One hot Sunday evening in July, after an early dinner at Clark’s Oyster Bar in the Clarksville neighborhood of Austin, the Husband and I sat watching a vacation remodel show called “Stay Here” on Netflix.
This particular show was about a remodel of the most fabulously preserved Palm Springs mid-century modern home I’d ever seen. This was in 2018, and Palm Springs was experiencing a resurgence of interest. Influencers were posting pictures of luxurious hotel scenes from places like Holiday House and The Parker, along with gourmet-styled food—all from this desert city.
I had never been to Palm Springs and had no idea what the fuss was all about, but I was curious as to what I was missing.
As much as I loved Austin and as badly as I had wanted to live there for so many years, it just didn’t click for me. I had formed a small group of fabulous friendships that I still maintain and cherish, but outside of that, I felt lost.
But my Husband had lived there for 28 years. How was I going to get him to leave Austin? I knew my only option was California, his one true love.
We had just sold our house in Austin and were living in a high-rise downtown. It was fun, but it wasn’t a long-term situation, and we’d started looking for another house. The real estate market in Austin was booming, and even when we found a house in our price range, we knew it’d be just a few short years before we were in over our heads because of rising property taxes (there’s no income tax in the state of Texas but believe me, they get the money where they have to).
The next day, I started doing some research. Over the next week, I hopped on Trulia to look at houses in Palm Springs. I researched the distance to Los Angeles, San Diego, and popular beaches, and the more I poked around, the more excited I got.
I was born in California but raised in the Texas Hill Country (my mother’s family were big West Texas ranchers). I wasn’t going back to live in Los Angeles under any circumstances, but Palm Springs seemed pretty viable.
Within ten days, we were on a plane to Palm Springs to investigate. Within 24 hours of our arrival, we had a real estate agent.
We didn’t find a house on that first trip, but on the second trip, a reroute from my annual NYC birthday trip to Palm Springs instead, we found the house we have now on the very last day of our visit. It was meant to be! It needed work, but it had the view I wanted. It took a 20-minute tour for me to say, “Sold!”
That began a cross-country-move odyssey that took me two months to plan and arrange. When the day finally arrived to leave Austin, my Husband took Elbie Bear Magoo with him in a U-Haul the size of a yacht, and I followed behind in our little Mini Cooper with our three-legged rescue dog Hoppy Hop Skotch and a money tree plant named Bob (my Husband’s motto is no man left behind). Oh, and all of our liquor cabinet contents because priorities, you know. Mini Coopers can haul an amazing amount of stuff.
**********************************
Until 2014, my life had been lived in only three places: California, Texas, and the Island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands (long story).
But 2014 brought lots of change for me, and I moved to Denver (this was pre-Husband). At that point, I had lived in Fort Worth, Texas, for 23 years. I had some serious roots there (and still do).
Moving to Denver was a real shock to my system. I was completely anonymous (my job in Fort Worth had a lot of public visibility attached to it), I had no friends, and I barely knew my way around. But I got to know the city, my homesickness went from a raging waterfall to a slight drizzle, and I grew to love Denver.
And one of the things I loved the most about Denver was the food. My neighborhood had some of Denver’s best restaurants, all within walking distance. A boutique wine bar, a fabulous French bistro reminiscent of Raoul’s in SoHo (NYC), and an old neighborhood Italian place I ate at probably once a week.
One day, in the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver, I ran into a restaurant called True Food. It was very farm-to-table with a h
ippie, healthy, yet elegant vibe. It became my go-to for everything from a quick lunch break to celebratory dinners. I was a huge fan of the wholesome, carefully prepared ingredients and inventive dishes like the Inside Out Quinoa Burger. I bought the True Food cookbook on my very first visit and proudly displayed it on my kitchen counter.
When you are far away from home, friends, and family, food is often the one thing that can bring you comfort. Whether it’s a familiar recipe or an introduction to a new dish, delicious food can make you feel like all is right with the world. True Food was my new love that felt like an old friend.
My favorite dish on the menu was the Marinated Kale & Salmon Salad. I am super picky about fish because it’s not really my favorite. It has to be pre
pared *just so* for me to truly enjoy it. But True Food nailed it every single time.
I’ve had this salad more times than I can count.
The time came for me to leave Denver, and I wanted to come back to Texas but to one of my favorite cities in the world, Austin. I was beyond excited. I’ll never, ever forget the drive back (car packed to the roof with two dogs in the front seat) and the second I crossed the border from New Mexico into Texas. I almost stopped the car to kiss the ground. It was a huge sigh of relief to be back home.
And not long after I moved to Austin, True Food followed me! Within months of my move, one opened on the edge of downtown. It was a gift from heaven, as far as I was concerned. Salmon Salad, here I come!
The True Food in Austin again became my go-to spot for everything from birthday celebrations to girls’ nights out, friendly therapy sessions, and business meetings.
And it was the site of my last dinner in Austin the night before we moved to Palm Springs. And yes, you guessed it, I had my favorite Salmon Salad.
I sat at the bar, one of my favorite spots in the restaurant, eating alone (Husband was traveling, bless his heart – he got home late that night), drinking a glass of wine, and wondering if we’d made a mistake at the same time as being so excited I could hardly sit still.
I had to get back and finish packing the last little bit up, and it was so hard to drag myself out of my seat and out the door, not knowing when I’d get to come back.
But the Salmon Salad came with me to Palm Springs! And every time I make it, it reminds me of home, of my independence and courage, of my sweet friends, and my fabulous Clarksville condo that was only 5 minutes from the Whole Foods mothership. Man, I miss that neighborhood.
This is a year-round salad, worthy of even a winter meal. The salad is served at room temperature, and the salmon is warm and fresh from the oven. The dressing is a simple lemon garlic vinaigrette. I make extra and use it to pour on my salmon before I bake it. It’s perfection! Even people who don’t like kale love this salad.
You don’t have to be homesick to enjoy this salad. You don’t have to move across the country or go to True Food either. You can have this salad right there in your own home. Maybe it’s the home you’ve lived in for 30 years. Or maybe you just got there.
No matter what, home is where the Salmon Salad is.
Hugs from afar,
Julia (in the kitchen)
