Las Palmas Gets Four Stars (Business Lunch Review)
by July 7, 2003 12:00 am 71 views
We were ready to shake our maracas after a recent visit to Restauranté Las Palmas in Rogers.
Some local Latin-theme restaurants have left us wanted to take a piñata stick to the chef’s head. But there was no mas disappointment at Las Palmas.
The eatery’s Mexican decor, dim-lit dining area and Latin music make for a romantic ambiance that left us unsure whether to eat, kiss or dance. We figured it out pretty quickly when the food arrived.
First and foremost, Las Palmas earned a whole star simply by offering queso blanco (white cheese dip) with sprinkled chili powder and a jalepeño on top. This should be a staple everywhere.
The only thing better than the service was the food, and there was a lot of both.
The first female in our party ordered the enchilada de pollo ($5.25), a shredded chicken enchilada wrapped in a fresh corn tortilla and topped with homemade sour cream sauce. It’s served with beans, rice and one beef taco.
She decried the fair the finest she’s had at any Latin restaurant in Northwest Arkansas. The second lady in our bunch said less but ate as though she agreed.
Maybe it was just her near constant mouthful of queso blanco that limited the only audible sounds she made to, “mmmm!” She had a chicken taco a la carte ($2) and what seemed like six pounds of cheese dip.
Our biggest eater dove into the camarones al mojo de ajo ($11), an incredible plate of shrimp sautéed with garlic and butter and served on a bed of house rice with fresh tortillas. He complimented the authentic dish with an iced goblet of Pacifico beer and said the combination reminded him of nights in Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.
His only regret was that he could not sample the entire seafood selection at Las Palmas, which read like a gourmet tour of the southern Baja Peninsula.
The pescado veracruzana ($10 fillet of fish sauteed with tomatoes, peppers, onions, olives, cilantro and lemon) and camarones a la diabla ($11 shrimp sauteed with spicey chilies and picanté) were particularly appealing.
We had no room left for anything else on the 100-item menu, much less the sweet flan ($2 creamy Mexican custard) or sopapillas ($1.50 fried bread dredged in honey and sprinkled with cinnamon).
On our next trip we’ll be more disciplined with our appetizer consumption, although we’re not sure how.