A gargantuan portion of carnitas, onions, tomatoes and cilantro fills two corn tortillas. Then some of the pan juices are added back to the shredded meat and it goes into a very hot oven for a short blast of heat that produces crisp and caramelized textures along with the super-soft textures of the pulled pork. The meat can be cubed or pulled apart into shreds ? as here. At that time, the collagen in the meat has disintegrated and the meat juices have separated from the fibers. A pork shoulder is roasted in a very slow oven for eight to 12 hours. Carnitas is a delicious and interesting way to cook pork. At Casa, the Taco and Tamale Combo Plate ($12.95 ***) paid off with one carnitas taco and a tamale stuffed with chicken. You choose either corn or flour tortillas to accompany the big plate of food.Ĭombination plates are popular at all Mexican restaurants. These thinly sliced beef strips are grilled to a rich flavor and served with the aforementioned sides that include sour cream. Lovers of Beef Fajitas ($16.95 ***) will immediately recognize the tender quality of the beef ? not something one always finds at Mexican restaurants, where the cut of beef can be tough and chewy. Strangely, the pico de gallo, which is usually hot at most Mexican places, is mild compared to the super hot deviled shrimp. With it comes the sides that accompany most of the plates at Casa del Mar: refried beans, rice, guacamole and pico de gallo. This is a house specialty plate of shrimp, onions, peppers and mushrooms stir-fried in a very spicy sauce. A fish taco is $3.95, a cheese quesadilla plate is $9.95, and a bowl of chicken soup is $11.95.ĭinner starts with a fiery bang when Camarones a la Diabla ($16.95 ***) arrive. As well you should, because the prices are not modest. The food is not Mexican home cooking, but is straight-ahead Mexican restaurant food with one great virtue: you get lots of it. The re-do took almost a year, and the refurbished Casa del Mar opened in May.ĭespite its elaborate graphics, there?s nothing innovative about the menu. Outside the many large plate-glass windows is about an acre of unused open space, much as it was when the building was La Strada, an Italian restaurant and nightclub. Somebody spent a lot of time producing the menu, a full-color beauty with photos of many of the dishes offered floating on a background of blue sky, palm trees and blue-green sea ? just as you?d find at a Mexican resort. Tequila is also at the heart of many of the mixed drinks on the menu, including Ojos Azules, a mixture of tequila, lime juice, sweet and sour syrup, and Blue Curacao, which goes for $8.75. The latter is an anejo (aged) tequila with a distinct scent and flavor of blue agave along with vanilla oak and tropical spice. They range in price from $6 for a shot of Jose Cuervo to $17 for the Don Julio 1942. The bar features a dispenser for Jose Cuervo and Patron?s Silver and Reposado bottlings plus 37 tequilas by the caballito, or tall shot glass used to serve this drink. You will find friendly and helpful staff at the door, behind the bar, and working the dining room floor. While it?s party time at the Casa, you won?t find some of the more egregious offenses perpetrated on tourists at actual Mexican resorts, such as the waiter detailed to pulling tourists? heads back and pouring tequila into their mouths. Sunday is for the gay and lesbian communities. On Thursday nights, the theme is hip-hop. The place is very roomy, and one of the rooms is a nightclub on Thursdays through Sundays, with a little something for everyone. Popular Mexican music plays on the sound system. The attractive young waitresses have Mexican accents. Casa del Mar, the new Mexican restaurant at the corner of Stony Point and Todd roads, has morphed into the kind of place you?d find at resorts in Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |