Authentic Mexican Cuisine- Lake County Illinois ( and more)

[rating=3]Authentic Mexican food awaits your pleasure in Mundelein , as well as in their other locations in Westmont, Naperville and Harwood Heights, when you dine at Las Palmas! Tonight, we visited the Mundelein location on Route 83 just north of Route 60, very close to Diamond Lake. Diamond Lake is a bustling summer destination and this Las Palmas has lots of outdoor space for the warmer weather and for outdoor events ( weddings and Quincenaeros, for sure). The building itself is also designed for private parties and gatherings of 100 or so guests. FYI- they also have a special area where there are five machines available for the gamblers who are dining with you. Of course, we were there for the food!

On this occasion, we were joined by our friends Aleeda and Larry.  I am not a Margarita drinker, so we had to ask others about the selection and tastes- they appeared to be happy with their selections and I enjoyed a great martini ( very dry, vodka). For our appetizers we had guacamole (prepared at our table with the freshest of ingredients) and served with home-made crispy tortilla chips and a wonderful shrimp cocktail and an assortment of Quesadillas (steak, chicken and cheese). I did see an amazing Burrito Bowl being delivered to the table next to ours and decided, “next time”! Family owned and operated, each member of their staff treats you as if you were a guest in their home. A warm feeling, to be sure.

For our entrees we selected the Flautas: crispy rolled corn tortillas stuffed with seasaoned ground beef and chicken (three come in an order-we mixed them up), all served with guacamole, sour cream, a sprinkle of cheese and of course Mexican rice and refried beans (there is an option of black beans, but we loved the refried). We also had  a Bistec Tampiquena (grilled tender skirt steak) that was juicy and very tender along with Fajitas: steak, chicken and the Parrillada ( steak, chicken, chorizo, pork cactus and veggies) delicious with just a little “kick” to it! The Al Pastor ( our pork dish) was three soft flour tortillas (or one could have crispy) served again with Mexican rice and refried beans.

The menu is humongous and filled with so many delightful choices, one cannot control the dining emotions. The beauty is that this is a family friendly restaurant, priced as affordable as one will find for food of this nature and quality, so coming to Las Palmas often is not a hardship. In fact, one might find this a place to visit weekly and still take a while to cover the entire menu. By the way, for the kids, they do have a selected menu of non-Mexican foods. Fish lovers will also find a great selection as will the steak “purist”. They have it all, and then, there was dessert- We shared the Flan ( Mexican Custard) and the Platanos con Crema ( fried Mexican bananas/plantains with sweet honey cinnamon cream on the side-delicious!. They also have Fried Ice Cream and Pastel de Queso (cheesecake) and Sopapillas-light chips topped with honey, cinnamon sugar and whipped cream ( since we just completed a great diet program, we opted to keep it easy with the Flan and bananas. We were all sated and satisfied with our selections.

Las Palmas is located at 26228 N. Illinois Route 83 in Mundelein and is open 7 days a week

Sunday-Thursday  11 a.m.- 10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m.

Reservations are accepted by calling 847-393-7088     Catering and  banquet rooms are available for birthdays, graduations, office parties, weddings, quinceaneros, other life cycle events.

Plenty of free parking available and as I said before, this is a family-friendly restaurant! Sunday is Mariachi night! So bring the family and have an affordable and tasty “Fiesta”.

other locations are in Westmont, at 311 Ogden Avenue

Naperville at 1255 E. Ogden Avenue

Hardwood Heights at 6815 West Montrose (just East of Harlem Avenue)

www.laspalmasofillinois.com