Secret-recipe tacos at Palma’s Restaurant on Starr and Wyckoff.
I knew that getting an interview at Palma’s restaurant wasn’t going to be easy. It took some serious convincing on the part of my boyfriend to get me to even try the place a year ago, but ever since I’ve been a fan and I figured it was time to share my secret with everybody else.
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Located on the corner of Starr and Wyckoff, just outside the Jefferson L stop, Palma’s always seemed like too much of a boys club for me. The majority of the clientele are men who live in the area and come in after work for beers, tacos and a few games of pool. The fact that almost everyone speaks Spanish, a language I know just enough of to cause trouble, didn’t help, but sometimes to get great food we have to step out of our comfort zones and work.
Now let me tell you what you’re working for. While Palma’s serves everything from breakfast to fruit shakes, my hands down favorite is the chicken taco. The chicken inside is golden brown like it’s been dusted with flour and pan fried. The vegetables on top are the tomato-onion-cilantro basics, but they are fresh and that final squirt of crema just pushes the whole corn tortillaed masterpiece over the edge. The meat inside of the beef tacos is tender, not chewy, and the tostones (double-fried green plantains) are crisp and tasty with salsa verde on top.
Keeping all this in mind, I stepped into Palma’s on Saturday night to get more info. Vicente, the owner, speaks little English so he recruited Julian, a restaurant regular, to do the translating. It took me a while to convince them that I wasn’t running some kind of scam, but after a few minutes I learned that Vicente moved to the States from El Salvador twelve years ago and it’s actually his Mexican wife Sonia who cooks and provides all the recipes. Vicente was kind of a shy guy so I didn’t get much info out of him, but Julian and the other regulars were happy to jump into my photos.
With Los Hermanos just a block away you may be tempted to pass Palma’s by, but believe me — you’ll be leaving a lot of flavor behind. Every time I’ve been to Palma’s I’ve felt a little out of place, but welcome. If you’re feeling intimidated, go during the day when the crowd is thinner. Or go in with a friend some night, take a seat and grab a Corona. The food is worth the initial discomfort and by the time you leave you’ll feel like you’ve got a neighborhood secret that has yet to be discovered.
Palma’s Restaurant
247 Starr St | 718-386-3861
Price: Tacos $2 Other: $2-$12
Hours: Sun-Wed 7am-1am | Thu-Sat 7am-4am
Delivery Zone: 5 block radius, but they can be convinced to go further for bigger orders
Lizzie February 5th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I live right around the corner from this place, and have always felt the same as you (being a young, white girl who knows very little Spanish), so it’s really nice to hear that the place is welcoming to newcomers! The place has always seemed to dark and uninviting, that even when I was dating a guy who spoke fluent Spanish, we both felt the same hesitation to venture into this restaurant, but your review might have just pushed me over the edge! How easy would it be to grab the pool table? Are there usually regulars on it?
Thanks for the inside advice!
Anne February 5th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
My boyfriend went to Palma’s with a friend of his about two years ago, and they wanted in asking to see a menu. They were given a menu. They decided what they wanted, and asked the woman behind the counter. She replied they “didn’t have that.” OK, so they try something else. Same answer. And again, and again, and again, until it became clear they weren’t interested in serving two blanquitos.
Tony T February 6th, 2009 at 4:50 am
This used to be a coffee shop when Nixon was in the White house. I used to wash dishes there for quarters and free milk shakes. Anne, I’m really surprised to hear about the reverse discrimination experience your BF had there. I’ve been away from Bushwick for over two decades, but I remember Mexicans being quite friendly to most people. Strange.
Brian H February 6th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
This place is terrible. I have been waiting for them to close their doors and have someone else open up there. I feel it’s the definitive location on that block given you step out of the subway and it’s right there. A bar would be great, hell anything else.
pierogieconpollo February 6th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
agreed, brian h. the food quality at palma’s is terrible, though the tacos in the photo look tasty.
it’s been a year or two since i last made the mistake of going there, but i remember the service being pretty indifferent, didn’t matter if i was speaking english or spanish (guess a gringa is a gringa?). anyways, EVERY OTHER mexican restaurant in this area is 1) tastier and 2) has really nice, welcoming people running the joint. so go there! and when palma’s closes… don’t blame gentrification… blame their suckage. note all of the other mexican/south american restaurants opening/remodeling on wyckoff around dekalb.
Kiki February 6th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Anne as a Latina, let me tell you, it’s not that you’re white. They just don’t have everything on the menu. Not common in the states, but it is south of texas. I’ve been told the same plenty of times… in Spanish (my first language.)
duder February 8th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I got kinda sick eating a taco there I recall, as have some other people I know.
Peter March 27th, 2009 at 11:55 am
im still curious as to why the menu taped to their window features “penis pasta”, and if anyone has had it there before ;)
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2001/2048921446_974bd0c0a9.jpg
Adrienne March 28th, 2009 at 11:04 am
hahaha, I must say the Penis Pasta is delightful
HB May 7th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Haha, when you see pene pasta on the menu, then you can run.
I’ve eaten here plenty times and always enjoyed it. There can be a language barrier if asking for anything special. Last time we spent hours drinking Modelo and ate lunch and dinner there. Although I was with two people that spoke Spanish, everybody understands the language of Modelo.
I would be disappointed to see this leave the neighborhood. I’ve been living here for about four years now. When I moved in there was a crack house on my block. I was happy to see that go. However, I don’t want to see all the local business owners shut down because us kids want another Northeast Kingdom on the block. I’m sure it’s inevitable, but let’s just take it a little slower and enjoy things for a little while.