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The small Nevada town of Lovelock isn't exactly a destinations for "foodies," as the number of restaurants in town could be counted on one hand, with a finger or two to spare. If you're a lover of fine Mexican cuisine, you have one choice, which is La Casita, located in downtown Lovelock, NV on Cornell Ave. As with all of reviews that I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's a little after noon on Friday, October 02, 2020, and my friend and I have arrived at La Casita, located in Lovelock, Nevada, to enjoy a fine Mexican lunch. We were passing through Lovelock on our way to the Salt Lake City area, where we were to stay with friends for a few days before heading to southwestern Utah to attend The Trail Hero 2020 4wd event early the next week.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant you'll note the full-service bar to the right, and the small dining room, which is tidy, and very clean. In these days of COVID-19, the bar only has four chairs, and the tables are spaced wide apart, in keeping with the "social distancing" that seems to be in style, on this day in early October, 2020.
Photo: Some of the tables are taped off, and the chairs at the bar are spaced far and wide. On this early Friday afternoon, we were had the restaurant almost to ourselves, so "social distancing" came easy. The bar is compact, but it offers a wide variety of mixed drinks. We had a long way to drive today, so we opted for a glass of ice water.
Photo: Immediately after we were seated, our friendly server brought out a basket of fresh corn tortilla chips, still warm from the deep fryer, and a bowl of in-house made salsa. We were told that nearly everything is made in-house, and I can believe it when it came to the salsa, as it was thick, flavorful, mildly spicy, with a robust flavor, and a thick consistency. Just perfect for dipping the chips into!
Photo: Thanks to the virus, there are no "conventional" printed menus, and the restaurant now features a scaled-back menu, which is posted on the wall at each table. Note the menu features both Mexican and American "comfort food."
Photo: We noticed today's "Lunch Special" posted on a white board, on a wall near the kitchen, and it sounded good to us, so Robert and I went with enchiladas, rice and beans for today's lunch.
Photo: After placing our lunch orders, I got up and wandered around the restaurant and I actually got a peek into the kitchen. I LOVE kitchen shots! Note how clean and orderly La Casita's kitchen is.
Photo: Our lunches arrived about 15 minutes after placing our order, which makes for very fast service. Our server, Samara, poses for my camera, after placing our lunches on the table. She was fast, efficient and very friendly.
Photo: Robert and I pose for the camera, as Samara takes our photo. Thanks for the photo!
Photo: From the "Lunch Specials" posted on the white board, both Robert and I ordered today's lunch special, which was one beef enchilada, one cheese enchilada, a small salad, along with rice and beans. Robert opted to order double beans instead of rice and beans - which our friendly server happily agreed to - and I opted to go with my lunch, as printed. While chatting with our server, Samara told us that everything is made from scratch, in-house, and after taking one bite into my cheese enchilada, I knew she had told us the truth. The rich, brick-red enchilada sauce was absolute fresh, flavorful, and had a slight Mexican "kick," but not at all spicy. The cheese was rich, gooey, melted and amazingly flavorful. The beef enchilada was filled with seasoned, mildly spicy ground beef, cooked the way ground beef is cooked in Mexico, when it is available. Note that ground beef is rarely used in Mexico, as it's more common to use shredded beef or carne asada. Both enchiladas included chopped onion in the filling, savory enchilada sauce, and were sprinkled with Mexican cheese. The rice was good, but not spectacular. The beans, however, were a different story, as they were simply amazing and full of robust flavor. Samara told us the beans are made daily in a giant pot on the back burner of the stove, and are made from a recipe passed down through several generations of the owner's family. La Casita certainly knows how to make delicious refried beans! The small salad was fresh, and included lettuce, tomato and diced white onion. The salad didn't include any dressing, and I simply dredged it in some of the sauce from the beans, which made the best dressing ever! La Casita has been dishing up outstanding Mexican cuisine for over 20 years, and is one of the oldest family owned and operated restaurants in town. The food is delicious, the staff is friendly, the dining is comfortable, and the prices are very reasonable. La Casita serves fine Mexican cuisine in Lovelock! La Casita Copyright(c) 2020 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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