An Athens-Themed Weekend

Every week, I show you to a different business in Athens and attempt to describe the feel of each place in two blog posts.  But with this week’s second post, I’m stepping slightly out of topic.  Only slightly.  Instead of another post on Athens Underground, I want to take you through my Athens-themed weekend with my parents.

Ohio University has quite a few weekends each year dedicated to the family visiting—Parents Weekend, Sibs Weekend, Moms Weekend and Dads Weekend. Not only do our families have an excuse to visit us and check out the town and our lives as students, but we also have the opportunity to bring money to local businesses in Athens.  But does it really bring money to the little shops, or does it just provide more business for Applebee’s or Bob Evans?

In my attempts to stick it to the “corporate” man, I took Mom and Dad to the little Athens wonders, which I’m in love with. During the 27 hours they were with me, we jumped from place to place, starting with the Athens Farmers Market, an outdoor market located on East State Street, where local producers and businesses sell fresh produce, fruit, breads, pastries, salsas, jellies, flavored coffee and so much more.

At the AFM, Mom and Dad bought me necessities to get me through the next four weeks—pumpkin spice coffee, pineapple hot salsa and Fuji apples. After roaming through the crowds for a bit and getting me a blueberry muffin for breakfast, we left to get any remaining food items from Kroger (OK, I didn’t completely stick it to the corporate man, but you get the point). 

From there, we hopped to Brennan’s for a soup-and-sandwich lunch and some chatting. Then to Donkey for some hot, non-fat vanilla chai drinking, some Pastimes board game playing and chatting (I had to take Dad to Donkey since he’s never been there).  Because of the hours of chatting, we were hungry again, so we left for Casa Nueva, where we ate our share of local veggies with a Mexican kick and did some more, you guessed it, chatting. Sorry, no habanero salsa this time.

We finished up the rest of yesterday by sitting in the lobby of my dorm playing 500 Rummy, and … chatting.

This morning after church, we traveled to the Village Bakery on East State Street to feed our appetite for healthy, local foods yet again. Sitting on high stools next to the window, we enjoyed our slices of quiche Lorraine and fresh, sweet apples and pears. Oh, and we did more chatting.

If you haven’t noticed, we do a lot of eating and chatting.

Although my throat is still a tad bit dry from all the chatting I did this weekend, I wouldn’t have traded that time for anything.

The Whole Enchilada

Like many of the shops in Athens, Casa Nueva Restaurant, Cantina and Bodega has a rich history of community involvement and business expansion.

Environment

The Restaurant proudly uses the “reduce, reuse, recycle” method by recycling plastic, paper, newsprint, cardboard, clear and brown glass, aluminum and steel. The kitchen also has buckets for food composting. These buckets carry all vegetable and fruit waste products, and at the end of each day, community members can take the waste products to use on their compost piles.

Community

Members of the Casa family helped to write Ohio’s cooperative business law in 2003 and they host forums concerning educational and political issues in the area, according to a 2003 article by Karen Thomas.

The Restaurant also supports local farmers and producers by purchasing their fresh, organic produce.

Co-op

Casa is not only unique for its locally-grown food options and commitment to the community and environment, but the restaurant is a worker-owned cooperative. (I had no idea what a worker-owned co-op was until this blog post. I guess you learn something new everyday.)

Thanks to USLegal.com, I found the definition. “A worker-owned cooperative is a business that is commonly owned and managed by its workers. By organizing a business as a cooperative, the owner/employees make the initial investment in the enterprise, work for its success, and reap any benefits,” states the Web site.

“At Casa, we feel that our efforts are part of a larger movement in which owners can provide direction and vision to create a workplace in which all individuals are treated with equality, respect and compassion,” states the Casa Nueva Web site.

Expansion

In 1993, the cooperative expanded the restaurant to include the Cantina, a full-service bar with a D-6 liquor license. The Cantina also serves as a waiting area, where guests can purchase appetizers while they await seating. The Bodega was recently added as an extension to provide “a ‘quick’ daytime deli kitchen and a nighttime appetizer kitchen,” according to the Casa Web site.

Can't take the heat?

One thing I’ve noticed since starting this blog. It has triggered massive cravings. I apologize, but I just can’t help myself.

Now, with that said, I ventured to Casa Nueva (right off Court Street) this week. I felt the need for non-dining hall food.

I sent out a mass text to my friends Wednesday morning about my urge to go to Casa, and three of them agreed. (You’ll get to watch them eat in the video.)  Since I formulated the plan to dine there, I squirmed with anticipation all day, and I even knew exactly what I was going to order. Filling my head were daydreams of fresh, local veggies combined with a splendor of smoked jalapeños and garlic… Mmm…

Anyway, the time arrived at last. I met with Alec, Alex and Vince, and we strolled the 10 minutes from Read Hall to Casa.  Little did the guys know, I had been plotting to make them try the habanero salsa, Casa’s spiciest salsa, and capture the moment on video. (I did finally caution them before trying it though.)

I ordered a basket of chips and two different salsas, habanero and black bean, as an appetizer.

Here’s what happened:

According to the menu, Casa’s habanero salsa is “A flavorful infusion of citrus followed by the intense heat of habanero peppers.”

The definition is dead on. The slight citrus tang complements the fresh, juicy tomatoes.  But as soon as you taste the citrus and tomatoes, an extreme burning sensation fills your mouth, tongue and throat. It’s almost painful, and I can take really spicy foods. I can eat a dozen hot wings from Buffalo Wild Wings without breaking a sweat. This was different.

Thankfully, I also ordered the black bean salsa to ease the pain of the habanero salsa. (The black bean salsa was gone within minutes.)

Now, on with the main entrée, my Enchilada Roja, which is an enchilada stuffed with Monterey jack cheese, veggies of the day, tomatoes, onions and in my case, chicken. Customers can choose between black beans, tofu, jasmine rice, pork, Puerco Pibil, beef or chicken.  Chipotle salsa is smothered over the enchilada, with shredded lettuce and carrots stacked on top of the salsa. Sigh…

Although I didn’t get to taste-test any of the special autumn desserts, I know I’ll be back in the near future.