When Bill Veremis closed his restaurant in Rosemont, he had a big plan: to convince the owners of Casa Bonita to sell. They did, and now under Veremis’ ownership and with a new menu, the restaurant is flourishing in downtown Libertyville’s already-thriving dining scene. The menu sticks to traditional Mexican fare with a modern update to many of the dishes, all accompanied by a large list of drinks from the full bar. Try the tequila flight; it was a hit at several tables around us.
We went at 6:15 p.m. on a Saturday, and by the time we got there, the wait was already topping two hours. Thanks to our reservation, we didn’t have to stay in the cramped entrance space with all the other diners waiting; instead we were promptly shown to our table under festive party lights in the main dining room. The restaurant’s footprint hasn’t changed, so the space is still big with a large patio heated to 75 degrees year-round, but the crowd inside was a little cramped and really loud. Be prepared to yell to be heard and to feel the heat of bodies packed in together.
Casa Bonita
We started with the fundido appetizer, a Chihuahua cheese dip mixed with chorizo and pico de gallo, served with your choice of flour or corn tortillas. As far as queso fundido dip goes, it was pretty standard. The cheese was nice and stretchy, and although I would have enjoyed more chorizo, the flavor mixed well throughout the dish. We also enjoyed both the complimentary red and green salsa and chips. The green salsa was a table favorite, sweet and tangy, and the red is more traditional with a spicy kick.
We ordered a few specialty drinks as well: horchata and sangria. The horchata was just as good, if not better, than the version I had in Mexico City. Try asking for it without ice; once the ice melts, it’s too watered down and less appetizing. It was the opposite for the sangria, though. Before the ice melted, it was too acidic; afterward the flavor was perfect.
For entrees, we ordered the pollo en rajas, chicken fajitas, skirt steak chimichanga, banana tilapia and a taco salad with chicken. My nephew ordered the chicken fingers, and we were all impressed. No compressed chicken nuggets here — these were hand-cut strips fried to perfection. The pollo en rajas (chicken saut
