The Desert Sun
May 17, 2006

One of the most seductive images of '50s nightlife is the picture of the supper club where elegantly dressed couples drink martinis or champagne, and eat expensive-looking food while they listen to a jazz musician or a chanteuse. It has a touch of film noir about it. What could be more glamorous?

But one question that has always hung in my skeptical brain has been "How good was the food?" And did the food really matter if you were watching someone like Rita Hayworth sing "Put the Blame on Mame?"

That's why I was a little wary about visiting Buddy Greco's Dinner Club, which opened a short while ago in Cathedral City. Yes, I admired Mr. Greco. On the other hand, did I really want to team the experience of listening to him with the experience of dinner? But the lure of that film noir image was irresistible.

I was already half seduced when we sat down at our table. The curtained, simple room reminded me of my courting days in Chicago, when we would go to the famous Mr. Kelly's when I was feeling flush. The room was pretty full for the early show, which added to the buzz, and if none of the people in the room actually resembled nightclub extras in a '50s movie they looked like perfectly pleasant people. So far, so good. But what about the food?

The menu is a fairly simple one, but with plenty of choices in the entrees.

We began with a really good beet salad with spinach; orange segments; hazelnuts; and a bright, citrus vinaigrette. My wife had veal scaloppini and I had pan-seared halibut with a papaya, pineapple, jalapeño salsa. We were both happy - that salsa was delicious. Then we finished by sharing a pecan pineapple upside-down cake with French vanilla ice cream. It was a good menu, and I thought very cleverly chosen to mix sophistication with comfort, and provide food with a simple but effective presentation. It put us in a perfect mood for the show.

I'm not a music writer, but I spent some formative years round the jazz clubs of London and Chicago and I enjoyed myself immensely listening first to Buddy Greco and then also to his wife, Lezlie Anders. He is, of course, a brilliant pianist but he's a very accomplished entertainer as well - wry, funny and sexy, while Lezlie Anders can actually sing "Fever" without paling in the shadow of the late Peggy Lee.

I spoke later to the chef/manager, Isabel Talamantes, and told her how impressed I had been by the smoothly flowing meal.

"It's not difficult," she said. "For my guys, timing is very important. They also know how strict I am - I have my watch on my wrist and I'm always pointing to it. I even do that to the musicians!"

The veal, she said, is her No. 1 seller, and she buys Provini veal, which she is very proud of. Her pineapple upside down cake is a signature dish.

She began her cooking life working with her father at Chasen's, and she has just introduced the famous Chasen's chili onto the late-night menu. Thursday through Saturday the dinner club has late-night jazz from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., and you can eat too.

On the late-night menu, apart from that chili, there's frittata, a breakfast bruschetta, a bacon and egg burrito, but also items like crab quesadillas, petite burgers and chicken satay.

Cooking until 1:30 in the morning didn't sound to me like the most comfortable of lives, but that cheerful sound in Talamantes' voice wasn't an illusion. She obviously takes enormous delight in working for Buddy and Lezlie Greco; for a young chef it's a great chance and one she's very aware of.

As for me, I'm going to be going back for the late night jazz and the supper/breakfast. That will really take me back to my courting days. My wife likes the idea too.