La Palapa

La Palapa
3820 Broad St., San Luis Obispo
805-541-2700

I love Mexican food. San Luis Obispo has decent (but still far from excellent,) taco shops (and even better taco trucks, at the Sunday morning swap meet!) For Sopes or Mole enchiladas, Chile Peppers is the place to go. For Lengua tacos, definitely Tacos de Acapulco. Mariscos frescos, other seafood and occasionally goat tacos at the little stand on Santa Rosa street, near the corner with Foothill.

There is a new addition near the winery that bears mention. La Palapa opened recently in Marigold Center, and is a convienient place to eat. The service is cheerful, but inexpert. You need to be a bit assertive here if you are in a hurry - they almost never drop the check on your table until you physically flag them down and request it. I have taken to going up to the register at the exit, and standing there with my wallet open. That seems to expedite things.

Try the Sopa de Pozole. It is served complete with an array of spicy sauces, dry peppers, herbs, onions, lime and cilantro, so you can bring it up to the flavor that you prefer. The Chile Verde is the best that I have had around here, bright, tangy, and flavorful - they include lots of tomatillas and sliced Nopales (cactus paddles) in the recipe, which I have not seen elsewhere locally.

This is really good food, especially for a warm up on a cold, rainy winter day!