3 Vegan Favorites from a Culinary Oasis in California’s High Desert (Plus: A Mini Guide to Joshua Tree)
We cover things we're into and think you might be, too. If you purchase through an external link here, goop may earn a commission.
Photos courtesy of Gentl & Hyers and the author
Desert dwellers are well acquainted with the challenges of living in an unforgiving environment: extreme temperatures, creeping critters, limited resources. But for Claire Wadsworth and Nikki Hill, the desert—in its primitive starkness—is a springboard for endless creativity.
Partners in business and in love, Wadsworth and Hill are the co-proprietors of La Copine, which they opened in 2015 after deciding to pack up their lives in Los Angeles and pursue a future in the California high desert. “So many people said it was a bad idea…and we did it anyway,” says Hill, who previously cooked at Antonia Lofaso’s Scopa in Venice.
Celebrated for its vibrant, vegetable-forward dishes, the Yucca Valley restaurant has become a beloved dining destination in the Joshua Tree area, where locals and tourists alike can convene for fried Japanese eggplant with tomato chutney and ricotta gnocchi alla vodka. And now, with a new cookbook, Wadsworth and Hill are inviting home cooks to re-create the very dishes that put La Copine on the culinary map. “We hope this book inspires people to be bold and to be brave and not to be afraid to be outsiders,” says Wadsworth, who runs front-of-the-house operations and is also a gifted musician.
Here, the couple shares three fan favorites that happen to be vegan, including the famous beignets that started it all. (Plus: Read on for some high desert travel recs, if you’re lucky enough to experience La Copine in person.)
The Recipes
Beignets with Coffee Sugar
Inclusivity lies at the heart of La Copine, which is why so much of the menu caters to vegan and gluten-free diets. That said: “We have cowboys in the desert. If they saw that we advertised our beignets as vegan, they would not order it,” Wadsworth says with a smile. These beignets were the restaurant’s first culinary creation and nod to Hill’s childhood memories of making fry bread.
Photo courtesy of Gentl & Hyers
Zucchini-Eggplant "Parm"
This vegan take on an old-school Italian classic features straightforward ingredients you can find at most big-box grocery stores. “I know so many chefs that are just so lucky to pick up their food at farm stands, but not all of us have that luxury, and it doesn’t mean you can’t make delicious food,” Hill says. Prepping this dish is a commitment, but it’s also the one that made a certain A-lister proclaim: “This place is a 10!”
Photo courtesy of Gentl & Hyers
Coconut Rice Pudding
Some of the best discoveries are made by accident, and as clichéd as it sounds, the proof is in the literal pudding. After making a vegan coconut custard that failed to set up, Hill—in an effort to not be wasteful—threw in some rice, and was delighted to find that it created the perfect consistency. That was about a decade ago, and the resulting recipe has been on the menu ever since. “The pudding has cardamom and cinnamon, but then the pepitas have ground fennel, and I think those three together—people are a little mind-blown,” Hill says.
Photo courtesy of Gentl & Hyers
How to Spend a Weekend in Joshua Tree
If you have the chance to experience La Copine’s magic in person, why not make a few other stops while you’re in the area?
The best time to visit Joshua Tree National Park and the surrounding communities is during the spring and fall; summertime is not for the faint of heart, with temperatures regularly peaking around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Stay
Drive a few hundred meters down a dusty road in Twentynine Palms, just outside Joshua Tree’s north entrance, and you’ll find Hotel Wren, the area’s first boutique hotel. Stepping inside is like visiting a close friend’s beautifully appointed home: Furnishings were curated by owner and designer Jessica Pell, who transformed the former 1940s roadside motel into a peaceful 12-room hideaway where life moves more slowly. Take a dip in the saltwater pool or borrow a board game from the lounge, and when hunger strikes, wander over to Windsong, the on-site shop stocked with frozen soup dumplings, gluten-free pastas, and other thoughtfully selected provisions.
Photos courtesy of Hotel Wren
Do
If your time in the park is limited, head straight for the Cholla Cactus Garden, where you’ll find teddy-bear cholla as far as the eye can see. A word to the wise: Download offline maps beforehand using the National Park Service app or Google Maps, as cell service is practically nonexistent in the park.
Inspired by the design of Moses’s Tabernacle and the writings of Nikola Tesla—yes, you read that correctly—the Integratron has bridged the gap to the metaphysical world since the 1950s. (Wadsworth and Hill refer to it as their church.) Make a reservation for the signature sound bath to experience the world-famous acoustics for yourself.
Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum of Assemblage Art
Old tube TVs, rusty bicycles, and vintage bed frames find new life at the otherworldly Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum. Created on-site by Purifoy himself, the large-scale assemblages reference the artist’s upbringing in the Jim Crow South and are scattered across 10 acres of the Mojave.
Left: courtesy of Integratron; Right: Aurora Borealis, 1999–2000. Courtesy of the Noah Purifoy Foundation © 2026
Metal bolo chains, small-batch perfumes, postcards, and other desert-inspired goodies await at the artfully curated Very Very, located in Twentynine Palms.
Eat and Drink
Under the helm of chef Everton Gordon, what began as a small operation in the back of a gas station has grown into a must-visit culinary destination. A favorite of Wadsworth and Hill’s, Kitchen in the Desert serves up Trinidadian-inspired New American dishes, like mesquite-grilled jerk chicken and branzino with coconut rice.
Swing by this small-batch bakery bright and early (it’s first come, first served) for tasty sourdough breads and pastries. The sandwiches are also a hit—pick up a few to share with your hiking companions.