Tara Lazar

Since 2008, Tara Lazar has been one of the leaders in the charge to redefine and reinvigorate Palm Springs’ dining scene. She’s the chef-owner of F10 Creative, the outfit behind such popular restaurants as Cheeky’s and Mr. Lyons. Tara grew up in Palm Springs, and left for a tennis scholarship at UC Berkeley, which led to a career in finance in San Francisco. Feeling the need to come back home a decade ago and shake things up, she’s helped make Palm Springs a premier destination once again. If there’s one thing Tara’s great at, it’s setting a vibe, and her playlist for us is a sampling of what you can hear at her restaurants.

“When you see people bopping their heads to your music in the restaurant, it just makes your heart beat an extra beat,” she said. “You know the food’s going to taste good. You’ve got it in the bag.”

Her selections are rangy with cuts from Cherub, Blackstreet, Supertramp and The Flaming Lips.

“I like my music like I like my food: sundry and not so serious. It’s music I want to blast on a dirt road with the top down,” Tara told us. “I also don’t believe you should play more than one song from the same album. Not sure if anyone else cares about that sort of detail. As much as I love frothy pop music, the B side and deeper cuts have always intrigued me.”