Hubkaās 3 Desert Eateries Are Beloved by Locals and Visitors Alike
The Greater Palm Springs foodie scene owes its flavor-packed future to a single coin toss. Restaurateur Andie Hubka and her husband were torn between building their brand in Hawaii or the desert. Luckily for locals, the coin landed in favor of Indio. As a result, the Coachella Valley became home to Hubkaās trifecta of tasty conceptsāCork & Fork, Heirloom Craft Kitchen and Tu Madres Cantina & Grill. Each one brings its own unique vibe and menu to the table. Had the odds flipped, these fan-favorite spots might’ve ended up thousands of miles away.
Journey
Hubkaās love of entertaining and the proverbial breaking of bread began at an early age. Growing up in Los Angeles, she spent time visiting her grandparents in Rancho Mirage. Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were gourmet cooksāthe former known for her legendary dinner parties; the latter for running a catering business and serving up private meals for Liberace.
After choosing to swap her legal education for culinary pursuits, Hubka began catering, which led to a five-year stint in corporate training for restaurant groups and ultimately, the decision to open Cooking With Classāthe first adult-education culinary school in the Coachella Valleyā offering fun, recreational cooking classes. Hubka fell in love with teaching, and when the space next door became available, she began to consider opening a restaurant of her own.
āThere were no small-plate restaurants in the Coachella Valley,ā explains Hubka.
āNo wine bars, no eclectic menus. There were only steakhouses, Mexican restaurants and fine dining. I was known for doing these fun wine and food pairings and formal wine dinners where weād mix international cuisines and try wines from around the world at an affordable price.āĀ
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Thus, the concept for Cork & Fork was born.
The contemporary wine barās unique menu features a creative array of mix-and-match small plates with a robust wine listāand perfect pairing suggestions, for a choose-your-own-adventure type of dining experience.
āI like doing comfort food with a twist by adding interesting multi-cultural ingredients to make it unexpected,ā says Hubka.
āWe have a dish called ahi nachos, but instead of chips we use wontons, and instead of cheese, it’s Togarashi aioli sauce. We’ll do a truffle popcorn, and right next to that we’ll have a Korean Banh Mi braised pork belly slider. They have nothing to do with each other, but it doesn’t matter.ā
Expansion
In 2017, Hubka and her husband decided to try something new. After witnessing the explosion of the vegan movement (but not seeing it represented in the Palm Springs culinary scene), they decided to open Heirloom Craft Kitchenāa hybrid vegan concept, catering to a flexitarian audience.
āWe call it āReal Good Food,āā says Hubka. āItās farm-to-table comfort food, made from scratch, that you can feel good about whether youāre vegan or not. In fact, our shirts say āvegan-ishā on the back.ā
Soon enough, a nearby space became available once again, which got the wheels turning for a new additionāthis time, an innovative Mexican concept called Tu Madres Cantina & Grill.
Diverging from the traditional Mexican fare commonly found south of the border, Hubka had been spending time in Baja and wanted to capture the essence of the Guadalupe Valley in flavor and spiritāwhile cultivating an appreciation for Tequila tasting.
While each restaurant has its own distinct style and menu, Andie Hubkaās signature touch ties them all together. Her passion for genuine hospitality and love of entertaining shine through in every detail. She also understands how the pandemic reshaped the way people dineāand the toll it took on the community. To make her food more accessible, she created a six-course chefās tasting menu for two priced at $100. That way, guests can enjoy a full culinary experience without the steep tab and sample a variety of dishes in one night.
āI don’t want people to feel like they have to spend a lot of money to have an amazing dining experience,ā Hubka says. āIt should be accessible for everyone.ā
Up next? Cork & Fork is getting a glow-up! The restaurant is being upgraded and relocated with a whole new sensory experience.
āWe went really modern and upscale to make it feel like a supper club,ā Hubka says. āEverything from the cocktails to the gold flatware and the lightingāweāre trying to evoke a feeling of a sexy night out.ā
A private membership called The Reserve Club is their latest project. It’s ālike a clubhouse for people who love to eat and drink wine,ā Hubka explains. They will offer tasting menus and organized trips to culinary destinations like Italy and Mexico.
Through it all, the appreciation of a loyal clientele is what keeps Hubka creating and innovatingāwhile continuing to shape the culinary desert landscape.
āWe don’t cut any corners,ā Hubka explains. āPeople know that they’re going to get really good food and really good service. Itās going to be a beautiful atmosphere; it’s going to be super clean. They trust us. And we take that really seriously.ā
Based in Los Angeles, Kandace has spent the past ten years in the fashion and lifestyle space, and recently in entertainment at Sony Pictures Studios. She has a Masters in Journalism from Emerson College and has studied in Paris, Firenze, and Washington DC, beginning her career as a style editor and tastemaker for NBC. She is an internationally award-winning filmmaker, having studied screenwriting for film and television at UCLA, and her work has been celebrated around the world, in cities like London, Nice, New York, and MontrƩal. Paying homage to her French heritage, she is also the creator of The Chic American--a style and culture editorial destination for Francophiles, dedicated to the art of living an elevated, French-inspired lifestyle.
