Mi Casa, Su Casa is a friendly enough name for a restaurant. My house, your house. A generous offer. Of course there's no free food waiting for you inside, but there is plenty of hospitality at the Fort Lauderdale restaurant, site of the former Cielito Lindo.

There is still much there that's familiar: a similar menu, same chef, some of the same welcoming staff. Glasses are refilled before you realize they're empty; courses are well-paced; dirty dishes whisked away.

This is important in a restaurant that isn't a chain, isn't located in a prime area (though if you're in the market for a palm reader there's one nearby), isn't hip and trendy.

What Mi Casa, Su Casa is, however, is a good, inexpensive Mexican/Spanish (meaning Cuban-style) restaurant. It's festive, with serapes everywhere, rooms accented in the bright emerald green of the Mexican flag, and its sprawling space (it seats more than 200) is divided into nooks and dining areas so that it's not one big open dining hall.

There are pages of familiar choices, including tacos, flautas, carnitas, fajitas, burritos and enchiladas generally served with yellow rice and refried beans. The list of ``Spanish Favorites'' includes palomilla steak, churrasco steak, ropa vieja and empanizado served with white rice, black beans and sweet plantains.

MARGARITAVILLE

Margaritas are a big draw. If you need a midweek night out, come on Tuesdays for 99-cent margaritas with dinner. There are more than a dozen margaritas available any night; cool fruity varieties like the melon margarita and colorful Blue and Pink Cadillac margaritas ($4.20 to $7, half-price at the bar from 4 to 8 p.m. during the summer). Or toast the night with a glass of sangria, 99 cents on a Sunday night, topped with a slice of lime, lemon and a cherry. No fruit to be found at the bottom.

Now that you have your drink order straight, make your dinner decisions while munching on warm, crisp tortilla chips accompanied by two bowls of salsa, one hotter but not a scorcher.

Even though it's sweltering outside, we enjoyed the chicken soup ($1.50 cup, $2.50 bowl), a grandmotherly bowl packed with chunks of chicken in a savory golden broth brimming with rice, enhanced by cilantro, not oversalted.

Other starters are mostly nacho variations ($4.65 nachos with melted cheese and jalapeños to $8.95 crab nachos) but there are also salads, Mexican pizzas and quesadillas.

The chicken quesadilla is on an interesting plate that curves upward at the edges, which does a good job of keeping the generous mound of food in place for those who might have a problem with that. We're not speaking from personal experience, naturally. The quesadilla, fried to a light crunch without any grease, melted cheese coating grilled chicken, all pressed together. Cut off a piece and pile it high with guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and chopped tomato and add a dash of Mi Casa's tangy taco-style sauce.

Among entrees, a house specialty of arroz camapollo ($11.45) was our favorite. Delectable yellow rice was incredibly moist and flavorful from the juices of the baked chicken quarter. The three large shrimp were supple, plantains were cooked just right, nicely caramelized, edges crisp, inside soft. It's also served with tomato slices and lettuce.

REAL CRAB

Mi Casa gets points for using real crab in its enchiladas ($11.95), but otherwise it's a basic version, topped with cheddar cheese and ranchera sauce, the yellow rice fluffy, refried beans topped with cheddar, no surprises there.

Tacos (two for $7.75) are stuffed with lots of ground beef, still juicy, packed into a crisp corn tortilla that's nothing like you'll find at your local Taco Biggie, with rice and beans.

After such hearty eating, we opted for a light dessert. The flan ($2.75) wasn't soft and creamy enough, but the pineapple-coconut cheesecake ($4.25) was perfect for summer: cool, refreshing with chunks of pineapple and grated coconut, rich and creamy.