Jul
31, 2003 — Sometimes
a restaurant can define a city. Casa Qué Pasa is a case in
point.
Every time I stop in at this downtown eatery
— whether for lunch, dinner or a drink,
weekday or weekend
— I peruse the wide range of
personalities that patronize the Baja-inspired eatery and feel
instantly at home.
Set just across from the WTA bus terminal, Casa Qué Pasa has
been serving simple scrumptious fare since 1992.
Stepping inside the easygoing eatery, you enter an airy room
with tall ceilings capped by colorful murals and worn,
comfortable chairs and booths.
Casa's walls are a rotating gallery where you can enjoy and
purchase local artists' works.
There are three distinct seating areas at Casa. Each, while
offering the same scrumptious food, has something a bit
different to offer in ambience.
The front room is for a quick and easy order-at-the-counter
dining experience, while the dining room behind it holds a
handful of booths enveloped in darker walls. If you want table
service or to order an alcoholic beverage, choose the back
dining room.
|
Casa Qué Pasa |
|
Location:
1415 Railroad Ave.
Phone: 738-8226
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday through
Tuesday. 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
Serving: Bellingham's most-popular affordable
fare, including burritos, chimichangas and soups. Also
home to the Tequila Research Institute.
Menu items sampled:
Potato burrito $4.36
Black and cheese supercrunch $4.36
Carne asada burrito $5.47
Chicken quesadilla $4.54 |
And finally, there's the always popular cantina, where you
can order dinner or simply belly up to the bar. Down a shot of
tequila
—
after all, Casa is home to the self-proclaimed Tequila Research
Institute where you can choose from nearly 80 varieties.
My husband and I stopped in for a Tuesday-night dinner
recently, choosing one of the booths in the back dining room.
Service was friendly, helpful and prompt.
My husband ordered a cold bottle of Dos Equis, served with a
wedge of lime.
It's been a long time since I could do a tequila shot without
grimacing, so I sipped a tequila sunrise to help cool me down
from a scorcher of a day. I was also brought a tall glass of ice
water on request, garnished with a huge lemon slice on its rim.
I ordered a carne asada burrito, while my husband went for
his favorite, the chicken quesadilla.
After a short wait, our food arrived. No adornment or garnish
is found on the oblong ivory platters at Casa
—
one of the reasons prices remain so ridiculously low. But what
you will find is simple food prepared with the best ingredients.
My carne asada burrito seemed much smaller than my usual
potato burrito at first glance. But it's a deceiving dish,
compact yet jam-packed with grilled strips of skirt steak. I
could barely finish it.
The flavor of the marinated steak was enhanced by hand-cut
salsa and fresh guacamole, but the star was clearly the carne.
My husband's chicken quesadilla was stuffed with thick slabs
of flavorful grilled chicken breast, sandwiched between two soft
tortillas and enmeshed with tomatoes, onions and bell peppers.
Casa doesn't do any dessert other than an array of freshly
baked cookies. Try whatever variety is available when you visit
and you're guaranteed to be satisfied.
My coworkers and I head to Casa for lunch pretty regularly.
For just a little loot we can fill up fast and get on with our
busy workdays.
After placing our orders at the counter and grabbing a seat
in the front dining room, we nosh on pucker-worthy pickled
onions and carrots displayed near the salsa spread.
The menu states it loud and clear: Its potato burrito is
world famous. I'd say deservedly so, hype or not. It can be
ordered in the medium size or the jumbo, weighing in at a full
pound. Deep-fried potatoes are rolled with beans, cheese and a
special red chili sour-cream sauce inside a soft tortilla.
Many times, five or six of my co-workers will all order the
potato burrito at lunch. Every once in awhile, one of the guys
will deviate from the heavenly, sour cream-heavy potato burrito.
I've watched Neal and Cameron tackle fajita plates so
overstuffed with marinated and grilled slices of chicken breast,
beans, Spanish rice, lettuce, hand-cut salsa, grilled green
peppers, onions and tomatoes that they could barely construct
their meals. They assure me the taste is well worth the
untidiness.
Casa is also known for its supercrunch burrito, served in two
ways: the black and cheese with black beans and cheddar cheese
and the pinto and rice supercrunch.
Black and cheese supercrunch is a tortilla stuffed with black
beans and cheese, lettuce, hand-cut salsa, crushed tortilla
chips, three-bean sprouts and peanuts.
Pinto and rice supercrunch is a healthier alternative that
replaces pinto beans for black and omits the cheese altogether
while adding rice and sunflower seeds.
I recently broke away from my usual lunchtime routine to
remind myself of the popular black and cheese supercrunch. I
found it as fulfilling as my first one so many years ago.
My former coworker James once described the pinto and rice
supercrunch burrito as "rabbit food," but I don't
agree at all. Sure, it's healthier than the potato burrito, but
it's scrumptious in its own way, and some days I simply crave
healthier lunch fare.
But make no mistake, nothing at Casa will make you cringe
because you've indulged in something you shouldn't. After all,
it tops the list of vegetarian-friendly fare in Whatcom County
with two levels of veggie dishes: vegetarian and no meat.
Vegetarian means no egg, meat or dairy was used to create the
dish and it was prepared using separate utensils on surfaces
used exclusively for vegetarian cooking.
The "no meat" designation means the items are
meat-free, but sometimes contain dairy and are more likely to
come into contact with residual meat byproducts.
