Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always-hungry reporter visits a different restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
Last January, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal was first to tell you Cantina Laredo, a long-time fixture of The Shoppes at Bellemead in Shreveport, had been sold. The buyer owns our area’s Casa Jimador restaurants.
After being closed several weeks for remodeling, Casa Cantina (6535 Youree Drive, S#401) opened with little fanfare. In fact, I had forgotten about it, until someone asked if I had been there. So, on a recent Wednesday night, I invited a friend to join me so I could check it out.
The interior of the former Cantina Laredo was nice, so it’s not like the new owner had to do a lot – but he did. I immediately noticed the improvements. There’s a new color scheme, with the booths having blue backs and cream seats. There are dividers between parts of the dining room. Also, a couple of televisions have been added.
Doors are gone on the back “private” room, making it more open. There is enhanced, decorative lighting. The bar remains pretty much the same but surrounded by chairs featuring the cream colored seats. The patio area is still the same size, however, on this night, it was way too warm for anyone to eat outside. However, it does look like a heating system has been added for those chilly nights when you want to sit outside and warm up with Mexican food.
My friend arrived a few minutes before me and was already eating complimentary chips and sauce. However, he had big news to share. The chips and sauce were served not by a waiter, but by – a robot! I have seen this Star Wars-like machine at the Casa Jimadors, and now, Casa Cantina has one. What’s funny is that my friend said our server was right behind the robot and took the chips and sauce and set them on the table.
Which begs the question my friend asked: Why didn’t the server bring the chips and sauce? My friend also wondered if the robot would be sent home early due to lack of work, since there were no more than 10 people – including the two of us – eating at the restaurant while we were there.
Speaking of Casa Cantina’s chips and sauce, I thought they were excellent. The chips were crisp and crunchy, and without a hint of oil. To me, the sauce was a perfect compromise between spicy and tasteless. My friend felt a little different, saying the chips weren’t hot and the sauce was bland.
My friend ordered a side of corn tortillas ($2) to go along with his chips and sauce.
Before I go further, a word about our server, Jose. He was excellent. Jose checked on us more than once to ask if we were ready to order. He was very attentive to our frequent needs for beverage refills. And each time he was at our table, Jose was smiling. If you go to Casa Cantina, I hope you have Jose as your server.
From the seven available appetizers, my friend and I chose the Sampler ($17). As the name implies, the Sampler features a little bit of everything. We were served a very nice, neat presentation of grilled chicken quesadillas, steak quesadillas, chicken taquitos, beef taquitos, tamale bites, and a middle-of-the-plate serving of guacamole and sour cream.
The food was warm, and I enjoyed everything. My friend was impressed with the variety of the Sampler, but noted there wasn’t much meat in the quesadillas.
However, If you order the Sampler, beware. You may be too full to eat a large entrée. We can attest to that.
Casa Cantina’s menu is extensive. You can order just about anything Mexican-related you can think of. From salads, to enchiladas, to specialty dinners, to steak, to seafood – and everything in-between. If you go for lunch, there’s a section of the menu featuring 16 reasonably priced options which, presumably, don’t take long to prepare.
But this was dinnertime, and with not much room left in my ever-expanding stomach, I tried to go light and ordered the Veggie Bowl ($14). According to the menu, I would receive a bowl with fresh ingredients — white rice, black beans, Pico de gallo, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower, topped with red cabbage and cheddar jack cheese. The description also said the Veggie Bowl would be “prepared to order”, so I asked that the cauliflower be left off.
My Veggie Bowl was good, though I noticed two things which would have made it better. Some of the ingredients – namely the broccoli – were overcooked. Contradictory, everything in the bowl could have been warmer.
The Fajitas section of the menu caught my friend’s eye. He chose Jalisco’s Fajitas ($28) – grilled chicken, steak, and shrimp. At Casa Cantina, all fajitas come sauteed with onion and bell peppers, and served with rice, beans, lettuce, Pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, and flour tortillas.
To me, part of the fajita experience is when the plate arrives – the sound of sizzle and the sight of smoke producing a cloud over the table. Surrounding diners don’t have to look – they know when someone is having fajitas. Unfortunately, that was not the case on this night. First, there weren’t any surrounding diners. Second, my friend’s fajitas arrived with a whimper. No sizzle. No smoke. How does that happen?
As for taste, my friend said all was good. He received a good-sized portion of everything promised. But remember how I said having the Sampler as an appetizer has its drawback? My friend could not finish his meal and took the rest of it home to presumably an appreciative wife.
Needless to say, despite our desire to have dessert, neither of us had anywhere to put it except in a to-go box. So, we passed. However, Casa Cantina offers five choices, including Sopapilla and Flan.
The cost of our meal before taxes and tip was $66.96, including a $2.46 “Credit card service fee”.
I’m giving Casa Cantina Three Forks. I enjoyed the food, the service, and the atmosphere. But I can’t say I would go out of my way to return. That’s not a knock on Casa Cantina. We simply have so (too) many Mexican restaurants, to make going out of my way feasible.
For years, I – and many of you – enjoyed the “upper-end” food and surroundings of Cantina Laredo. Casa Cantina has at the very least held the bar steady, and in some areas has raised the bar. If you go, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit? Email SBJRestaurantReview@gmail.com.
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
