Having just moved to a new neighborhood, I decided to check out the nearby restaurants. On a friend's suggestion, we tried the Las Palomas Mexican Cafe on N. Meridian just south of NW 23rd.

Most of the time, when I go to a Mexican restaurant, I over-indulge on the free chips & queso. This time, our food came out so quickly that I didn't have time to do that. They weren't very busy, so I don't know if they're always that fast, but I was still impressed.

I got the cheese enchiladas. The cheese was more white than yellow (as was the aforementioned queso), which makes me think that it was Monterrey Jack instead of cheddar. It gave the enchilada a different flavor than I was used to, but it was still very good.

The only thing I was disappointed by was the side dish offerings. At a time when many Mexican restaurants offer a potato or corn dish along with the standard rice and beans, Las Palomas is not among them. Not being a fan of rice, I end up with a double order of beans. Not bad, but I prefer having more choices.

When our waiter brought out our sopapillas, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bottle of honey was warmed. It was a nice touch to top off a very pleasant dinner. We both left full (but not stuffed) and only a little over $20 lighter.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 9. Now that I live nearby, it will definitely be a regular haunt.

It could have been Queso Quesadilla - which is a mild white mexican cheese

I like Las Palomas. I need to stop back in when we're in town in June.

I haven't been there in ages. Loved it when I did go.

I went there for the first time back in March and was very pleased. I reminded me a lot of Los Pericos on 63rd and Meridian with a better ambience. Both of those restaurants have a complete vegetarian section to their menus which makes me happy.