JAVA Oct 2018
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Situated in a restored historic house on 16th Street near Barrio Cafe,<br />
Casa Corazon captures all of the elements of a burgeoning, about-to-bean-institution<br />
kind of joint. It’s located in an adorably renovated home<br />
with loads of exposed wood, including a well-crafted barrel ceiling, so<br />
perfectly preserved and presented that I’m willing to bet it is a re-creation. Not<br />
that it matters, really, because eating at Casa Corazon is as much a feast for the<br />
eyes as it is for the palate.<br />
Like many charming historic spots, the entrance feels a bit wonky. In this case,<br />
going in the side entrance is like sneaking backstage, since you walk in right next<br />
to the cooking line, which is fine with me. If a place doesn’t mind you peeking at<br />
the chef, it means they don’t have anything to hide about their suppliers and skills.<br />
And for the nascent germophobe in my brain, there is a dedication to cleanliness (I<br />
dare you to find a speck of dust in the entire place).<br />
This backstage entrance also drops you in front of an impressive salsa station.<br />
Please indulge – on my first few visits, I really thought this was a no-no. It isn’t,<br />
so load up on all the flavors. I loved the pineapple salsa – a dark green mix that<br />
is herbaceous, sweet and complex. The rest were resplendent. I found all the<br />
green flavors to be super tasty. I found the red salsas to be hot. Hopefully, this<br />
information will save your tongue and your time.<br />
After you fill several tiny plastic cups with salsa, you’ll be led to your table. Enjoy<br />
the gorgeous views – someone spent significant time and energy here. Plaster is<br />
gone from most of the walls, leaving exposed brick. Where it is left, it has become<br />
canvas for gorgeous paintings, mostly botanicals of several kinds of desert agave,<br />
as well as a stunning vaquero.<br />
At the end of the building, to the left, is a tiny bar, fully bedecked with loads of<br />
liquor and four barstools. The service, while charming, felt slightly understaffed.<br />
While one server should be able to handle the eight tables in the dining room,<br />
they are also responsible for bartending duties. On one visit, this created long<br />
waits while two big parties had complex drink orders filled. Having grabbed salsa,<br />
I was prepared. The hot basket of uber-fresh red, white and blue tortilla chips is<br />
delivered quickly enough to placate most.<br />
Thick, hearty chips with excellent salsa don’t need any extras, but I am in love<br />
with their Queso Fundido ($12), a large, hot dish loaded with melted cheese, fresh<br />
chopped herbs and super-spicy chorizo that is dippingly decadent. Clearly, this is<br />
a real-deal cheese sauce, since it doesn’t solidify into one solid mass when it’s no<br />
longer piping hot (this is a good thing).<br />
Next we jumped right into the tacos. I loved the Carne Asada ($4.50); a generous<br />
amount of well-cooked asada arrives, perched on freshly made tortillas. I also<br />
enjoyed the Fish ($4.00), battered and served with crema and cabbage – a supercrunchy<br />
treat that had the perfect amount of salt and freshly squeezed lime juice,<br />
allowing the whole thing to sing.<br />
You’ll be asked if you want rice and beans. Say yes. A long, rectangle-shaped dish<br />
appears, with one half covered in the most savory rice you can imagine. Cooked in<br />
a bit of fat and loads of fresh stock, it’s the faintest shade of beige, and so smooth<br />
and savory you’ll eat every single forkful. The other side is stocked with superb<br />
black beans topped with queso fresco and crema – so delicious and toothsome<br />
we used the second basket of chips to scoop these up with quickness. I seldom<br />
indulge rice and beans (typically a waste of carbs), but do not skip them here.<br />
They are special enough to be enjoyed on their own.<br />
The Enchiladas Corazon were something special ($16). Served three to a dish, do<br />
try all three kinds – beef, chicken and cheese. Served in slightly puffy fresh corn<br />
tortillas, these were magic. I have been roped into making enchiladas before – the<br />
long-simmered sauce, the tortillas lightly fried and dipped into enchilada sauce and<br />
then rolled with ingredients – but these were different. The tortillas were so soft<br />
and light, they melted into nothingness when consumed. The sauce has the perfect<br />
amount of kick, and they are all topped with just enough melty cheese to feel like an<br />
indulgent treat.<br />
As wonderful as the beef and chicken were (well cooked, well flavored, well<br />
prepared), the cheese enchilada was perfectly crafted, with an incredible balance<br />
of flavors. The right acidic hit from the sauce, the perfect chile punch (order it<br />
Christmas style, with both red and green sauces) and the pillowy tortilla that cradles<br />
the cheese – it was love at first, and every, bite. These are like the sophisticated<br />
enchilada cousins to your favorite dive’s version, back from a world tour and<br />
showing off. The aforementioned rice and beans come alongside, and I’m okay with<br />
their presence on a second plate. There’s more to enjoy, and it allows the true flavor<br />
of each dish to be experienced unadulterated, as the chef intended.<br />
The Chiles En Nogada ($18) are pure poetry. Two chiles are stuffed with meat and<br />
dried fruits, swimming in creamy sauce, and topped with rather large macerated<br />
currants. Yes, you heard me. The slight tang of the currants is a great foil to the<br />
creaminess of the sauce, and as you spear them, they release their stunning colored<br />
juices into the perfect white of the sauce. It’s like art, and the taste is something<br />
special. A crunch of walnuts and ground beef provides both texture and umami<br />
flavors, rounding out the sweetness of the fruit and the goat cheese in the sauce. I<br />
loved this dish. And we used the third basket of chips to ensure none of this lovely<br />
sauce went to waste.<br />
Their Mole ($19) is perfect. The well-cooked chicken is hidden under ladles of<br />
near-black mole. A dusting of sesame seeds covers the sauce. Complex and subtle,<br />
this mole is spicy, with a hint of sweet, tart and savory. We did a lot of thinking<br />
about the dish, wondering how many ingredients might be loaded inside (in some<br />
traditional mole recipes, there could be 100 components) and how many days someone’s<br />
Nana stood over an open flame, ensuring it was perfect (could be a week, depending on<br />
recipe and region). I could see her in my mind, stirring this silky mole.<br />
Flavors this well developed don’t happen overnight. A lifetime goes into perfecting<br />
dishes like this, so complex and luscious. Sometimes with a sauce this good you’ll<br />
ignore the protein, although that was not the case here. Large hunks of tender and<br />
juicy chicken withstood the sauce. We used forkfuls of the chicken to swirl more<br />
and more mole into each bite. Finally, the remnants from our basket of chips were<br />
used to scoop up the last bits of sauce.<br />
Casa Corazon is gorgeous inside, and the food crafted within these walls is equally<br />
tasty and magnificent. Being here felt like sitting at a famous place, right before<br />
it becomes famous. Rightly so: the staff is adorable and charming, and they do<br />
not hesitate to keep bringing more freshly made chips, which is good. They could<br />
probably use a bartender, so that the wait isn’t as long. A trifle, really, since Casa<br />
Corazon is one of those places – you inherently know good food takes time and<br />
energy – that is meant to slow you down, to immerse and engage all of your senses.<br />
So slow down, find your salsa bliss; enjoy the architecture, art and bountiful chips.<br />
Before it’s nearly impossible to get a table.<br />
Casa Corazon<br />
2637 N. 16th Street, Phoenix<br />
Open 7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.<br />
casacorazonrestaurant.com