Casa Grande in Castleton

After a brief hiatus I am back on the restaurant scene.  We were taking a friend out to eat, who had moved out to LA a few years ago. We were looking for a decent restaurant with pleasant atmosphere that was also OK for kids. When taking out-of-town visitors to eat out, I am quickly reminded of the limited good food choices. I strongly felt this again last evening. With Cooper's Hawk fully booked we headed to Casa Grande for Mexican. It is housed in the former Max and Erma's behind the mall. When I walked in, I immediately liked the place. It was a notch above most Mexican restaurants as far as decor. It had well-appointed booths, tile, and rich-looking wooden banisters and tables. In-house chips and freshly made salsa were on the table. Also served with the chips is ranch dressing??  The chips and salsa were very good and were starting to quickly fill our bellies. The freshly made guacamole next to us made me want to order it. It was abundant and beautiful in color. Service was prompt and our entrees appeared in better than average time. The entrees, though, were average - not bad but not that good. My  husband's beef fajitas were large in portion, comprised of thin strips of meat and a variety of bell peppers coming with a side of rice or beans and a small smattering of shredded iceberg lettuce. My vegetarian enchilada dish featured a bean burrito, cheese enchilada and bean tostada with a few shreds of lettuce all which were very average. The food seemed spare for $8 and was very bland. My daughter made the mistake of ordering the cheese pizza from the kids menu which came out with white soft squishy dough. Even after sending it back, it returned too pale. The dessert menu was limited.

Atmosphere - 8
Service -8
Price - 6
Presentation - 6
Food - 6
Overall - 6