Casa Vega

Parking: Valet
Happy Hour, People Watching, Take Out Singles Bustling

You want retro-Mexican? Casa Vega, which has been around for 42 years, is as retro as they come. From the outside, the place looks like a movie-set hacienda; inside, its suite of small dining rooms, which are among the most dimly lit in the city, are covered with Mexican azulejo tiles and decorated with loads of wrought iron and bullfight paintings.

It's eerie. I halfway expected Guy Williams as Zorro to jump out from behind a wall and go zip-zip-zip on the wall with his sword, knocking over my frozen peach margarita.

The real surprise is how good all the food tastes. Yes, it's a quaint-looking place, but the food must partly explain why there was a half-hour wait for tables on a recent Monday evening, despite stifling temperatures.

If you want deep-fried appetizers like beef taquitos, mini-chimichangas or taquitos de Juan (large flour tortillas stuffed with chicken), no place on Ventura Boulevard does a better job. Personally, I prefer to save room for the main courses, especially since they come with either a cup of homey Mexican meatball soup or a dinner salad served on a crisp tostada smeared with a thin layer of refried beans.

Carnitas de puerco is terrific oven-roasted pork that falls to shreds at a touch. You get at least 12 ounces of the stuff, along with cheese-topped beans, pico de gallo relish and one of the best Mexican rice pilafs around.

Then there is the pollo en mole, technically a mole poblano. Picture two huge pieces of boneless chicken completely submerged in a richly flavored dark brown sludge of chocolate, red pepper, sweet spices and meat juices. It's a gargantuan portion, practically impossible to finish.

The sopes con carne are fat cornmeal cakes dipped in spicy house red sauce, covered with diced sirloin, beans and as much shredded cheese, lettuce and tomatoes as the law allows. The house special combination is obscenely large, each component -- a beef taco, a cheese enchilada and a chile relleno -- done reasonably well.

Look to the a la carte menu for one of the best things here, a homey beef tamale made with soft masa and filled with lots of chunky meat. You'll find one of the menu's newest items, a halibut taco, listed on a paper tab pasted onto the dessert section.

As for dessert, the only real one here is flan, a rubbery version that tastes as if from a mix. I'm sticking to my frozen peach margarita. Zorro or no Zorro.

BE THERE
Casa Vega
Details: Full bar. Valet parking in rear lot. All major cards accepted.
Suggested Dishes: tamale, $3.75; carnitas de puerco, $11.95; pollo en mole, $11.95; sopes con carne, $9.95.

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