From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published May 23, 2007 #42 Casa Garcia 2$ Metairie: 8814 Veterans Blvd. 464-0354. Mandeville: 800 N. Causeway Blvd. 951-8226. Both: Lunch and dinner continuously seven days. AE, DC, DS, MC, V. Mexican. Although this really is the casa of Octavio and Dorita Garcia and their family, Casa Garcia is as slick as any chain Mexican restaurant in both its premises and menu. Maybe a little too slick. How else to explain the presence of spinach-artichoke dip (and spinach-artichoke enchiladas)? Fried ice cream? I can't imagine that these were on the table of the ancestral Mexican family. Fortunately, such stuff doesn't overwhelm the menu, and you can find quite a bit of original and reasonably ethnic Mexican eats here. The Garcias have followed the expanding tastes of their more adventuresome diners, as well as the pop sensibilities of the mainstream. They start you off with freshly-fried tortilla chips and bowls of a very good bean dip and a spicy salsa. It's easy to eat way too many of these, and that causes an appetite deficit towards the end of the meal, so look out. The great first course here is seafood nachos. These are perfect: flat fried corn tortillas topped with a little sour cream, some white crabmeat and shrimp, a bit of jalapeno, and the standard blend of white and yellow melted cheese. This is almost too good; there's a strong chance you may need a second order after everybody else at the table reaches over for a sample. Chilled ceviche, made with fish and shrimp marinated with lime juice and sent out with avocados and pico de gallo, is a good starter. So is the guacamole, with big chunks of the main ingredients. The entrees largely play to the Tex-Mex flavor palette that people are accustomed to. They move plenty of combo plates with tacos, tamales, flautas, and that sort of thing. And the sizzling fajitas are predictably popular. But none of that is where the action is. It could be, however, that the most perfect dish here is something from one of those platters. The basic enchiladas--particularly the cheese-and-onion job with the excellent auburn-hued ancho chili sauce--are really hard to beat. Not smothered with melted cheese and red sauce, they have a distinctive flavor. There's more seafood here than in most Mexican places. The shrimp-and-crabmeat-stuffed enchiladas and chimichangas (deep-fried) are more than good enough. Shrimp mojo de ajo is is in a garlic sauce with mushrooms and green onions, for something that seems almost Italian or Creole. The shrimp diablo is kind of like shrimp Creole, but with more kick. They buy good meats and cook them well. Steak Tampiqueno is a marinated and well-seasoned piece of beef tenderloin (!), grilled with onions and sent out with one of those cheese enchiladas I just mentioned. That's very good, as are tacos al carbon--grilled chunks of beef (tenderloin again) with pico de gallo and flour tortillas for you to assemble. Good as all this is, I wish this and other Mexican restaurants would begin serving mole poblano, the bitter-chocolate-and-chili sauce that is to Mexican cooking what demi-glace is to French. That would be great on a lot of the dishes here--notably the good grilled chicken. Two more from the combo section: a pair of chiles rellenos, one beef- and the other cheese-stuffed, on the same plate with the two sauces. Good, if very filling. Casa Garcia serves a classic flan (get it without the whipped cream and all that) for dessert as well as the fried ice cream for the under-21 set. The bar boasts an enormous tequila collection, well-made margaritas, and sangria. The service staff is very friendly and well-trained (the best possible chain influence). Prices are low all the time, but you can lunch for under $10. This was a restaurant in the 2007 Top Sixty Ethnic Restaurant Countdown. To view the entire list, click here. Click here for an index of all restaurant reviews. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com.