RESTAURANT REVIEW:

The words on the front door proclaim what waits inside, and for more than 33 years Mi Casa has been the warm, comfortable sweater you grab on a chilly fall day.

“Mi casa es su casa” is indeed a philosophy more restaurants should embrace. The family-owned restaurant provides that homey feeling that makes dining so enjoyable.

Despite her being slammed with tables, our waitress came right over with a big smile and an armful of plates and asked us what we wanted to drink.

The temptation was to have one of the famous margaritas. Ten types of tequila are offered, including Patrón silver, Herradura gold and Jose Cuervo 1800.

In addition to the usual margaritas, the restaurant has specialty ones. The waborita has Cabo wabo silver tequila, Cointreau and Grand Marnier, and looked the most intriguing, though the Mi Casa melon margarita with Cabo wabo silver, Midori, and sweet and sour also piqued my interest.

While we noshed on chips and picante salsa, I asked our waitress about the Mi Casa sauce that was put on the arroz con pollo, one of the house’s famous dishes.

She not only explained it, but also brought some out for us to try. It is worth requesting, if for nothing more than to dip chips into. The tomato-based slightly spicy sauce is mixed with green bell peppers, onions and tomatoes.

My guest and I split a cup of albondigas soup, which has carrots, peppers, celery, tomatoes and onions, plus the obligatory meatball.

It was surprising to both of us that the soup was a bit bland. The meatball was not seasoned enough to give the soup any zest. Some black pepper gave me enough spice to enjoy the soup, but my guest, who was probably a bit biased because her mother makes the soup regularly, wasn’t won over.

We went old school with our entrees, ordering one of the many combination plates offered.

I had a pork tamale, cheese enchilada and a chicken taco with the requisite rice and beans. My guest went with the chile relleno and fish taco.

Of those five items we agreed the tamale was the best. The pork was tender and moist and there was just the right amount of masa to make the tamale sweet, but not too sweet.

The chile relleno was good, but cooked with a California chile as opposed to a pasilla chile, which my guest was more accustomed to in her native Mexico. The pasilla chile gives the relleno more bite and a distinct taste.

The fish taco is breaded cod. The breading was light and sweet, and combined with jack and cheddar cheese, cabbage, a mayonnaise-based sauce and guacamole.

The guacamole was a little disappointing; it tasted like the kind from a can and had a slight aftertaste to it.

My chicken taco was surprisingly flavorful. The chicken was cooked with spices, not just boiled and dumped into a shell.

I made a rookie mistake though with the taco, letting it sit while I ate other items. The juices weakened the shell, which came apart in my hands. Anyone who has eaten one of these knows you have about a five-minute window before disintegration occurs.

Cheese is a big theme at the restaurant and covers a lot of the dishes. My cheese enchilada had melted jack over it, as did the refried beans.

Overall our meal was very enjoyable. The food is like that old sweater, cozy and flawed, but you reach for it when you need some comfort.

ADDRESS: 296 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa

PHONE: (949) 645-7626

CUISINE: Mexican

SPECIALTY DISH: Arroz con pollo

ALCOHOL SERVED: Full bar

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $5.45 to $16.75

FAMILY FRIENDLY: Yes

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: American Express, Visa, MasterCard

RATING: ***

JOHN REGER is the Pilot’s restaurant critic. His reviews run Thursdays.