Columbus Foodie

La Casita is one of those places that I’ve been to tons of times, but have never really sat down and written a review of. It’s our regular “go to” place for Mexican in Columbus, with some unique dishes that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. So, wanting to make it official, I coaxed my mother and her boyfriend to join us for an evening of tasty Mexican food this past weekend.

Almost all Mexican restaurants in town provide you with gratis chips and salsa, but La Casita’s is among the best I’ve had. The chips are still warm out of the fryer, and the salsa is a perfect balance of sweet, tart, spicy and salty. It is so good that I order some extra “to go” to munch on at home later. At $3 for a large cup (and a bag of tortilla chips), it beats the pants off of anything you can buy in the grocery store.

Their drinks are extremely large - this pina colada ($5.50) was easily enough for 2 people to share. However, I would happily trade in some of the quantity for more quantity of rum - I couldn’t taste it at all in this drink.

For an entree, I went with my favorite - the fish tacos ($8.95 for three, or $2.95 each). Full of well-seasoned mild fish on corn tortillas, these are fantastic with a little lime juice squeezed on. I recommend asking for some avocado slices on the side, as these go from great to sublime with that addition. Served with the fish tacos is a “macho sauce”, which I’ve never tried but which my husband says is really spicy.

Rice and refried beans come with the fish tacos. These are typical Mexican restaurant fare, nothing spectacular but nothing bad - in the case of the fish tacos, they’re an afterthought - the density of the fish tacos filled me up, and I just picked at the rice and beans.

My husband, who also got the fish tacos, opted for the Mexican Potatoes as a side instead of the rice.

He also ordered the Tostada de Ceviche ($2.95), two scoops of of a citrusy white fish (which cooks in the lime juice) on top of a crisply fried corn tortilla. He scarfed it before I could get a picture, and liked well enough that he went back the next day to get it for lunch (unfortunately for him, they only serve it at dinner time).

We passed on dessert, but our dining companions shared an order of the Pastel des Tres Leches cake ($4.50). They both agreed that the quantity was huge enough to share, and that the creaminess and sweetness was both addictive and overwhelming. Again, no picture as it was eaten before I had the opportunity.

Now, about those unique dishes - they serve something called Birria ($7.95 for a large, or $5.25 for a small), which is a spicy Mexican beef stew. Typically served with corn tortillas, lime, onions, and cilantro, it’s something that we take home with us each time we go there, so that we can prepare it the next day and mix it with rice. Fan-friggin-tastic, and is a great lunch for two.

If you’re craving consistently good Mexican, great service, with a menu that strays from the usual, La Casita is the place for you. Keep in mind, though - it’s not a well kept secret; the place is consistently packed so you may want to call ahead.

If you’d like to go: La Casita, 1355 Bethel Road, Columbus (Northwest Side), 614.457.0823

Just a quick post about today’s lunch - this past weekend, we went to Carfagna’s, and stocked up on a bunch of Italian meats and cheese from the deli - hot and sweet Calabrese Sopressata, Mortadella, Hot Cappicola, etc. I finally got around to making the sandwiches today, moreso as an afterthought rather than something that was pre-planned. When going through the fridge, I found some fresh mozzarella with a drop dead date of tomorrow, and a container of grape tomatoes that needed to be used, and this dish came together as a natural result of wanting nothing in the fridge to go to waste. I give you, my version of an Italian Meats Panini and Caprese Salad on the side.

The panini is simple to make - no real recipe. I just took two slices of deli Italian bread, slathered each one with pizza sauce, put two slices of provolone on each piece of bread, and a layer each of the meats mentioned above. Grill on the panini press until browned and cheese is melted.

The Caprese Salad came together quite nicely, actually. Just toss together a container of mozzarella (I cut it into smaller pieces) with a container of grape tomatoes (cut in half), drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, about a tablespoon or so of really good balsamic vinegar (I used my favorite Acetaia Malpighi Saporoso), some fresh basil sliced into ribbons, and enough Fleur de Sel (or other coarse sea salt) to taste. Toss together, and serve. Easy and delicious.

And for dessert?

An ice cold navel orange, cut into wedges. For all the bitching I do about winter and how cold it’s been here, I have to say, there are some things about winter (like citrus fruit) that I truly enjoy and wouldn’t want to miss out on. And as simple as this meal was, it was one of the most satisfying I’ve had in ages.