casa mia (athens, ga)

After another successful (or failed for some) encounter with our pharmacology test, a group of us decided to go out for drinks and dinner on Tuesday night. Tonight's destination was Casa Mia, a tapas place in downtown Athens.

I've never been too interested in the tapas scene here at UGA but today provided a good opportunity for me to experience it first hand. Tapas joints are great for groups because of the communal spirit that accompanies the dining experience. While our group was more like a party (like...10+ people I think) the waitress did a great job in accommodating all of us. The inside is really clean and rather big for a restaurant located downtown. I like where this is going so far. They have different specials every day and Tuesday just happened to be cheap drinks. Most likely scoped out by one of the lovely females in our party.

We all ordered a variety of dishes, some authentic and some not so much. If you've been following this blog, you probably know that I'm not a big fan of fusion. Okay...there are some things that work when you fuse two cuisines together but I like the straight-up, unbastardized, classic stuff. That being said, some of the dishes strayed quite a bit from their advertised Latin cuisine.

I wasn't able to take a picture of all the dishes because I was at one end of the table but our party ordered the tapas sampler (a mixture of many tapas dishes), Cuban sandiwch, mussels, Latin sushi roll (don't get me started) and fajitas. I was going to get the lamb lollipops but at the recommendation of KLee, I ended up getting the tapas sampler. You get 2 arepas, 2 empanadas, 2 yuca fries, chorizos, a side of tilapia ceviche and 3 sauces.

The arepas and empanadas were both okay. The meat needed to be seasoned and the sauce that came with the sampler did a subpar job saving the foods. The empanada shells were hard and tasted like it had been sitting out for awhile - not crispy at all. But...there was a lot of us so I did overlook this flaw. The chorizos were blackened, hard nuggets and I found them dry and flavorless. Skip these. The tilapia ceviche was definitely overcooked (it had the texture of a chicken breast) and the flavor of lime juice and cilantro overpowered the dish completely. The yuca fries on the other hand were well prepared and perhaps the only saving element of my $11 order.

Jordan and Libby seemed to enjoy their respective dishes (fajitas) and people at the other end of the table that ordered Cuban sandwiches finished their plates clean too. Nakajims ordered the Latin sushi roll and the mussels. The Latin sushi roll...definitely an epitome of my fusion hatred. A mixture of foodstuffs rolled in fried plantain. I was told that this was one of their best dishes but couldn't bring myself to asking for a taste. I can't judge the taste of any of these dishes as I didn't taste them but my companions seemed to enjoy their foods.

While my food left me with more to be desired, Casa Mia is a good place to hang out with your friends and grab a drink. The wait staff is great at accomodating everyone and explaining the dishes. Even the guy expediting in the back came out and saw how we were doing at one point. Real nice folks. As for the food, I would give the Latin sushi roll a try if you're feeling adventurous and stick with foods you know that you like. Avoid the overcooked ceviche (especially if it's your first time trying) and charcoal-like chorizos. Their cakes and cheesecakes are a solid pick and you even get a free dessert if it's your birthday! Overall, a meh experience in regards to food but my company made the experience a memorable and enjoyable one.