La Caseta
Love At First Bite

By David Ross

I’ve a confession to make: I’m in love with a dish called Shrimp Diablo, and I can only find it at La Caseta Fine Mexican Food. Is it wrong to feel that way about food, even if it consists of jumbo shrimp, marinated for 48 hours in a chili citrus marinade and then flamebroiled on the grill? Is this a forbidden love?

I don’t think so. Not when you add the fact that the heat of the dish is tempered with white wine and a chili cilantro cream reduction, and it is served in a bed of Mexican rice and beans with pico de gallo garnish. This is a dish that you want to take your time and savor because the taste sensations will linger. It’s almost like a commitment!

The Shrimp Diablo, like the other dishes on the menu, is the creation of Delos Eyer, chef and owner of La Caseta. It won the Taste of Fallbrook People’s Choice Award in 2005, and remains a bestselling, long-time dinner staple at the restaurant.

While I was there, I talked to one of the regular customers, Lori, who said she’s been eating there since she was in high school. She works nearby, so she comes by early for lunch.

She told me that she likes the place “because they're quick and the food is delicious. Check out the burritos!” She is so fond of the burritos that she usually sticks with them.

Eyer is a Fallbrook boy through and through. He started cooking at the Fallbrook Pizza Co. in 1978 when he was 16. He went to chef school at Mesa College and did the “hotel circle” in Los Angeles for a decade. La Caseta opened in 1983, and he bought it in 1991. La Caseta was chosen Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year in 1996.

The restaurant is housed in a building that has grown up around the original little house (la caseta) built in 1919.

“I love the business—the creativity of it and the chance to meet people out front. I’m not in the kitchen every day. I like to get out and meet the customers.”

Eyer’s philosophy of cooking is simple: “Use the best ingredients you can get, season them well and serve them hot and fast, and don't cut corners.” They use all choice meats in their marinades. All marinades are for 48 hours and are cooked to order. All of the house salsas, sauces and marinades are made fresh daily. The chips are handmade twice daily.

Take their carne asada for instance, a hearty half pound of thin marinated steak charbroiled to order and served with rice, refried beans, guacamole and hot tortillas.

Their Yucatan Pork Taco won the Taste of Fallbrook this year. In this dish, the pork roast is rubbed with achiote (a blend of Mayan spices) and wrapped in banana leaves for a slow roast of several hours. It is served in a street taco and garnished with a citrus marinade of red onions.

“Probably our top sellers are our carne and pollo asadas. We only use the top meats. We really pride ourselves on our asadas,” he says.

Although La Caseta offers both traditional and innovative Mexican food, you will find plenty to like if you enjoying eating light or are vegetarian. They serve fresh fish, light and meatless menu selections.

May 5 Celebrations
Cinco de Mayo is coming up, probably the biggest time of year for Eyer and La Caseta. The restaurant will host the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce mixer on May 4 from 5:30–7 p.m. with an appetizer buffet. There will be entertainment, including a D.J., fun and games.

On May 5, La Caseta will have a celebration all day, including live music, special food and drink.

If you like happy hour (and who doesn’t?), La Caseta has one every day, Monday–Saturday, 5–6 p.m. It has a full bar with more than 50 brands of tequila and a lip-smacking variety of margaritas.

“We pride ourselves on our tequilas,” says Eyer, who adds that the best deal is the hand-shaken Cazadores Margarita, which is tequila, cointreau, fresh lime juice and agave nectar. “That’s a very good drink!”

A popular snack for Cinco de Mayo is guacamole. Eyer’s recipe has won the People’s Choice Award at the Fallbrook Avocado Festival. He has been using the same recipe for nearly 30 years.

He won’t tell you his recipe, but he will offer a hint or two: “Please, use a high proportion of avocado to other ingredients. Please don’t put sour cream or mayonnaise in your guacamole! And buy good avocados because it’s the buttery flavor of the avocado that you want to come through.

La Caseta is open for lunch Monday–Saturday, 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. and for dinner Monday–Thursday, 4:30–8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 4:30–8:30 p.m. They are closed on Sunday.

Taco Tuesdays offer all-you-can-eat in seven varieties, including fish and pollo asada.

La Caseta does banquets and has two outdoor patios for larger parties. It also does catering.

La Caseta is located at 111 North Vine in Fallbrook. For more information call 760-728-9737 or visit their Web site at lacasetafinemexicanfood.com/index.html