I was recently invited to a birthday celebration for a friend at Las Palmas.  I was excited for a) obviously the birthday festivities, b) the food, and c) the opportunity to use the Groupon I had bought.

Moody:
Las Palmas is the perfect venue for a casual birthday dinner with friends.  The atmosphere is relaxed and you are serenaded by the live entertainment as you dine.  You can also call the live entertainment over to embarrass your friends (not a bad deal).  We were seated in the back room which was decorated with quirky Mexican art.  The noise level was also tolerable and you could actually speak to everyone at a table of 8 without having to scream.  Ninja star awarded.

Boo factor:
I would definitely say that the front of the restaurant is more conducive to a romantic evening on the town with your hunnie.  However, Las Palmas is really right up my alley in the date department.  It is low key, the food is fantastic, and you can order pitchers of margaritas (ONLY do this if you are already in a relationship, getting hammered (easy to do) off margaritas will not bode well on a first date).  Ninja star awarded.

Service:
Our waitress was very sweet and attentive.  We never knew whether she actually understood anything we said but we were fine with that.  Ninja star awarded.

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DD:
Two words: margarita pitchers!  Delicious margaritas served in really cool (albeit dorky) tiki style glasses.  I’ve read mixed reviews about the margaritas but ours were strong and the right mix of sweet and sour.  They also went down a little too quickly.  Ninja star awarded.

Pretty yummy:
Everything looked almost too good to eat.  ALMOST!

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Smell meter:
No stand outs, no star.

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 Harmony:
Just like everyone else these days, I’m obsessed with the avocado.  How can you blame me?  There are so few perfect foods that exist.  You can literally put avocado on anything (I’m convinced even ice cream) and it will shine.  Therefore, we had to start off with some Guacamole and chips for the table to share.  This guac did not disappoint and I had to consciously remind myself not to hog it all and be respectful of my friends at the table (ohhhh the restraint).

As for the main, I was stuck between two options but ultimately went with the La Casa Borracha which is pineapple and tequila soaked skirt steak on a stack of rum-cured plantains and papas fritas with manga pico de gallo.

The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was juicy.  The combination of the meat with the sweetness of the plaintains was my favorite part of the dish.  The potatoes didn’t do it for me and were very starchy and had a duller flavor profile compared to everything else on the plate.  I ate every single bite of this creative spin on meat and potatoes.  Ninja star awarded.

Overall yummy in my tummy:
Las Palmas is one of the better Mexican restaurants I’ve tried in the city and I can’t wait to go back and try some more of their innovative dishes.  Ninja star awarded.

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 factor:
Everyone was stuffed and was down for the count when it came to dessert.  Fortunately, we were there for a birthday and our waitress brought out a light strawberry custard dessert.  I was able to sneak a few bites and it was airy and the perfect way to end of the meal.  I definitely want to try the other desserts next time.  Ninja star awarded.

Las Palmas was a wonderful way to start off birthday festivities and I can’t wait to spend a few more hours throwing back some margaritas there again soon.  Las Palmas receives an 8/9 on the ninja star scale.

Till next time, peace out food ninjas!