CasaBlanca
This week we are are visiting Casablanca, a restaurant in Appleton that specializes in Latin cuisine. We have visited Casablanca many times in the previous years and considered them one of our favorites until early 2008. We had a few average experiences and felt that the quality of the food was not equal to the price. Recently we began hearing good things again so we decided to give them another chance and we were not disappointed.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere at Casablanca is trendy and rivals most restaurants in the Fox Valley. Dimly lit lights, beautifully set tables, a large wood bar and painted murals on the wall are some of the highlights. The murals are created to look like open windows overlooking the ocean, beach and palm trees. Another clever touch to the bar area is a comfortable seating area with two small leather couches and a coffee table. We have dined in the past and had the privilege of listening to a soloist perform from this couch area. Opposite the bar area is booth seating with the rest of the restaurant filled with tables. There are also tables available to dine outside when weather permits. You can see many more pictures at there website Here.
Food: CasaBlanca’s dinner prices start at $21.00 per plate and go up from there. When I am paying this price range for a meal, I have high expectations. I want to leave the restaurant amazed at how great the food was and not feel like I could have had a similar experience at another restaurant for significantly less. They claim to have latin cuisine items from 17 different countries, everything from roasted red snapper baked on a banana leaf from Columbia to filet mignon served over blue corn tortilla topped with red mole sauce and Oaxaca cheese from Mexico. You are sure to find something new and fun on this menu. On this trip, we started out our night out with one of the restaurants specials, the mojito. The mojito you see below is actually a mango mojito. The mango mojito is much like the traditional cocktail, however fresh mango is added during preparation and topped with a mango garnish. Not a drink I would normally order but, I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. We started out dinner with a few appetizers, the queso azado con chile and papa rellena de queso. The queso azado con chile is an oven baked goat cheese topped with mild tomato sauce, served with crostini and delivered to your table flaming, very cool! The papa rellena de queso is stuffed potato with manchego cheese & spinach, served with tomatillo sauce. The second picture below is of the appetizers that we selected. (click to enlarge).
After some amazing appetizers, our salads were served. A nice touch the salad selection is the variety of homemade dressings to choose from. I decided on the hot bacon and balsamic. Excellent choice!
Since I was in a seafood mood and this menu had so many fun new options, I ordered the pescado con pimientos. A pan seared grouper topped with “escabeche sauce” (marinated bell peppers) topped with fresh basil. It came with jalepeno mashed potatoes, broccoli and a few stalks of asparagas. When the plate was set in front of me I was a little shocked about seeing nothing but vegetables, it was the meat I was excited about (as usual). But once I dug in I was not disappointed, everything was fantastic. The peppers were sweet and tender, the fish was done just right and full of flavor. This is the first restaurant that I have had jalapeno mashed potatoes at. I enjoy them so much I order them every time I dine at CasaBlanca. I have even attempted to recreated them at home. I advise you not to burn jalapeno’s as the air will turn toxic : )
My wife had the tenderloin special that night with a chimichurri sauce. The only difference with the special is that she had the choice of two sides. She chose the jalapeno mashed potatoes and the sautéed baby spinach with pine nuts, wild tomato sauce and roasted garlic. For desert we shared the triple chocolate cake, a treat we have had in the past and love. Our bill with 2 mojito’s, a soda, appetizer and desert was $98.00.
Conclusion: As stated earlier we were a little nervous about revisiting CasaBlanca, but we ended our night on a very happy note. Everything from drinks to desert was excellent and we will return for another visit in the near future. CasaBlanca give the diner a break from the traditional “chain” restaurant experience and hosts the ambiance that is so needed in the fox valley area.
Casablanca Information:
Address - 531 W. College Ave. Appleton, WI
Phone - 920-954-1010
Fax - 920-954-9979
Hours - Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 9 p.m.
web site - casablancaappleton.com
menu (web site)
Email - info@casablancaappleton.com
Google Map
