I’ve known Rebecca for more than 35 years. Recently, she’s been reading my reviews and has given me several tips about Marin restaurants she and her family enjoy. She was so right about the delicious food at San Rafael’s Laos Kitchen I wrote about a few weeks back, so when she wrote enthusiastically about Mi Casa Cafe, a Mexican place in the Bret Harte area of San Rafael, I knew I had to check to see if the IJ had reviewed it. It hadn’t, so it was time to pay Mi Casa Cafe a visit.
The large menu was filled with colorful food photos. The last couple of pages are drinks like a flight of Margaritas ($27), the Michelada Double ($14) with two bottles of beer upended into the goblet of lime and chili-spiced tomato or clamato juice and the pinkish-purple-hued Tuna Margarita ($11.99) I chose. Tuna in this case is not the fish but rather the fruit that grows on top of nopales cactus leaves. You’ve probably seen them around San Rafael this season along the Miracle Mile as you drive toward San Anselmo; there’s a large patch of cactus with their fruit attached. Also called prickly pear, they are red or purple but also can be yellow or white. The purple makes a pretty drink. The Tajin-coated rim on my bulbous glass added a nice contrast to the slightly sweet drink. My friend ordered a Horchata ($6). This smooth, cold rice- and milk-based drink is liberally flavored with cinnamon. It was the consistency of a thinish milkshake.
Just like so many restaurants now are charging for bread, this Mexican place charges for Chips and Salsa ($3). Not a bad idea. One, it cost the restaurant to provide these items and two, people fill up on them and don’t order other items on the menu. At Mi Casa Cafe, both the salsa verde and salsa rojo were good examples of both. The red sauce had a very nice chili kick to it.
One page is dedicated to the chef’s menu, where we found the Trio de Ceviches ($27). The scallops, octopus and shrimp were lime-marinated with chilies but not too spicy, and tossed with red onions, cucumbers and cilantro. The ceviches were topped with a quarter of a ripe avocado and a salty chili mix. These are perfect for sharing. I’d suggest ordering a basket of chips to scoop up the ceviche.
Since we visited on a Sunday, there were also weekend specials such as the Menudo ($14.99) and Barbacoa de Borrego, braised lamb shoulder ($21.99 a pound).
The barbacoa is available by the half pound, too. The banana leaf-wrapped, herb- and chili-marinated, slow-cooked lamb shoulder was full of deep, meaty flavor and fell into moist, fork-tender shreds. Chopped red onions, cilantro, avocado, a pot of spicy green tomatillo salsa and tortillas came on the side.
Consomé de Borrego ($7.99) was really a full-on soup with rice, garbanzos beans and onions, and packed with lamb broth flavor. The lamb and the consomé constitute a rich, hearty meal. This would be a great mid-winter treat. In Mexico, I’ve been served lamb barbacoa with the lamb in the consomé and the garnishes nestled on top. Either way, it’s delicious.
Mi Casa Cafe sits in the north corner of a little strip mall on Woodland Avenue in San Rafael. It’s impeccably clean, bright and welcoming. There were several larger groups seated at long tables and a few people at the bar along the back wall. There is a small outside area on the street side. Papel picado, the decorative craft with cut-outs, hang from the ceiling. Even with lots of activity, it was not loud.
A teenager at the table next to us ordered the Quesabirria with a thinner, smooth version of consomé ($11.99). One at a time, he gently dipped the three folded, birria- and cheese-filled corn tortillas into the consomé. I really wanted an order of them but I will have to wait until another time. I’ve read that Quesabirria originated in Tijuana but I’ve never eaten it there. Many people from Jalisco, the home of birria, a meat stew or soup, have migrated to Tijuana. Migrants seek the foods that remind them of home and, sometimes, reinvent them.
I must admit I wasn’t a great fan of the Chile Relleno ($8 a la carte). I’ve enjoyed eating them a few times when they’re freshly fried and the masa coating is puffy. But too often they’ve been pre-cooked and heated up in the sauce. The ranchero sauce at Mi Casa Cafe had good flavors but the cheese-stuffed poblano chili itself was flat and the coating tasted stale.
Guadalajara, the capitol of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, is the birthplace of another item on the menu — Torta Ahogada, a drowned or bathed sandwich ($5.99). A large bun, called birote salado, was stuffed with carnitas and refried beans and then submerged or drowned in a warm ranchero sauce. The top of the sandwich was strewn with a salad/salsa of green cabbage with red onions, radishes and cilantro. The bun slowly relaxed as it absorbed the sauce and all the flavors merged. It’s perfect comfort food.
The classic Flan ($4.50) is made in house. Cinnamon sugar-tossed Churros ($5) are sweet and crunchy but would be better without the two sauces that came with them.
Mi Casa Cafe’s menu is extensive. There’s an all-day breakfast menu and a listing of botanas, appetizers, encourages sharing with a drink. There are soups, hamburgers, tacos, burritos and much more to explore on this menu.
As fall and winter bring darker, colder days, another Sunday I’ll be back at Mi Casa Cafe eating the Menudo, for both the warm stew and warm environment.
Ann Walker is a freelance food writer. Email her with suggestions, comments and questions at [email protected].
Mi Casa Cafe
Address: 85 Woodland Ave., San Rafael
Phone: 415-482-6581
Cuisine: Mexican
Noise level: Moderate
Liquor selection: Full bar
Parking: Street/lot
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays
Prices: $3.99 to $36.99
Reservations: Yes
Summary: A casual neighborhood restaurant featuring Mexican regional food with some north-of-the-border twists.