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Business & Tech

C CASA: Not Your Mother's Taqueria

Catherine Bergen serves up a unique and healthy alternative to traditional Mexican cuisine.

in the is a taqueria – but I use the term loosely. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, C CASA offers tacos, soup and salads, small plates, and rotisserie meats – all created with sustainable ingredients. Tacos are made to order with unusual flavors like seasoned buffalo, lamb and citrus prawns. 

C CASA is Catherine Bergen’s first restaurant, but she’s no stranger to innovative food products. In 1993, while working for a company that etched and hand-painted wine bottles, she decided to create custom-etched oil decanters for wineries.

She founded Tulocay’s Made in Napa and eventually added balsamic vinegar decanters, and then flavored oils and vinegars. Bergen sold that company in 2008.

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Julie: What’s the most important lesson you learned from Tulocay Made in Napa?

Catherine: Follow your passion and the money will come.

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Julie: What intrigues you about Mexican food?

Catherine: The freshness of true Mexican cuisine and the chilies and spices. 

Julie: You’ve taken some simple concepts and turned them into healthy, gourmet “fast food” dishes.  

Catherine: I’ve been making tacos with all kinds of ingredients my whole life. 

Julie: What other innovations are you particularly proud of?

Catherine: C CASA offers completely sustainable ingredients in unique flavor combinations in a quick-serve environment.

Julie: How do you hope your customers will describe your food?

Catherine: Delicious food that you can't find anywhere else.

Julie: You’ve worked with some of the top chefs in high-end Mexican cuisine, including studying with cookbook author and television guy Rick Bayless.

Catherine: I was inspired by Rick’s passion about the people, food, tequila, art and history of Mexico.

Julie: Locals have created a buzz about C CASA.

Catherine: My vision was to create a place that served delicious nutritious food in a casual hip environment for the locals. I’m grateful that they’re showing up!

Julie: Your food must “wow” tourists. You call your dishes “addictive but healthy.” The addictive part I get. Convince me on the healthy part.

Catherine: Our mantra is "C CUISINE: Delicious, Nutritious and Addictive!" And it must be in that order. We use only hormone and preservative free, sustainable food.

Julie: Is it a challenge to serve in a “counter” venue?

Catherine: Our biggest challenge is that we have such a small kitchen for the volume and the quality. 

Julie: What’s the most important thing you tell your staff?

Catherine: The kitchen is responsible for ensuring that each and every plate that leaves the kitchen is exactly like it was designed.

Julie: Does the innovative menu require extensive staff training?

Catherine: Most of my staff has been with me a long time, many since the beginning. I have found the best training is by experiencing for themselves all the menu items.

Julie: Sounds like a great gig. And you’ve hired some of the best Mexican chefs in the business.

Catherine: I hired Pablo and Erasto Jacinto in the beginning. They were with me about a year and then moved on to open their own restaurant.  They’re following their passion, too!   

Julie: Making a decision is tough when I look at your menu. If you were going to eat one thing on your menu right now, what would it be?

Catherine: Considering it’s Sunday morning, the scrambled egg taco with pico de gallo, goat cheese and chipotle aioli.  Actually, I eat one of those tacos every day.

Julie: Oh, kind of like an addiction . . .

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