Casa B, Somerville - Union Sq
When Steve and I went for tapas a few months ago, I really wanted to try Casa B, but the wait was 2 hours long. We ended up at half empty Kika Tapas and had a mediocre meal. So, I was excited finally get the chance to go to Casa B, a new tapas joint in Union Sq, that has been garnering rave reviews for their food (mixed reviews on the service).
Casa B does not have a traditional tapas menu; it’s highly Latin and Puerto Rican influenced. We went with Kerry and Bryan and tried a slew of dishes.
Pichos (similar to a crostini, 2 pieces each):
- Grilled chicken topped with rustic green olive tapenade. I thought the tapenade was flavorful and added much need flavor to the grilled chicken.
- Chicken gizzards with sautéed onions. I think this was my favorite of the night. The gizzards were so tender and delicious I was inspired to buy some 2 days later in an attempt to replicate this dish.
- Beef tenderloin with sautéed onions and crispy shallots. This was another excellent pick, well liked by everyone.
We also got:
- Grilled Spanish sausage with yucca in coconut sauce. The sausage was good, but I thought the yucca and sauce were bland.
- Papas fritas – I didn’t appreciate that the fries came in a vessel with ketchup on the bottom. Call it fussy, but I want to be able to control the amount of condiment on my fry.
- Meatballs in guava sauce. All the reviews raved about the meatballs, which were good, but not mind-blowing. I enjoyed the sweet guava sauce.
Desserts:
- Tres leches cake topped with meringue. Delicious and moist. I loved it.
- Coconut and chocolate bread pudding with guava sauce. I thought it was the least successful of the three desserts; it was on the dry side.
- Lime pie with brandy macerated cherries. It was their version of a key lime dessert and it was tart and tasty.
We had an assortment of drinks, including two types of sangria, wine, beer and cocktails. I really loved the fried sweet plantains with asparagus dip that came in lieu of a bread basket. Our service was good; no evidence of the inattentiveness that marred other reviews.
Kerry was nice enough to email me her opinion, so I can share it with you verbatim, “Casa B is one of the few restaurants that I would return to for the ambiance over the food - the tapas were pleasant, some stood out more than others (gizzards), but the space itself was thoughtfully designed to be vibrant and conducive to conversation.”
