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Name Of Establishment	Las Palmas Restaurant Y Taqueria
Address:	639 9th Los Banos Ca.
Phone Number:	209-826-3939
Website:	Unknown
Prices:	Low / reasonable
Date Of Review:	July 8, 2006
Check out the Official Merced County Health Inspection of this Restaurant - If that link isn't working try this link (note: these links are slow to load)
Our Overall Numeric Rating
Summation Opinion: Excellent food, but an odd location

On July 8, 2006 we were speaking to a local business woman about websites when the subject of food came up. She asked us if we had ever tried Las Palmas (which SHE had heard about via word of mouth too). We were mildly surprised that a Los Banos restaurant had slipped our notice and were glad to give it a try. When we are out 'cruising' for places to eat we have not yet been smart enough to bring a phonebook! In truth we would probably of not run into Los Palmas (even while searching for restaurants to review) simply because it's tucked away at the edge of a neighborhood near the Greyhound Bus Station - in a part of town one doesn't search for places to eat.

It looks like Las Palmas may once have been a home or very small business that was later converted into a restaurant. Inside there is a counter at the far end and tables line the walls. The place appears to be clean and well kept. The decor is not at all exceptional, but it is well lighted and has a nice feel to it.

One thing we did notice right off as we entered is that Las Palmas is really very noisy. The din may be due to the fact that there is no carpeting on the floor and the ceilings are smooth. There is a T.V in the far right corner (that wasn't on when we were there), but if it had been, it would have only added to the general clamor. This is one aspect of our visit that we didn't enjoy. It makes for a sort of boisterous atmosphere and you can hear conversations at other tables clearly.

As we were seated, we were brought out a basket of chips and a small bowl of salsa. The chips were very hot and fresh. We also ordered our sodas, which are served by the bottle (so no refills). Glasses filled with crushed ice were provided for ice water.

We were told by one woman (not associated with Las Palmas) that the restaurant serves Guatemalan and Mexican food. The restaurant itself claims to be Mexican and Californian cuisine. Whatever it really is, I can say one thing, it is just different enough to really be interesting and a refreshing change from the "regular" Mexican food around Los Banos. The menu had quite a variety of foods to choose from. I was pleased with the amount of creative seafood dishes Las Palmas offered.

I ended up choosing crab enchiladas for $9.95 and my husband chose the enchiladas suizas for $8.95. The enchiladas suizas came with beans and rice. In short I absolutely LOVED my meal. My enchiladas were stuffed with real crab and drizzled with a white sauce. Thinly sliced avocados adorned the top. The enchiladas were delicious and had a delicate flavor. I do not often rave about food we have reviewed for weeks after, but I was so impressed with this dish that it has come up again and again in conversation.

My husband's enchiladas were also excellent (in MY opinion), but they weren't to his liking. He thought they were O.K. but too "fancy". They came smothered in a delicious creamy green sauce and also had avocado on top. His meal came with rice and refried beans. The rice was typical Mexican rice, nothing special, but not bad. The beans got my vote as the second best refried beans in town second only to Cutijas).

After stuffing ourselves we didn't have room for dessert (and there are several choices). We also didn't have any leftovers. The portions at Las Palmas are reasonable, but not huge.

Throughout our dinner, our waiter was friendly and took care of everything without being intrusive. We were brought water by a second server. Our bill arrived in a timely manner, a total of $23.65 for the two of us.

All in all, we were both pleased with Las Palmas, although my husband was not quite as enthused as I was. The food was excellent (in my opinion) and should be much appreciated by those who enjoy a meal that is a little different from the usual Mexican fare. It IS "fancy" and even a bit unusual flavor-wise (at least what we personally ordered), so be prepared for that. Neither of us cared for the the noise, and so we don't recommend the restaurant for a quiet romantic dinner. It does have a friendly feel to it though and would probably be an okay place to take the kids for a special diner.

Las Palmas was an unexpected find and a treasured one at that, for me at least. We'll be back for those crab enchiladas for sure! So now that you've heard about Las Palmas, give them a try and pass their name along. Maybe this little out of the way restaurant will become more well known, as it should be!

Specific Opinions By Reviewer One
Overall Rating:
Food:
Service:
Decor:
Price/Value:
Bathroom Cleanliness:
Romance Factor	Way too loud
Family Fun

Specific Opinions By Reviewer Two
Overall Rating:
Food:	Outstanding crab enchiladas!
Service:
Decor:	Nothing special
Price/Value:
Bathroom Cleanliness
Romance Factor	Only if you don't mind NOISE
Family Fun

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More About Our Los Banos Restaurant Reviews

In this section, the staff of Our Los Banos .com shares our personal opinions on the restaurants that we patronize in the City of Los Banos. We would like to stress that we are not professional reviewers, that we have had little or no training in the food arts, and that we are simply expressing our own personal views and opinions on particular visits that we made to the establishments under consideration.

Subjectivity. We make no pretense of the fact that we are not objective. As with art, food is a subjective experience subject to personal opinion and even whim. Some people love a particular artist's work while others can not stand what is put on canvas. Picasso comes to mind. Similarly people's appreciation for a particular chef's abilities are uniquely their own. While our tastes are very eclectic and we enjoy a tremendous variety of different types of food, we do not expect our readers will agree with all of our opinions and views. We DO encourage our readers to try each of the places that we have reviewed and then you can discuss (politely and in a positive fashion) your experiences and opinion of our review in the Los Banos Forum section.

Merced County Health Food Facility Inspections Site

Finally, we strongly encourage our readers to make use of a truly wonderful online resource we discovered last year. Merced County has put together a very cool Food Facility Inspection website which discloses the results of the County Health Department's last few inspections of each restaurant. The results are sometimes quite fascinating and are always interesting. Beware however you may not want to eat at certain places once you read some of the more dramatic entries. We at Our Los Banos .com very much appreciate and support the county of Merced putting these Department of Health food facility inspections online for the public to see.

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