Food Critic - Casa Salza

Casa Salza - 132 W 900 N, Spanish Fork

Casa Salza feels a bit like Café Rio’s cool but non-conformist cousin, contemporary and fresh without trying too hard or going corporate. And that unspoken coolness has clearly been noticed by the crowds of high school kids who were grabbing lunch there when I stopped in. It seems the current generation of adolescents have raised their gastronomic sights a bit higher than the Taco Bell fare swilled down by the kids back in my day, and bravo to them for doing so!

To be clear, Casa Salza isn’t exactly Mexican. It’s not even really Tex-Mex. But everything from the distinctly “Baja” signage on the building, to the color palette of the dining area, to the decorations on the walls, feels like a tourist cantina in Cabo.

In fact, it’s REALLY like Cabo, right down to the inexplicable dance club soundtrack playing over the speakers. Normally I would call that bad taste, but somehow it fits. I guess Dorothy Parker was spot on— “A little bad taste is like a nice dash of paprika”. She would probably approve of the music and would definitely enjoy the food. So let’s dive right in, shall we?

Chips & Salsa – The chips are nicely salted, crispy and THIN! So many restaurants use regular taco tortillas for their chips, and they end up with thick, heavy chips that hit your stomach like a brick, not an appetizer. These chips are light and delicate. They also have that fresh corn flavor, which means they’re made from fresh tortillas. Every good chip needs a good dip, and the salsa steps up big time. It has a few chunks in it, but it’s smooth enough to dip well. It tastes wonderfully fresh and well balanced. It’s a little different from most restaurant salsas, because they add avocado. This mellows the typically sharp salsa flavor and thickens the texture. If I were to offer a critique, I’d say it’s a bit too mellow. I squeezed a little lime into mine and added a touch of salt and pepper and it made a world of difference. Some more garlic and hot pepper wouldn’t hurt either. But overall, very nicely done. 4 stars

Casa Trio – Tacos are my kryptonite, so when I see a variety plate of street tacos, there’s no way I’m passing it up. If you’re trying out Casa Salza for the first time, this is the plate I’d recommend. The meats are a bit overcooked and under-salted, but they had good flavor. The chicken is especially good, with clearly visible grill marks and great chargrilled flavor. The beef, advertised as “steak”, has a texture and flavor more like chuck roast, but still tastes great in a taco. The sweet pork is nicely sauced, maybe a bit chewy, but very flavorful. The tortillas come on the side, so you get to build your own tacos as you like, which is nice. The beans and rice are decent. The beans were nicely salted, but could use some garlic and onion. The rice was a little overcooked, and needed salt and spices. Still, both tasted at least as good as the fare at most freshMex restaurants in the area. Casa Trio gets 3.5 stars.

Casa Trio

Enchiladas – I always take my enchiladas “Christmas style”, red and green. I got beef with red sauce and chicken with green sauce. The red sauce is great, and when combined with the chuck roast flavor of the beef, it comes across like a lighter, sweeter version of beef birria. The green sauce was a bit light on chili flavor, but this is compensated by the nicely grill-flavored chicken. Both enchiladas had plenty of cheese to drive it home. By way of critique, MORE GREEN CHILIS, PLEASE! And maybe broil the cheese on top just before serving. 3.5 stars

Casa Dilla – In all the world, a quesadilla has to be the simplest restaurant dish to critique. It’s a tortilla with cheese, plain and simple. In its simplest form, it’s like the Mexican version of a grilled cheese sandwich. And when it’s as nicely crisped and cheesy as this, how much more nostalgic can it get? 4 stars

Chimichanga – If I had a dollar for every oily, poorly fried chimichanga I’ve had in my life, I’d only have about 3 or 4 dollars. I learned early and painfully to never order restaurant chimichangas. And I followed that rule strictly until I visited Casa Salza.

I’ve already told you about the meat, rice, beans and salsa, but the tortilla on this chimichanga was perfectly fried. Because of my critiques of the meat and rice and so on, I’d give this about 3.5 stars, but because they fried it correctly, they get an extra half star. 4 stars

Nachos – At this point, you already know the chips are good, as is the salsa. The meats are pretty good as well. The nachos were much better than the ones at most fresh-Mex places, but with one glaring flaw—there was no queso sauce. There was plenty of melted cheese over top, but no queso. If they added a queso sauce, this would be 4 stars easily. For now, 3 stars.

Sconuts – Most frybreads tend to be a little doughy in the center. These were light and fluffy and covered in cinnamon sugar. Even if you’ve eaten somewhere else already, stop in and grab some for dessert. If I could offer a humble critique, I’d love to see a sauce with these, maybe a Mexican spiced chocolate or a tamarindo caramel or even just sweetened condensed milk with some Mexican vanilla bean mixed in. That would make this 5 stars for days. For now, 4 stars.

Sconuts

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