In one of my favorite "Simpsons" episodes, Moe is trying to impress his date at a fancy restaurant: "Bring us your finest food stuffed with your second finest," he orders. The waiter pauses a beat, then says, "Very good, sir. Lobster stuffed with tacos." Eating at Casa -- an Asian and Mexican fusion restaurant recently opened in the old Club 210 on Muldoon Road -- is a little bit like that: incongruous but amusing.
What the two cuisines share -- layered flavors and lots of components (think sushi, bibimbap and burritos) -- allows them to take guest roles in the other's dishes. At Casa, you might find a tofu burrito dressed with teriyaki. Or a crunch roll resting on a bed of refried beans.
It's sometimes weird, sometimes perplexing and sometimes delicious.
I met my friend April at Casa for dinner. The exterior hasn't changed that much but the interior has been very thoughtfully done over, with Mexican tile work, gas fireplaces, attractive lighting and shelves with an eclectic mix of Mexican and Asian knickknacks -- think donkey figurines sharing space with Chinese teapots. Everything seems spotless and new but the overall effect is cozy.
My dining companion is a vegetarian (though she eats seafood) and was pleased to see a wide variety of non-meat options on the menu. After we ordered, our server brought us bowls of egg drop soup, a basket of chips and salsa and an invitation to visit the salad bar (fairly limited but with a nice array of salsas). It was a strange beginning to the meal but set the tone for what was to come.
Egg drop soup is not my favorite -- I find it too thick and starchy -- but this one had nice flavor and was full of thick chunks of vegetables. It seemed to be a good execution of the classic.
To begin we shared a plate of fried tofu ($7.95) and the Green Land roll from the Mexican sushi menu. The tofu was crisp and creamy and was well complemented by the side of guacamole, salsa and sour cream. Tofu, after all, is the perfect vehicle for condiments. I should add that the order was huge -- nine thick squares -- and it appeared to be a full block of tofu.
The Green Land roll ($13.95) was a behemoth divided into eight fat, rather messy pieces. The shrimp crunch roll was served with guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese, beans and lettuce -- and of course, teriyaki sauce -- all served on a bed of refried beans. It tastes the way it sounds: confusing. It's a bit like making a meal of leftovers. One night you have Mexican, one night you have sushi and on the third night you put it all on a plate and dig in. But broken down into its components, everything tasted good. The shrimp was fat and nicely cooked, the vegetables had a fresh crunch, and the refried beans (so often a bland mess) were flavorful and creamy.
The vegetarian burrito ($12.95) was the size of a football and came, as all their entrees do -- inexplicably -- with a side of tempura (shrimp and sweet potato). Stuffed with peppers, onions, tomatoes, fried tofu and teriyaki sauce and generously swimming in guacamole and what appeared to be an enchilada sauce, it was at least two meals' worth of food, maybe three. It's basically everything but the kitchen sink. And then they bring you the kitchen sink in the form of a huge plate of rice and beans.
My bulgogi tacos ($12.95) were the simplest items on the table. A comparatively spare dish -- sweet marinated beef with peppers, tomatoes and a generous sprinkling of cilantro -- it was straightforward (even with the side of tempura) and satisfying.
I returned the following week with Rebecca, a friend visiting from New York with an adventurous palate.
We started with fried gyoza ($7.95), crispy, pleasantly greasy little bites served with guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Rebecca jumped right in, cutting the dumpling open and dipping it liberally in guacamole, sour cream and salsa. She wasn't wrong. The bright flavors of the salsa and the sharpness of the sour cream really cut through the heavy, rich flavors of the dumpling. This was my first "aha" moment -- ooh, I thought. I'm starting to get it.
We decided to share the Mexican bibimbap with chicken ($12.95), which I loved. It's a huge rice bowl with a fajita-like mix of chicken, onions and peppers. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't finish more than half of it and prepared for a fight over who would get the leftovers.
For my entrée I opted for the lunch special -- beef tacos with fried chicken wings ($10.95). The wings were nothing to speak of -- properly cooked and properly crispy, but lacking in flavor, even salt. The tacos, again, were the least fusion-y thing on the table -- just simple tacos with chunks of slightly sweetly marinated beef. They were fine but not spectacular.
But let's talk about the Sancho 2 sushi roll ($15.95). It needs to go home. It's drunk. The deep-fried crab roll was served on a bed of refried beans, blanketed under enchilada sauce, pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro and olives. This already strange combination was then smothered with a stew of spicy Korean pork. It's weird. It's deeply weird.
But the spicy pork. Oh, the spicy pork. It was the best thing I ate that day and maybe the best thing I ate that week. Tender bites of rich pork were dressed in a fiery, smoky sauce that was instantly addictive. I didn't know that I wanted a heaping portion of this on top of a sushi roll but I'll take it any way I can get it. It's that good.
Service was uniformly good -- efficient, friendly and unobtrusive. Also, the portions were enormous and with all of the extras it's one of the best dining values in town.
A marriage of Asian-marinated meat and Mexican-style dishes seems like a natural. But some of the pairings at Casa lack chemistry. And a few of them need a divorce. The spicy pork, for example, needs some time away from the Mexican sushi to really find itself. That said, I will be back for the spicy pork and the Mexican bibimbap, and to try a few new combinations. I think Casa may be on to something.
Is Casa weird? Definitely. Is it worth a try? Also, definitely.
Casa
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, 2-10 p.m. Sunday
Location: 720 Muldoon Road
Contact: 338-2272 and casaak.com
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