PALM SPRINGS. This upscale CPK franchise is the brainchild of former attorneys Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield. The place specializes in 9-inch wood-fired pizzas with every sort of topping imaginable. Voted as having the best pizza in the desert by the Palm Springs Life's readers' choice poll. Also located on El Paseo in Palm Desert.

Life Magazine proclaimed Livreri's "a Sinatra joint that still exists," and you'll even find Old Blue Eyes' autographed picture gracing the restaurant's walls. The long-lived, award-winning establishment features specialties like cioppino, scampi Livreri, and calamari and mussels marinara. Other choices include fine cuts of beef and poultry. Extensive wine list. Closed Sunday and Monday during the summer.

PALM DESERT. Richly detailed with mellow, Old World colors, sumptuous fabrics, and murals, this superb hotel restaurant offers a sensuous culinary journey to northern Italy. The ever-changing menu takes advantage of seasonal items, fashioning them into dishes like sauteed scalopinni of veal, Colorado double lamb chops, seafood risotto, grilled swordfish, and house-made lobster ravioli. Prix fixe options ease the decision-making process, and plenty of wines heighten the experience. To get in the mood, access the restaurant via a gondola ride from the hotel lobby ­ a dramatic entrance, to be sure.