Eastside Goes to Bell: Brunch at La Casita Mexicana

Feb 07 2012

I’ve never had a bad—or even just okay—meal at La Casita Mexicana. The small South LA restaurant, clad in vibrant colors, giant paper mâché produce and an Our Lady of Guadalupe painting, has become a legend in the 14 years it’s been around and for good reason.

Created by Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu, La Casita is different by design. The goal of the two mustachioed chefs, who both hail from Jalisco, Mexico, is to challenge the Angelino perception of Mexican food by moving far beyond the standard combination plate.

The result is a large menu of imaginative dishes that draw from their “ancestral food heritage” and the recipes of their grandmothers. Regulars gush over their moles, chiles en nogada (a cream and pomegranate topped poblano pepper stuffed with spiced meat, nuts and fruits), and rather lovely seafood dishes. Not to mention their lemonade chia seeds—a must!

Devotees also go on and on about La Casita’s chilaquiles, and I felt so left out because I’d never tried them…until a recent sunday.

Now that I’ve had them, they’ve stamped my mind, much like those mole chilaquiles I had a few months back at CaCao in Eagle Rock. La Casita’s version come in few different variations: red, green, mole poblano, red or green pepian style (made with pumpkin seed, peanuts and chiles), and chipotle.