La Paz: Keeping the Culinary Faith at 15
950 Gulf Shore Drive, Destin, (850) 837-2247

Hours: Open daily for lunch, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., dinner at 5 p.m.
Reservations: Accepted
Children’s Menu: Yes
Major credit cards
Dress: Casual

By Bruce Collier
November 27, 2008 Issue


The Beachcomber last visited La Paz in summer of 2007. In that review, I noted that the service was a little slack at times, and graded them down a bit on it. That problem has been solved, which I'm glad to report, because I really love the food at LaPaz and have since the 90s, when I first started going there for lunch. This review is of a weeknight dinner.

La Paz is divided into two dining rooms, front and back, and a large bar/lounge off to the right of the entrance lobby. The walls are painted in reds and yellows, evocative of the Southwest, and are hung with landscapes and artistic portrayals of the region's food and drink. The atmosphere is slightly dim, and cool. Upon seating, one is brought a basket of warm, multi-colored corn chips, and two bowls of salsa, one red, one green. The red is slightly hot, but has a deep, almost fruity tomato flavor. The green (my personal favorite) is full of tomatillos, onions and garlic, and is less spicy.

La Paz offers appetizers, soups, and salads. Main courses feature Gulf seafood prepared various ways, fajitas, combos, chilis rellenos, tamales, burritos, enchiladas, tacos, meal-sized nacho plates, and quesadillas. Daily specials are printed on a board at the entrance, and your server will also let you know about them. La Paz also offers a selection of margaritas (including specials of the day) Mexican beer (ideal with the food) and mixed drinks.

My friend and I decided to split an appetizer, "La Poppers." These are a favorite starter of mine—jalapeno peppers stuffed with creamy cheese and deep-fried. They come with a sweet-and-sour orange cilantro dip, and should be handled carefully. The molten cheese inside has a tendency to burst forth generously. A knife and fork are helpful and much easier on the lips, especially for those of us who play brass instruments. One order is plenty for two, and they make a perfect bar snack with beer or a margarita.

Other appetizers are queso dip, guacamole, tortilla soup, a melted jack cheese and pico de gallo dip, vegetarian black bean soup, and a sampler. I have tried them all on various occasions, and there's not a loser in the bunch.

My friend wanted a little variety, so she got a three-way quesadilla, featuring grilled steak, chicken and shrimp. I ordered one of the night's specials, a crab enchilada with black beans, rice and fresh mango salsa. As with everything at La Paz, servings were generous. The quesadillas were stuffed full of savory proteins and cheese, and came with a mound of fresh pico de gallo and sour cream. The two enchiladas were likewise full of crabmeat, and the fresh mango was a sweet and cool counterpoint to the richness of the shellfish and cheese.

Other main courses offer pretty much any Mexican/Southwestern combination of beef, pork, chicken, fresh fish, shrimp, and crab, generally grilled. There are standouts, but all are worth your dining dollar. La Paz offers an excellent pork tamale (which I usually get, but didn't this time for the sake of variety), cheese-stuffed poblano chile, chicken, artichoke heart and spinach tamales, Santa Fe blue corn tortillas with chicken, San Antonio red tortillas with steak, beef, chicken or spinach burritos, grilled fish tacos, shrimp tacos with tamarind barbecue sauce, a California quesadilla with spinach, shrimp grilled with lime and tequila, and a catch of the day topped with sautÈed garlic and mushrooms. They also do the fajita thing, you know, the restaurant cabaret act entailing a sizzling metal plate, warnings, and oohs-and-ahhs. There's nothing like an edible floor show.

La Paz has desserts, and we split one. There's generally a pie, fried ice cream, and flan, though this may vary daily. The flan was available, so we got that. It had been a while since I last had flan, and I was glad to see that La Paz still has one of the best hereabouts. It is served simply, with a sweet burnt-sugar sauce, and two mounds of respectable whipped cream. At this point one was more than enough for the two of us. It's creamy, light, and a cool ending to a feast.

La Paz has been in the same place for 15 years now, and many of the items served have been on the menu all that time. Likewise the red and green salsa, offering instant gratification for the incoming diner. And that's just the beginning.

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