La Palapa

Greetings to my followers who haven't forgotten my blog despite my haitus of nearly one month! I apologize for the much overdue post, but I've been busy with the upcoming opening of our new dog boutique, and more importantly, I just haven't been inspired by any restaurants lately (that is, until now). I've dined at La Palapa twice this week because it is a perfect Frugal Foodie spot. This Mexican seafood restaurant offers incredibly fresh underwater fare at incredibly affordable prices. Yay!

I insist that you start with a Modelo Especial served michelada style, or 'preparado' ($4). This is a light Mexican beer laced with hot sauce and fresh lime juice, served ice cold in a massive salt rimmed goblet. Sounds strange, I know, but once you try it you'll be hooked. Ian and I actually had a similar drink served to us in a plastic cup at the HUGE Broadacres swap meet on the north end LVB, which I also recommend for delicious cheap eats, but this is the first time (and certainly not the last) I've had it in a restaurant.

Then, you should order the fish taco ($3). This was primarily desirable to me because of the price, but once it came to the table I knew I wouldn't be let down. It needed a shot of acidity (may I recommend their house salsa, a dash of Tapatio, and a squeeze of lemon?) but the beer battered fish was hot, crispy, and oh so good.

The entree of shrimp served "a la palapa" (I love saying their name, try it!) came to the table looking one note and blonde, and not in the appealing sort of way men like. I was amazed, however, after taking the first bite of snappy, sweet shrimp. It was flavored with bay leaves and some sort of dried pepper, and tasted fantastic, especially when bundled up in a warm tortilla with their great refried beans and rice.

I also very much enjoyed the combination tostada of octopus (pulpo) and shrimp (camaron) ($3.75). There aren't many places outside of the Mediterranean you can get great octopus (my screen saver is a picture of the cephalopod dish we had on our cruise last year), but this was fantastic considering our desert surroundings. It was tender, yet firm, and very fresh. In fact, none of the seafood I've had here has been anything but fresh, so if you like offerings of the sea but don't want to drown in debt, La Palapa should be on your 'must visit' restaurant list (I'm not the only one who has one of those, right?).

PS. Do you like flan? Then don't pass on dessert. La Palapa's version is as creamy as cheesecake. I'm generally a poster child for self-restraint when it comes to over-indulging in foods that are very bad for you (I'm part foodie, part health nut), but I can only attribute that to my strict evaluation of whether or not something is worth the calories. The flan here most certainly is, so I left only a token bite.

La Palapa

1515 N. Eastern

Las Vegas, NV 89101

(702) 642-0699