Our Food Critic Raves: Casa de Julia is a Downtown Destination

Yasmine Rubio recently opened her first restaurant, Casa de Julia, in Downtown Phoenix – a reasonable career move for a woman who grew up working in her family’s string of Filiberto’s here in the Valley. The shocker is that Rubio is 29 years old, and the restaurant, named for her paternal grandmother, is not a fast-food or even fast-casual operation, but a polished destination restaurant in the historical
Luhrs Building.

Rubio says she hates labels, and, indeed, it’s hard to put one on her menu, but some mash-up of Modern Mexican and Mexican-inspired American cooking comes close. I’ve loved most of it.

From the bar come all the expected Latin American bevvies (palomas, mojitos, et al.) plus signature cocktails such as Whispers at Sunset, a dusky gem of a drink pairing earthy sotol with a tart-sweet jamaica reduction. 

Every restaurant offers pork belly these days, but few are as good as Casa de Julia’s pork belly chicharrón, which has that magical unctuous-and-crispy paradox. Served with lemon-sparked guacamole, pickled red onions and rich chile verde, each morsel prompts the question: Why would I ever eat a chicken nugget when there’s this? 

Aguachile de camarón, ceviche’s spicy cousin, is everything our server promised. Tart with lime and potent with chile de árbol, it’s a bright, mouth-walloping mix of shrimp, cucumber, red onion, avocado and cilantro set in a bracing magenta moat of hibiscus-infused chile water.

Tempura-fried fish tacos, feather-light and crispy, come Baja-style, but fancier – drizzled with avocado sauce and set on corn tortillas with creamy coleslaw, pico de gallo and chile de árbol aioli. Everything here bursts with flavor, including a juicy American Kobe beef smashburger, served “Mexicana”-style on a brioche bun with pico de gallo and creamy avocado. I wish it had cheese, though. 

The only disappointment is a slightly dry short rib, scantily spooned with mole instead of smothered in it. The rich, complex sauce is meant to enhance the beef, but leaves no impression. Accompanying cauliflower-potato purée and asparagus are good, but I realize now that I’m not interested in eating American food in what is ostensibly a Modern Mexican restaurant.

However, rice pudding, layered with guava compote and whipped cream, ends a mostly excellent meal on a sweet note. Bottom line: I’m keeping my eye on Yasmine Rubio.