semi-expensive hobbies

[5/18/2007] It was the end of the semester, and with most of the group leaving and Mark going abroad all of next year, he decided to take a bunch of us out to eat at one of his favorite places to eat, La Casa, a tapas and wine bar in Shadyside. It was me, Mark, Ruby, and Andy.

We got there around 7:30 and were immediately greeted by the super friendly manager-type person, whose name I can’t recall off the top of my head. Mark’s been there many times, so they all know each other by name. We sat in the back of the restaurant, outside. Very cosy little area, though it was chilly that day. From there, Joel (sp?) gave us our menus & asked us about drinks.

I got a Mojito, and holy crap, it was strong. :X Mark got a sangria, but I didn’t get a closeup of it.

After much deliberation, we ordered our food! And waited! :9 We actually didn’t wait that long, but because we got hungier as time progressed, it seemed like a long time. :D; Also, they brought out very tasty bread with the food. Very crunchy crust but soft inside. They forgot to give us the dip though, until later, but! The bread was super tasty with the liver, and the sauce for the rest of the dishes that were out, so we were content anyway.

Okay, so onto the dishes. In about the order they came in.

Alcachofas Marinadas
Marinated artichoke hearts in olive oil and herbs.

Okay, so $5 for a plate of artichoke hearts is a little much, but hey, this ain’t Mickey D’s.This is La Casa!. I love artichoke hearts, and they were really really good, nice and tangy.

Choricito Frito
Sauteed chorizo sausage

I’ve never had chorizo before, but this one didn’t impress me too much. I was spoiled by the sausages we had in Barcelona though. :>

Carpacho de Buey con Ensalada de Arugula
Beef Carpaccio with arugula salad

Okay, so I’m not too big of a fan of carpaccio in general, so I can’t give a good opinion of it. However, the arugula salad was wonderful. I’m usually not too keen on eating arugula because of the sharp and bitter flavor, but the dressing complemented it amazingly.

Ahi Tuna

I can’t believe I don’t even know the name of this dish but uh. I don’t. :x That’ll teach me to take pictures of the menu in macro. Now I can’t even figure out this dish! Anyway, this is skewers of Ahi Tuna with veggies. It was really good, but I’m not a huge fan of fish in general, unless cooked a certain way. Mark loved it though. He loves all seafood in general. He really really loved it. Again, the salad was delicious. I am turning into a huge fan of their salad/salad dressing! They make me want to eat salads! I don’t even LIKE salads.

Calamares a La Plancha
Grilled calamari with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and parsley

Unfortunately, by the time we got this, it wasn’t as hot as I like my calamari to be. It was still delicious though. However, my favorite calamari by far is the one I had at Bar Central for breakfast in the Mercat de la Boqueria in Barcelona. Ah, I’m spoiled. :D;

Higado Frito
Sauteed calf liver in garlic sauce

Oh my god. You have to understand, I’m from a family in which my parents cook pretty traditional Chinese fare. That means we get to eat weird stuff from when we’re wee babies, and that includes liver. I love liver. Liver is delicious. And this? This is possibly one of the tastiest liver dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. Not only did we devour the liver itself, we three Asian kids also enthusiastically dug into the leftover sauce with our bread. If you’ve never had liver before, this dish is not to be eaten by yourself, as it’s very very rich.

Flamenguines
Filet mignon fritters stuffed with crabmeat, mushrooms, peppers, and garlic

This is Mark’s favorite dish! He orders it every single time he comes, apparently. It really is lovely, and very very meaty and filling, but it’s too much for me to eat more than two at a single sitting. I would eat it every time I go to La Casa though, as long as people share with me. *_* If you go, you should definitely try it. The rice that comes with it is nicely spiced. I love rice, and I love spicy things, and this was perfect for me. Andy and I definitely shoved it into our mouths with gusto.

Sorbete de fruta
Homemade sorbet topped with fresh fruits.
Pineapple, mango-orange, and lemon flavors

All three were delicious and bursting with real fresh fruit flavor, but the mango-orange really stood out to me. And I naturally like lemon-flavored things! The pineapple was good in its own right too though.

Chocolate Delicado

I can’t find the “official” menu description for it, but it’s basically a chocolate cake with melted chocolate center, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! It came out delicious and warm and *makes fluttery eyes*. It wasn’t too sweet and oh my god.

Mark got a coffee alcoholic dessert drink that was really good! I’m not a huge alcohol fan, usually not drinking something unless it’s tasty and doesn’t have too much of an alcoholic flavor. (That mojito took forever to drink, because it was so. damn. strong.) This thing seriously tasted like slightly alcoholic coffee candy. :> In liquid form. :>!!!!

So in conclusion! For a college student, this isn’t a place that you would want to go on a weekly basis unless you’re pretty well off. However, it’s a nice place to go occassionally, and as long as you order one of the entrees (the rice dishes), you’ll be pleasantly full. Most of the cold & hot tapas dishes range from $5-15 each, so you can easily control how much you spend. The atmosphere is definitely good enough for a date.