In the past couple of years, Mexican restaurants have adapted to the eating demands of this nation and created the molcajete meal—the rock bowl used by Mexicans for millennia to grind out salsas and masa, now presented as a smorgasbord of frightening potential. Restaurants try to outdo one another in packing as many foodstuffs as possible into the always-large molcajete—meat, veggies, seafood, cheese and anything else Mexicans like to snack on while getting shitfaced. It’s a Carne Asada Sunday in a bowl, meant for sharing, but usually gobbled up by individuals who succumb to the lure of so much comida within their grubby grasp.
By far, the best molcajete in Orange County is at MI CASITA. Located in Placentia’s lonely, gentrifying downtown, the unassuming restaurant is frequently used for quinceañeras and other banquets. And Mi Casita’s molcajete is a study in excess—a cut pad of grilled cactus, half a dozen grilled green onions, a massive carne asada strip, ground-up chorizo, queso fundido (melted Mexican cheese), and a pool of chunky, spicy salsa on the bottom. An extra $2 gets you grilled chicken; two more bring on grilled shrimp. There’s so much food in the massive molcajete that the grilled onions, cactus and meats hang out of the bowl, seemingly trying to jump out of a claustrophobic situation.
At $8 for a regular molcajete, all this food guarantees that families order Mi Casita’s version religiously. But its popularity also derives from the tastes, which remind me of a lifetime of weekends spent celebrating over said items in the back yard of some tia’s house. The green onions peel off effortlessly, each layer sweet, glistening and with a hint of smoke. Dunk the recently fried chips in the queso fundido, and pull up stretchy, milky chunks infused with the better-than-expected salsa. The carne asada and chicken bear the burn marks of meat recently acquainted with the grill. And few non-Mexicans know the pleasures of cactus, a slightly gummy, earthy flavor that makes mushrooms seem like paste—feast! The molcajete is sirenic—you know it’s a lot of food, you know you’ll regret eating all that the following day, but you’ll nevertheless plow through it like a cousin going through his 18th taco at a family gathering. But ignore the plate of refried beans on the side—they suck.
Speaking of tacos . . . I first found out about Mi Casita after attending a pal’s graduation party. Mi Casita does a side business of taco catering, and they were some of the better ones I’ve tasted in a while. At the restaurant, the tacos are even better—fresh, with two salsas on the side. Though small for $1, that’s the going rate for tacos nowadays, so buy them before our faltering economy hikes food prices again.
Mi Casita, 330 W. Santa Fe Ave., Placentia, (714) 528-4262.
