Cheese-topia in RSM - CLOSED

Mi Casa

22322 El Paseo

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

Rancho Santa Margarita is not somewhere that you often think of with awesome dining options. This inland oasis is all of the sudden burgeonings with new restaurants. BJ's opened up late last year, Bruxie opened this past week, and now Costa Mesa's favorite, Mi Casa is now gracing inland diners with their Mexican staples.

We reviewed Mi Casa about a year ago. You can read that review here. At that time we went twice for dinner, which we have also done at this new outpost in RSM. This new Mi Casa has a much more modern feel to it. Taking over the old El Torito space, this restaurant seems brighter, with windows dominating one entire side of the eating area. There is also a large patio area that offers customers the chance to eat outside.

Both times we have been here having been on Friday nights at six. Our first trip was their first Friday being opened. Of course, there were the usual hiccups of any new restaurant. Our wait time was said to be thirty minutes when in reality it was just over an hour to get to the table. Service was spotty on our first visit. Waiters were missing for long stretches, and food was taking a long time to make it out of the kitchen. The staff at times really seemed a little overwhelmed. All of these were totally understandable to me. So, when Chuck and Stephanie decided they wanted to hang out with us, we suggested trying Mi Casa again to see if some of the bugs have been worked out. Let's see if this was the case.

After we were seated we were brought these chips and salsa, then we ordered the Guacamole ($3). The first basket of chips was all broken, small pieces, so we asked for another basket. These were much better. The salsa here is a little on the runny side, but with a gentle kick. Stephanie likes a spicier salsa, so they brought us out a Habanero salsa. This was the real stuff. Very spicy, and a little more chunky. I will ask for this on future visits here. The guacamole was fair, nothing too out of the ordinary.

For those of you that have been to either Mi Casa restaurant, you know that this place is all about the cheese. They cheese everything, including this appetizer, the Carne Asada Fries ($9). This appetizer is made up of seasoned fries, cheese, carne asada, cheese, sour cream, cheese, chives, and cheese. This was gone in an instant. The cheese really dominates this plate, but the steak and fries are prevalent here. The fries could be a little crisper, and this would make this even better. Four people could split this easily. We did not get the nachos, but they looked really good as well.

Both Chuck and I got the same thing. Way to be original Chuck! We both went with the Large Mexican Pizza ($14). He ordered his with chicken and I got mine with Chile Verde pork. Here they take a tortilla and top it with the meat of your choice and a plethora of items including; olives, tomatoes, beans, green chiles, onions, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream. The menu says this serves 2 to 3 people, but I had no problem finishing this. I had wanted this without olives, but it came with them anyways. Chuck really seemed to like his dinner as well, but he had more to take home than me.

Both of the girls got Combination Dinners at Mi Casa. Let's start with Katie's 2 Item Combo ($11). She went with her standard combo meal at a Mexican restaurant, a Chicken Taco, and a Cheese Enchilada. Katie felt both of these items were very solid. She opted for the black beans, instead of the refried beans, and was happy with her choice. This platter of food was so big, that she had plenty of food to send with me to work the next day.

Sorry for the lack of diversity on this trip. I guess they all forgot I was food blogging. Chuck's much better half, Stephanie got a Two Item Combo ($12), as well. She changed it up a bit from Katie's by getting a Chile Verde Enchilada and the same Chicken Taco that Katie got. This plate was so big that she had the pork enchilada put in a box for lunch the next day. She really enjoyed the chicken taco with the habanero salsa. The beans were more to her liking than the rice.

After eating at Mi Casa twice in the last two weeks I have come to the conclusion that I like Mi Casa, but I am not in love with it. I really enjoy the fact that they opened up in RSM though. This is the kind of Mexican comfort food that this area needed. The Mexican food here is not going to wow anyone, but it is consistently good, in a very safe way. Mi Casa kind of has a Don Jose's vibe to it. The service was much better on our second trip here. They really righted the ship quickly. Food came out very fast, and our waiter was on top of everything all night long. We will definitely be back to have a side of Mexican food, with our cheese.

