Café Rio (Lake Forest, CA) Not As ‘De Mierda’ As You’d Think

 
Imagine a bastard love child between Baja Fresh and Quiznos and you’ll get a good picture of what to expect from the brand new, Utah based fast casual restaurant Café Rio.

How so? Well, take Baja Fresh’s pleasant/inoffensive menu (read: no cabeza nor lengua), pass it under Quiznos’ conveyor oven and you get this Mexican-ish eatery. It’s good, but not great. Just pleasant.

When I visited, it was their third day of operation. (BTW, tell them it’s your first time there and you get a Stone-Cold-Creamery-circa-Mid-90’s cheer.) So it was brand-spanking new.

 
Being that I visited on a Wednesday I had their daily special: chicken tostada and drink for $6.47 with tax. It’s hard to see under all that stuff but the first layer is a crispy tortilla covered with shredded chicken, black beans, rice and cheese which was then passed through the oven.

Afterwards, it was topped with the lettuce, Pico de Gallo, tortilla strips, sour cream and a moderately spicy cilantro-lime vinaigrette dressing.

If however you find the mix a bit too bland, they offer a bevy of salsas (right) ranging from mild to F’ing hot … which I soooo appreciated. Gotta have the spice!

All together, the meal was pleasant. I don’t think I’d bring out of town chef friends here to showcase the cuisine - but it was good.

But, here’s the dilemma people: you can easily go to neighboring eateries such as Albatross, Taco Stop, El Pollo Loco or even Wahoo’s Fish Taco and get something better and for the same price – if not cheaper. The conveyor oven and the welcome cheers are nifty gimmicks, but will they be enough to compete? Vamos a ver.

Café Rio
24312 Rockfield Boulevard
Lake Forest, CA
(800) 223-3746
http://www.caferio.com/