Seattle is pretty far north of the border. The border with Mexico, that is, because Canada is super close. So, when I went to dinner at Casa Rojas on Bainbridge Island, I had my trepidations about the quality of the cuisine. These trepidations were certainly tempered on account of the meal being paid for by an alum, but I was still hoping for something good.
What I found was a grown-up Mexican restaurant with more than just burritos, tacos and enchiladas. It also had seafood, and plates of carne asada, chicken and more. I decided to go with the carne asada variety of those plates, which came with refried beans and Spanish rice. This was definitely a good choice, as the other Mexican food I saw didn’t seem nearly as good as mine. Yet, the meal was not without hiccups. Despite not being listed on the menu, the steak came out served with a dose of grilled onions on top. I brushed these away in anger, but also realized that I had been gifted guacamole to sort of make up for it.
The meal was huge, but it was not just about quantity. It actually tasted pretty good as well. The asada was nicely seasoned and sliced into easily consumable pieces. Of course, the rice and beans were exactly what one would expect from such things, but consistency is not a bad thing.
In all, Casa Rojas delivered on its promise of Mexican food. It didn’t stand out in terms of creativity or taste, but it was tasty and did what it had to for my taste buds.
