When Baja Fresh and Rubio’s opened across the land many years ago, I was wondering how long it would take before some smart entrepreneur decided to take the concept and go independent. Apparently, it took a very long time, but it did happen. At least in Phoenix.

I had seen Las Palapas Taco Grill in its early stages back in the summer of 2006. In the corner of a mini strip mall within the strip mall at 38th Street and Thomas in East Phoenix, I saw the taco joint in grand opening glory as I departed a lackluster lunch at the hot dog joint just a door or two down the mall. It looked interesting enough and, as a native Arizonan, I never turn down a chance to try tacos, but I didn’t get around to heading to Las Palapas until recently.

Arriving during the lunch hour, the place was doing a quiet business. The setup inside was fairly similar to the set up at the Rubio’s at 44th Street and Indian School Road. I walked up to the counter, waited in line, took inventory of the menu and placed my order. I liked the various options that were on the menu that was mounted behind the woman taking my order. A mix of tacos, quesadillas and other items were exactly what I was looking for in a quick Mexican lunch.

After a few moments, I decided to get the Las Palapas Combo ($6.95) which included my choice of three tacos, a serving of chips, my choice of rice or beans and a medium drink. I asked the cashier for a recommendation between the rice and the beans and she said the beans would go well with the chips. I took her recommendation and also selected my tacos: one carne asada, one pollo asado and one al pastor. I also ordered a Bacon Quesadilla ($1.89) because I love bacon and it sounded like it might be a great add-in for a quesadilla.

The cashier rang up my bill and the total was $9.56 including tax. I handed her a $20.00 which she put in the register and then abruptly turned around to the kitchen, grabbed a tray of food and raced it to a table of waiting patrons. She then went over to another section of the counter and began wiping down trays. I had to walk over to her and ask her for my change, my receipt, and the number I would put on my table so they would know who to deliver my food to. She stared at me for a few moments and then walked back to the register. “Didn’t you pay with a credit card?” she asked. I assured her I didn’t, noting the $20 bill I handed her. She printed off the receipt and saw that it said I paid in cash, retrieved my change and then handed me a number on a tall metal holder to set on my table.

Now that I had received my $10.44 in change, I could get my drink and find a table. The interior wasn’t anything special as most of the decorations were advertisements for beer and for the days when the place was running taco or beer specials. One side of the interior had a soda fountain where you could fill your cup as much as you wanted and included plenty of Pepsi products (insert muffled sobs here) and, as I recall, a fountain tap for horchata. I would never be comfortable getting horchata out of a soda fountain spigot, so I went with iced tea.

I then ventured over to the salsa bar that featured four salsas or sauces and pans of chopped cilantro and onions as well as some lime wedges. I filled my plastic cups with one mild salsa, one medium hot sauce and one hot sauce that was supposed to be very spicy. I also filled a cup with onions and one with cilantro before staking out a table near the open kitchen.

I only had to wait a few moments before my Bacon Quesadilla arrived. A large paper-lined basket played host to my quesadilla and it didn’t do it any favors. With the big basket, the quesadilla looked puny. In addition, the quesadilla sat in the basket like a limp rag and looked more like a sad omelet than a quesadilla. I could tell by just looking at this that it wasn’t going to be crisp on any level and worried that it had been a tortilla filled with cheese and bacon and then placed in a microwave. I tore off a piece and tried it. It was exceptionally boring. The cheese was bland and the bacon had been minced so finely that I could barely taste it. Even adding some of the sauce and salsa didn’t save this.

I had just finished the quesadilla when my combo arrived. It was smartly presented in the same type of basket as the quesadilla with the tacos lined up on one side and the chips on the other side. The beans were in a small Styrofoam cup with a plastic spoon sticking out of them. Before treating the tacos with sauce or salsa, I took a taste of each of them. The al pastor taco was bland. Even with the addition of onion and cilantro and with the shredded cabbage that had already been included in the taco, this was completely forgettable.

The carne asada taco wasn’t much better. I couldn’t understand why the meat was so dry and had such little flavor. Only the addition of some of the mild salsa brought it to some life, but it still was a terrible disappointment. The only redeeming filling was the chicken in the pollo asado which was moist and had a slightly sweet edge. It had already been dressed with some onions and cilantro and the mix was decent. It certainly was the standout of the three. Even trying the various sauces and toppings on the tacos did little good to save the beef items. As for the tortillas, I found them to be rather gummy and uninteresting.

I turned my attention to the chips. Nothing outstanding here, but they were okay. Crisp and not greasy, I had no complaints about them other than the kitchen could have used a lighter hand on the salt. The beans had a good flavor but the consistency was more like soup than refried beans. I remembered the recommendation of the cashier that I should try the chips with the beans. Ah, okay. That made a big difference and the result was the best thing on the table.

The only sauce or salsa that I could have recommended was the mild chunky salsa with its fresh vegetables and tangy undertones. The medium hot sauce was oddly sweet and reminded me of Liquid Smoke. The “very hot” sauce was certainly hot in spice, but anything resembling a taste had been sacrificed.

I departed Las Palapas and headed to my car to run errands. The final verdict on Las Palapas Taco Grill was sheer disappointment. Within a one mile radius, I could have gone to Rubio’s or Don Jose’s or a myriad of Mexican restaurants that were much better than Las Palapas. The price was a fair value, but the service was vacant.

Las Palapas could have been a great independent competitor to the likes of Baja Fresh or Rubio’s.

Instead, it was just another wannabe David that probably will get squished by several Goliaths.

Las Palapas Taco Grill
3923 East Thomas Road
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Dress: Casual
Hours: Monday through Thursday – 10 AM to 10 PM; Sunday – 11 AM to 10 PM
Alcohol: Beer and Margarita service
Notes: Located in the same building complex as Panda Express. A second location is in Yuma.
Website: http://www.laspalapastacogrill.com/