburger with salad. emily took excellent care of us. after lunch we walked through the gardens. it reminded me of the stations of the cross with several additions. it was a fun place to visit. we know a lot about growing dates....don't try it at home.