La Casita in Springville is a community treasure. It has been in business since Friday, October 13, 1978. There must be something lucky about opening on Friday the 13th because they’ve been in business for almost 48 years with many weekly regulars.
Many of the employees have been working there for over 20 years and there is one who has been there for over 40 years. It is a family-run business, and employees who aren’t “family,” quickly become just that.
The restaurant was originally opened by Luis Muzquiz Sr. and his wife Luz, who used his mother’s recipes that have since been fine tuned. It is now owned by Luis Jr., who has run the restaurant since 2008.
The Magic of Community
There is something magical about La Casita and you can feel it when you walk in the door. The walls of the waiting area are plastered with vintage Polaroid photos of guests — many dating back to when the restaurant opened.
Behind the counter, there are numerous signs and graduation announcements, showing the generations of families who have made La Casita a regular place for family gatherings around good food.
Moving Past the Chicken Enchiladas
The first time I went to La Casita was when we had just finished up at Utah State and were moving down to Spanish Fork. We were helping my in-laws move in and we went to La Casita for lunch. I had the chicken enchiladas and they were delicious. Unfortunately, I always stuck with that order when I returned.
During my recent visit, I made sure to try new times, and I am happy to report that I have missed out on a lot of good food over the years.
The menu is extensive. If you aren’t a regular, it can take some time to look through all the options. Plus, there are a lot of combo plate options, allowing you to combine favorites and try something new.
One thing to keep in mind is that the portions are rather large, and if you’re in the sharing mood, one plate could easily feed two people.
Top Menu Item May Surprise You
One of the most popular items on the menu is something that isn’t a native food to the area. If you guessed shrimp, you’d be right. La Casita has many tasty shrimp entrees including the Mexican scampi platter, shrimp enchilada, shrimp tacos and Jr.’s Special: crispy tortilla with shrimp, tomatoes, lettuce drizzled with yummy cilantro ranch.
We tried the shrimp tacos and they are delicious! The shrimp had amazing flavor and was perfectly cooked. The fried taco shell set it off nicely and it was topped with onion, cilantro and avocado slices. It was served with a generous portion of beans and rice.
Surprise Favorite: rice dip:
Rice dip is my new addiction. Seeing the name, I never would have ordered it. Rice as a dip? However, this magical concoction is my new savory, creamy dip of choice for chips. It is a glorious combination of rice, beans, pork, sour cream and cheese. It is served hot and melty and you dip chips in it. The flavor is the perfect combination of creamy and flavorful. I love the hint of green chile and the flavor it adds. Cheese and sour cream are my comfort foods, so this one was peak for me.
Looking at this dip, you may wonder how they ever came up with it? Luiz Jr. created the first iteration of the dip in 1991 when he was in high school. He said that he would bring some as a snack with him to school, and friends would ask for some. Over the years, he added things to perfect it, and now it’s a popular dip on the menu.
Savory Tamale
Tamale is an option on many of the combination platters, but I’ve never tried one, seeing as how I was a “stick-to-the-chicken-enchilada person” (still regretting that decision). Both my kids are huge tamale fans, so they got the combo plates with tamales. I’m glad that I finally tried it because the tamale was divine. It can be tricky to get the masa just right for tamales, but the flavor of these was sweet and the texture was perfect. Sometimes people will overcook the tamale and it gets really dry, but this one was exactly what a tamale should be. I honestly wanted to eat several of them.
Both of my kids got the beef tamales and the shredded beef was really tender and delicious. It had great flavor and wasn’t stringy or dry. In the beef combo, they also got a beef taco, which is huge compared to the street tacos I’m used to. It had a fresh fried taco shell, shredded beef, lettuce, tomato, and a lot of cheese. It paired quite nicely with the rest of the combo.
Combination Plate #17 Beef tamale, beef taco, and beef enchilada
Speaking of cheese, the thing that stands out at La Casita is the cheese. Everything is covered in this delicious melty cheese. It is a cheeselover’s dream. When talking with Luis Jr., he informed me that they use 700 to 800 pounds of cheese each week.
Stepping Outside of My Comfort Zone: Meet the Pork Enchilada
I was a little hesitant to try the pork enchiladas, since I’m typically a faithful chicken enchilada fan, but I was very impressed. The pork had a great savory flavor that paired well with the tortilla. Plus, I got the green sauce, which is my all-time favorite.
La Casita has a variety of sauces to choose from, including, salsa verde which, is my favorite made with tomatillos; gringo, which is a traditional red enchilada sauce; salsa de los rellenos (a signature sauce for chile rillenos); and salsa ranchero, which is made with peppers and packs a bit of heat.
The food is comforting. The feeling of family and connection is strong. It was fun to be a part of it and enjoy the food.
La Casita is located at 333 N Main St, in Springville. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant is closed Sundays.
