A dinner date requires a certain amount of élan and thoughtfulness even when one's wallet is, sadly, leaner than usual. Fast-food joints are out, unless one cares absolutely nothing about making a good impression. Full-service restaurants are more impressive, but prices are higher. The idea of a no-frills dinner that's also loaded with charm and good food is what makes Lisa and Bernardino Lara's unpretentious restaurant and market, Tienda Casa Paloma, so appealing. It's nothing fancy, but the cozy booths, upholstered in vivid turquoise leatherette, are just intimate enough for those awkward, getting-to-know-you conversations. Bernardino Lara's excellent marinated pork carnitas, his shredded pork in salsa verde, his slow-cooked chicken in a nutty pumpkin-seed sauce, his luscious enchiladas — they're all priced under $10, leaving plenty of dough left over for a couple of frosty cervezas and a creamy tres leches cake to share.
