by Stacey Kuhns
This past weekend, I had a craving for taquitos. We were in Escondido and needed a dog friendly Mexican restaurant. We have driven by Rancho de las Palmas restaurant many times but had never tried it. Las Palmas is located at 507 W. Washington Avenue, Escondido (but is close to the corner of Centre City Parkway and Washington).
The actual front of the restaurant is situated, although set back a bit, on Centre City Parkway. They are opened Monday - Thursday from 10am to 10pm, Friday from 8am to 12am, and Saturday and Sunday from 8am-10pm.
They have a large dog-friendly outdoor patio, a large eat-in area with booths, and a private room for rent. When we were there, it was packed (about 6pm on Saturday). There is a lot of parking but I would recommend going earlier to avoid the crowds.
There was also a wedding happening in the private room and a party of about 30 people on the patio. Luckily, we found a table for two on the patio. They do come outside to take your order so no need to stand in any lines.
The menu is extensive. They have at least 4 different kinds of soup, aztec specialties with nopales, Mexican beers, wine, smoothies, Mexican drinks, and even molcajete bowls (which I have only seen at a specialty Mexican restaurant in Long Beach).
Further, they have a large assortment of seafood dishes, which I will try next time. The prices are very reasonable and well worth the amount of food you get - Come hungry!
Our waitress was so friendly and even though the menu said "no substitutions" she had no problem with our customized orders. One thing to note, the plates of food are huge. We split the taquitos as an appetizer but that would have been plenty for dinner. I could not even come close to finishing the taco/enchilada plate I ordered for dinner. The taquitos were delicious! I ordered them with cheese and lettuce on top and they were some of the best I have had. My boyfriend loved his chimichanga plate. I thought the rice was just ok, but he loved his. My cheese enchilada was good, but very cheesy and just too much for me to eat.
We had a relaxing time just sitting on the patio, although with the warm weather you do have to deal with some flies. A group of kids from the wedding came out and were hanging out with us and the dog, so that was fun. My boyfriend had to go inside to get the check and pay as it seemed they forgot about us with all the parties going on, but I would definitely go there again. I just would not order so much.
