Casa Lupe

Good for: regulars

Bad for: People with children, people who don't like being stuck with the default option

Cost: $36 for two (inclu. tax & tip, no beverages)

Casa Lupe is a cute and colorful Mexican restaurant unfortunately sandwiched between two other buildings. The restaurant is small, but the servers were friendly and the atmosphere felt familiar.
The menu listed sangria and margaritas, but with no bar in sight (and because of the cold weather), we decided to stick with water.
The salsas that were brought to the table were medium-hot and flavorful- a good start to the meal.
I ordered the special fish tacos and Jason ordered carne asada. The tacos came with an option of grilled or fried fish and with a choice of beans. I neglected to make either choice at the time of ordering (I grabbed the waiter later and managed to request pinto beans) and ended up with fried-fish tacos. The fish was perfectly cooked and crispy, the cabbage was fresh and crunchy, and there was a dollop each of tomatoes, guacamole, and onions to add as desired. I wished that I had ordered the grilled fish, as the fried fish ultimately came off just slightly too greasy among the other ingredients. It's worth noting that the beans and rice were both worth eating, a novelty in a Mexican restaurant. Jason's carne asada had good flavor but the meat was gristly and hard to eat.
Here's the thing: plenty of restaurants bring out the plates of food with the warning, "careful, the plates are hot". As it turns out, they were not just being polite at this restaurant. The plates were scalding. In fact, I touched mine on accident more than once and had to jerk my hand back lest I jeopardize my career as a hand model, which in this teaching job market is a risk I am not willing to take. If I was a parent of a small child, the hot plate situation would be less humorous and more alarming.
Overall the food was good. Not great, not the best Mexican food ever, or even in the area, but good. I can see how if you got to know the servers and/or the owners, this could easily become a habitual go-to. For the casual eater, not necessarily worth going out of the way to return.