Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/271567
90 / the tasting panel / march 2014 PHOTOS: ARTHUR COLEMAN Steak and Greens Although Dustin Nichols was born and raised in a Kansas farm community, he had a great uncle who was once a desert influencer enough to be connected to an even bigger influ- encer. "He worked for Bob Hope," Nichols says with pride. Nichols, General Manager for Arnold Palmer's restaurant in La Quinta, an upscale city on the outskirts of Palm Desert and home to the PGA West, would vacation in the area with his family when he was young. "As soon as I was able to, I moved here," he notes, leaving Kansas State in 1987 and enlisting himself in bartending school. He worked in the desert for a while, followed a boss to Pasadena and back to another desert: Las Vegas. Working at some of the most important casinos (Caesars and Bellagio), Nichols moved back to Palm Desert when he and his wife started a family. He opened his own retail store but sold the burgeoning business to be able to open Arnold Palmer's in August 2011. The restaurant concept was developed by golf legend Arnold Palmer, whose love for steaks and comfort foods, such as the signature Montgomery Inn ribs and his family's meatloaf recipe, add flavor to the memorabilia that surround diners. As golf is the number one sport in this resort desti- nation, his customers are most likely fans who are honored to be among the surroundings. Dustin Nichols is the GM of Arnold Palmer's Restaurant, not far from the greens of PGA West, in La Quinta, CA. In the wine room, Nichols stores red wine bottles from his 500-bottle list.