Cuisine:

• International
• Mexican

Casa Bell Description:
Part of the highly-regarded Bellinghausen restaurant group (with five outposts in the city's toniest areas), Casa Bell is a Zona Rosa standout, professionally run, and situated in an enchanting early twentieth-century mansion. Skewing older, and richer, than more "fashionable" places, it's still great retro fun and the formality is never oppressive. The regular menu is Mexican surf 'n' turf (with hints of old-school French), but the real way to go is with daily specials. The nopal (cactus leaf) soup packs a nice, spicy punch that is tempered with mild chunks of cheese and the main-course carnitas (fried pork chunks) are juicy and crispy, accompanied by good guacamole and blue-corn tortillas. Chipotle chile albóndigas (meatballs) are moist, flavorful, and not much smaller than cherry bombs. The chamorro (pork shank on the bone) is big enough to satisfy a ravenous cave-dweller (you might consider sharing). Service runs at a fast (though genteel) clip during the early lunch rush, but if you can hold out till 3:30 p.m. or so, you'll have no trouble snagging a coveted garden table for a long leisurely lunch and one drink too many. The wine list, while not exhaustive, is satisfactory.


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