Downtown Los Angeles Welcomes Casa January 6

Anchoring Maguire Properties' California Plaza atop downtown's historic Bunker Hill, CASA, which means "home" in Spanish, is a "new Mexican" restaurant that pays homage to the history and flavors of the traditional cuisine, while transcending the experience with modern influences. Grounded in the progressive architecture of a modern hacienda setting, Chef/Partner Kris Morningstar prepares seasonal soulful dishes for lunch and dinner. Like the transformation of Clark Kent into Superman, by day CASA caters to the 9 to 5 lunch crowd as an upscale Taqueria, with quick service meals and a grab-and-go counter; by night CASA transforms into a comfortable Antojitos lounge, catering to the after-work crowd, downtown denizens and destination diners from all of Southern California.

Though just steps away from MOCA and the world-famous Walt Disney Concert Hall, the design of CASA, created by Frank Gehry prot�g� Ana Henton, transports you away from the hard lines and concrete of Downtown LA to a comfortable modern hacienda dominated by curved lines, smooth adobe stucco and Mexican antiques. Inspired by Modern Spanish architecture, the outdoor space features an indoor/outdoor bar and semi-private rounded booths called "casitas" which overlook a water fountain. Inside, the space, like the menu, transforms each night. The efficiency of the taqueria line during the day gives way to a chef's table and exhibition kitchen at night, and nests of intimate tables inspire diners to linger over cocktails. A custom agave sculpture with distressed metal leaves adds drama to the center of the room while the outdoor fountain further enhances the nighttime experience, creating a sophisticated yet neighborhood atmosphere not found anywhere else in downtown LA.

Like the atmosphere, the menu, created by classically trained chef Kris Morningstar, is unlike any other Mexican restaurant menu in Los Angeles. Using authentic Mexican flavors and techniques, Morningstar, who received great critical acclaim as executive chef at Blue Velvet and trained at Grace, Patina and other top restaurants across the Southland, has foregone greasy pools of jack cheese passing as quesadillas and created a menu inspired by trips to Mexico, friends' abuelas, and scouring over hundreds of vintage Mexican cookbooks. For CASA, Morningstar was tasked to create two very different menus. For lunch, CASA's taqueria menu offers quick-service customizable entrees in a "Step One, Step Two" process, choose the filling and vehicle - tacos, huarache, ensalada or burrito.

In the evening, CASA evolves into a luxurious home of cutting edge cuisine and cocktails with a traditional antojitos menu that is designed for sharing. Dishes include Hurachitos, masa flatbreads topped with cochinita pibil, black bean puree, citrus marinated onions and cilantro; Tacos de Lengua with beef tongue, ancho chile-raisin salsa, toasted almonds, marjoram on house-made tortillas; Albondigas, pork and beef meatballs with a smoky tomato sauce and queso cotija; Pulpo Asado, grilled octopus, recado negro, fingerling potatoes with a citrus herbs salad; and Conejo, braised rabbit with chestnuts, roasted cauliflower, cinnamon, ancho chile and almonds. After 10pm, Morningstar will offer a revolving late night taco "truck" menu.

In addition to an impressive list of tequilas and mescals, made-from-scratch culinary cocktails were created to complement the authentic Mexican flavors in Morningstar's dishes. Signature cocktails include the Hibiscus Mar"Tea"Ni, the Mexican answer to a cosmopolitan made with Grand Marnier and hibiscus tea syrup; Smokey Margarita, with a rinse of Ardberg Scotch and finished with a rim of house-smoked salt; and Cervesa Sangrita, a twist on the original Mexican beer coc