I have been searching for authentic Mexican since I moved to Pittsburgh a year ago. La Palapa definitely delivers on many levels.
Atmosphere - great music and color decor! You walk in from Carson street and immediately transported into Mexico
Service - prompt, attentive, and ensures your table has everything you need.
Food - DELICIOUS. I came for brunch and we had Spinach Tomato Tamales, with tender rice, and flavorful pinto beans. The green sauce is tangy and full of layered roasted yumminess. My favorite is the bottle of "spicy" sauce the waiter brought us, it adds a really good kick!
I had the chicken chilaquiles with green sauce. It comes with lots of refried beans, chips, and fresh onions/cilantro. Also very good.
My FAVORITE though was a broth based tortilla soup. The chips were crunchy in the deep bodied hot soup. There were sweet tomatoes, onion, big chunks of garlic, and lots of cilantro. My favorite part was the poached egg. I've had a lot of tortilla soup (usually tomato based) so this was a new take that I haven't had before.
Overall an excellent experience and I recommend to anyone looking for something different.