If the employees at a restaurant seem to be enjoying themselves, chances are you will enjoy the experience as well.
That seems to be the case at La Palmera in Mill Creek, a family Mexican restaurant and cantina that has called Mill Creek Town Center home since 2004.
A host quickly greeted a college buddy and I when we walked in for lunch, and seated us in a booth in the back of the second-floor restaurant.
Our server brought fresh-baked corn tortilla chips and smooth, spicy salsa that is made on the premises daily.
I ordered the pollo asado ($8.50), grilled chicken with rice and beans, that came with sour cream and sauteed onions on top and flour tortillas on the side. The chicken breast was tender and juicy.
My friend strayed a bit more from conventional fare with the chorizo con huevos ($6.50) pork sausage with eggs, that came with rice and beans and corn tortillas. The tasty, crumbly chorizo was nice and spicy, and seemed to be a favorite of the wait staff. Both items are listed on the lunch special menu which is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The menu also includes large-sized portion chicken ($14.25) and seafood dishes ($15.95) and fajitas ($10.25 for vegetarian to $15.95 for prawns). Other standards such as chimichangas, tostadas, soups, super nachos, enchiladas, burritos and tacos are also available. Small combination dinners start at $8.25 and large combinations start at $10.25.
The dishes are made from scratch daily and cooked in vegetable oil only. The guacamole is also made fresh daily.
A lemonade or large soft drink is $1.95 with free refills from attentive servers.
During our meal, a party at a neighboring table was celebrating a birthday and the wait staff came out to sing happy birthday in Spanish and English.
The cantina-style decor features palm trees carved in the wood backing with ceramic pottery light fixtures above the tables.
If you feel the need to imbibe, the cantina features more than 150 kinds of tequila, 47 margarita flavors, 10 beers on tap, mixed drinks, some wine selections and sangeria. A huge flat screen television in the bar gives visitors the chance to tune into soccer matches and other sporting events or programs. Smaller screens are above the bar.
The bar also features a mariachi band on Wednesday nights.
La Palmera has another location on Highway 99 in Everett which opened in 1991. It has had a Mill Creek restaurant since 1999, moving into the much larger Town Center space to accommodate more customers.
Dining Out is a weekly column profiling a local restaurant selected by a staff writer. Writers accept no invitations, but readers’ suggestions are always welcome. Writers arrive unannounced, and The Enterprise pays their tabs.
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