Out of five lips, (because President George H. Bush once ate at the Costa Mesa location of Mi Casa, and he once famously asked us to read his lips), five being best to zero being worst, Mi Casa gets 2.5 lips.

For more information about Mi Casa, click here: http://www.micasa1.com/

Cheese-ing It Up at Mi Casa

Mi Casa

296 E. 17th Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Every neighborhood has one. A local Mexican restaurant that has been around for decades. A restaurant where kids have come with parents, and then they have brought their own kids with them to experience the restaurant for themselves. The kind of place that has a fifteen minute wait on a Friday night, but you do not mind waiting because you know you are going to have a great meal. In Costa Mesa, this kind of place is called Mi Casa.

Mi Casa has been around since 1972. The restaurant has pretty much stayed the same today as it was back in the 70's. A lot of the waitresses have been here from the beginning, learning their customers names and becoming an extended member of the family. The restaurant, now in their third generation owned by the same family, has been the host to presidents, (George W. Bush), singers, (Barbara Streisand), sports stars, (Mickey Mantle), and many more celebrities. So let's see what has brought all the stars to this Costa Mesa restaurant.

We made two trips to Mi Casa. Here is a shot of the chips and salsa. I really like their chips, but the salsa is very watery. I like a little more substance to my salsa. The flavor was still okay without the hunks, but it would have been better with some tomato and onion in there.

This heaping plate of food is the Large Mexican Pizza. The menu says that this feeds two to three people, but I almost finished this all by myself. You have your choice of having this with shredded beef, chicken, chili verde, or a combination of all three, so of course I went with all three. The best meat out of the three was the pork chili verde. Seasoned really well and very tender, I will skip the chicken and beef next time and just get the chili verde. The rest of this dish contained almost everything in their kitchen, beans, green chiles, olives, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, guacamole, and lots of cheese. The tortilla that all of this was served on was lost here, but the dish still tasted good.

Katie's first meal here was Sal's Shrimp Burrito. Of course this featured shrimp, but it also had pinto beans, rice, tomatoes, cilantro, cheese, and avocado sauce wrapped in a flour tortilla. Katie liked that this burrito was packed with shrimp, and she also thought this had a little heat to it. She felt that the beans were great, but the rice was average. Overall she was very pleased with her dinner.

Our second trip to Mi Casa we went with Kevin and Sara. Sara ordered a Chicken Taco with a side of rice. She loved the rice, calling it, "the best Mexican style rice she has ever had in a restaurant." Her praise ended there, because she felt that the chicken in the taco was very dry.

Kevin had the Flautas Rancheras, one with chicken and the other with beef. Like Sara's taco, the chicken flauta was dry. The beef was better, but needed to be cut up in smaller chunks. Kevin said that the beans and rice were above average. Kevin really liked the cheese that was added to the top of the beans.

On Katie's second trip to Mi Casa she settled on the Grilled Mahi Tacos. These tacos were served with  a creamy avocado sauce, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and queso fresco cheese. I am not a wimp when it comes to heat, but this really packed a punch when it came to spice. Katie would get this again, but she was disappointed that the tortilla gave way under the weight of its contents.

I went big time for my second meal at Mi Casa, with a Three Item Combination Plate. For my three items I chose the Pork Tamale, Shredded Beef Taco, and the Cheese Enchilada. I agree with Kevin, the shredded beef needed to be chopped up more. One bite and all the meat came out of the taco. The tamale was filled with pork, and not dry like a lot of tamales can be. The enchilada was the best thing on the plate. I really liked the sauce, and of course there was no shortage of cheese here. The rice was just okay for me. I liked the refried beans better. I did manage to finish this meal, but I was stuffed afterwards.

Mi Casa is a comfortable restaurant. They are very consistent. The prices might be a little on the high side, but you will probably have leftovers for lunch the next day. The waitresses know what they are doing here, but they may get distracted during busier times. The food is not going to blow your socks off. It is good, but not great. They try to make up for it by adding copious amounts of cheese on everything, and that can never be a bad thing.

So out of five water pitchers, (because they have them on the tables), five being best to zero being worst, Mi Casa gets 2.5 water pitchers.

For more information about Mi Casa, check them out here: http://micasa1.com/