Casa B in Union Square

[Bluebell]

Tried Casa B tonight--officially their first night open. It's two or three doors down from Ronnarong, very sleek decor, with space in the basement and at ground level. DC had sangria, I had a well-made periodista. The tapas are Latin-inspired rather than Spanish but quite tasty. High points were the wild mushroom pinchos and the cod fritters. They start each meal with complimentary plantain chips and asparagus dip. Definitely a nice addition to the Union Square offerings!

[opinionatedchef]

funny. all excited about going there; did my hour of research, printing out recs. Arrived , parked, shopped at Reliable and headed for CasaB; only to find a note on the door saying they were closed tonight for a private event. Ha! This and our recent Trattoria Toscana shutout(Xmas vacation for them) has reconfirmed my previous habit of ALWAYS phoning a restnt before going.

Phooey. We then had a fine dinner at that new Thai place where E.A.T. was. Just not what I had psyched myself up for.

[Bluebell]

Sorry to hear this. One extra piece of cocktail info for when you finally get there. The night we went, a person near us had a pisco sour, and I watched the bartender crack and separate the egg right then - no premixed drinks there! The woman who drank it seemed really pleased.

[Bob Dobalina]

The Thai place was Ronnarong? How is that doing? When it was gearing up for open, it had a beautiful photo of a dish with green peppercorns and I thought it was going to be a Thai place that would be different than sort of the standard Thai fare - seemed to have a few dishes in that regard, but never did see a dish with those peppercorns.

[opinionatedchef]

yes, bob. it was very busy; all seats taken. food was v. good (but not anything special like S &I.) and if it were my neighborhood Thai, I would feel lucky. But while they bill it as a tapas place, that is a fib. they simply take 'apps' and call them 'tapas'. best thing about it was the decor; very handsome and comfy. But I could repeat word for word the seemingly CH conversation at the neighbor table. It is soo tiny; i hope they can make enough money. Very nice people.

you prob have followed the S&I threads and know that those green peppercorns(canned) are on various dishes at S&I.

[LeoLioness]

Ronnerong isn't new, it's been open for 2-3 years.

I had a couple of very good meals there and then one awful one (with food ranging from "meh" to straight-up inedible) so I haven't bothered going back. Do you remember what you had? It would be my neighborhood Thai place if I could erase the horrible meal from my memory.

[chickendhansak]

Also Ronnarong is just a new presentation (OK, I'll say "reboot" again) of the existing Thai restaurant in that space owned by the same chef, which formerly had the bold name Great Thai Chef.

[opinionatedchef]

shrimp patties; chicken golden crowns; coconut soup; drunken chicken with green beans; bbq pork salad(disappointing because was made with chinese bbq pork.)
the foodiew/ friend next to us, who eats there all the time, said the whole menu is good but he partic loves the " ___ basil" entree, and it looked fine. My 'sage' advice- always send back/refund inedible or horrid food. Lots of times it feels uncomfortable or embarassing, i understand, but i do believe that getting your money back, along with validation and help from the staff- will help you return sooner, or at the very least- feel better.

[LeoLioness]

We did send back one dish--the shrimp patty in fact, as it tasted of old oil and was soggy and just sort of gross. The other dishes were more of a judgment call, so we did not. I remember in particular some mushroom salad that I thought was just straight-up bad but I wouldn't send something back simply because I don't like how it tastes.

[Bob Dobalina]

On their website, I saw a picture at some event with a tray of a sardine salad - wish that were on the regular menu.

[gini]

We stopped by Casa B last night for a quick snack. The interior is adorable - whilst the upstairs is a bit austere, white, and streamlined, the downstairs is cozy without being cave-like.

We sat at the bar, where I had a mai tai, which was expertly made. We shared two tapas:
aranitas de chorizo, which were plantain and chorizo fritters topped with roasted peppers and goat cheese - smokey chorizo, sweet plantains, red pepper brightness - the whole dish worked.
deditos de olaya, cheese puffs accompanied by cilantro aioli - these were perfectly fried without a hint of grease. The aioli is addictive.

I wish we hadn't wasted out appetite at Back Bar earlier in the night - I'd love to try out more of their offerings based on this excellent first taste.

[opinionatedchef]

sounds great! bring on the Tasty Fried Things! can't wait to try. thnx for the report.

[opinionatedchef]

http://www.casabrestaurant.com/bienve...

menu posting soon it seems

[kdemayo]

Thanks for posting! What are the prices like? I didn't see a menu online.

[Bluebell]

Not too bad - I think most of the raciones and tapas were in the $6 - $9 range. There are trays - I forget the name, but they offer 3 selections or so -- that run about $14. Cocktails were $10ish, and there are wines by the glass and the bottle too.