Let's Try it Again

CASA LINDA - No Website - Abbot Kinney, Venice Beach

It used to be Tortilla Grill and apparently that didn't work out so well.  It was sold, remodeled and then reopened as Casa Linda, a much better designed, bright warm and comfortable environment.  The menu is still pretty similar, tacos, burritos and tortas in the typical quick service Mexican restaurant.  There really isn't anything special about Casa Linda, it's not a beautiful space, the food is good but not amazing.  It just really is what it is, but it does seem to work.  Oh, they do have a very cool front door.  It's very Old West or Medieval or something.  But I like it.

I ordered something a little different, the Halibut burrito.  I figure if the Halibut burrito is good then the chicken and carne asada which are much easier to prepare in a tasty fashion would probably be good as well.  I ordered the burrito then saw their nice simply put together salsa bar.  It was clean and fully stocked with spicy carrots, a great addition and necessity to any mexican restaurant, a mild green chili verde salsa and a hot chili de arbol salsa and the typical pico de gallo.  I tasted them and they were all very good but not amazing, what they needed was to mix it up to go crazy.  So that's what I did, I combined the green and red salsas and created a mutant freak Super Salsa... That Rocked.

Then came the Halibut Burrito and a mound of chips.  The burrito was about the size I expected it to be, big, but not super human size.  It was more about girth than length and from what the ladies tell me that's more important anyway.  The burrito was very tasty and flavorful, as it was stuffed with brown rice, pinto beans, cheese, tomatoes, cilantro and a grilled halibut.  All it needed was a little kick and that's where my super salsa came into play.  Now my burrito was perfect.

My friend had a torta that he seemed to enjoy and Casa Linda's Lemonade was really good also.  It wasn't typical Minute Maid Lemonade but some crazy concoction they throw together.  It's probably terrible for you but it tasted very good, not too sweet and not too tart.

I'd totally make another trip to Casa Linda, the mexican food is better than most the spots in the area (Baja Cantina, Cabo Cantina, Del Taco) and they offer nice healthy touches that fit on Abbot Kinney like the brown rice.  My only suggestion or thing I'd like to see at Casa Linda that Tortilla Grill had is a breakfast burrito.  It's a simple creation, a labor of love that is quite a delicious American breakfast delicacy and can be eaten at any point during the day.