We don’t get to Casa as often was we once did. They are so busy and as often happens, success breeds comfort to some degree. The food is still good. The guys are still nice, but the drive that built the place has paled to some degree. You can almost always count on a basket of warm chips, fresh salsa and salty queso. I’m still into the el Tapatio with the mixture of warmly spiced and greasy chorizo mixed with grilled chicken. Steph varies her order, less successfully today. The crazy chicken (pollo loco) is a wide and thin piece of bird which looks so good, promising caramelized layers of murky spiciness. It doesn’t really deliver and the chicken itself has an off putting mealiness texturally.  The margheritas are delicious and will hurt you. There is still a lot to enjoy about the place but it tops the list for dinner less often than it used to.
 

We call it Casa del Denny’s because it used to be a Denny’s before they closed due to being racist. No kidding. Now to be clear, I am admitting this up front. About this place I have a tremendous bias. I have no financial nor culinary stake in this organization but I am invested, so take this for what it is worth. Not since working at the Grand Canyon, have I enjoyed Mexican food to this extent. Granted in Arizona, the food was being prepared in a four diamond kitchen by a Mexican woman just looking to use some ingredients rather than bin them. I will always remember Maria and what she was able to create with leftovers less than a day from garbage. Most will never know, unless you are of course Mexican and in the home of a fabulous cook.

Granted Casa does not quite meet the Maria standards, they are more concerned with appeasing American palates and expectations. This they accomplish with an uncompromising consistency which has endeared them to me over a period of years. Our first venture there was due to proximity to our home, compared to the only local Mexican cuisine not sold under a large (I’m assuming fake) bell. We had fallen in love with a restaurant in Akron, but the hours in line after driving 30 minutes made us try something new. We have not returned to the original locale. Casa’s food, beverage, and service have made it our second home.
 

First the food, we all know the joke, Mexican food is comprised of four ingredients in two thousand different combinations. Who cares, they know how to put them together at Casa. Staring with the chips and salsa, warm crispy chips and a fresh amalgam of tomato, garlic, onion, cilantro and who knows what, you know you are in for a good time. If they take the time to make this so tasty what do they do with the rest of the menu? BTW the little bowl of uber-salty white cheese dip is the perfect way to turn MMMmmmnnn into Damnnnnnnn!

I have tried so many things on the menu, and can honestly say, if you order things that you don’t detest, I would be surprised if you were disappointed. Super personal favorites include the quesadilla grande mixed chicken and beef, the fajita salad when I am feeling like pretending I’m on a diet (Ooohhhhh…the crispy bowl), and any of the fajita’s in general, particularly the house version. Then there is the overall favorite, the El Tapitio. Number 40 on your menu, which is comprised of Mexican rice, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lemon alongside soft tortillas and the culinary gold, chicken and chorizo sausage. The spicy greasiness of the sausage married with the other ingredients to your own specifications make for the tastiest soft taco you will find in any restaurant.
 

Smokin' Chipotle Chicken...Bacon and Pain!
 

Who was the First Person to Fry Ice cream???