| Healthy Fresh-Mex with a good sized menu and clean building. |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 2/1/2005
Rating: 8
My photo gallery
|
Ive been long overdue to review some mexican food. Today, we had lunch at Rio Adobe in Cupertino. Looks like they just opened as the inside was sparkling clean. Quite a number of people inside which is always a good sign in my book.
If you are looking for a traditional taqueria, this is probably not the place for you. Its more of an upscale-california-healthier-yuppy style burrito. Usually perfect for the dot.com crowd yet tolerable to the hardcore mexican food lover. Moving on to more important things is my lunch order.
I went with the De Gallo burrito (grilled chicken)
tortilla - ok, but I think the thing that shines is probably the fact that its not loaded with fat like your typical taqueria tortilla.
chicken - cooked over an open flame grill, I love the char-broiled flavor and they put nice helpings of chicken chunks inside the burrito
salsa - no kick or heat to it. I thought it was weak not to mention too watery. I think they need to strain it out before putting inside the burrito. By the time I got to my 3 bite, the salsa had soaked through the tortilla almost making it impossible to lift with my hands. I had to use a knife and fork to finish my meal.
guac and cheese - I dont recall it being memorable? I guess it was ok?
The main thing that stuck out in my mind was the guilt free feeling after eating this burrito. It actually tasted somewhat healthier than the gut bombs Im used to at taqueria joints. All the ingrediants tasted fresh and didnt have that processed taste..even the roof of my mouth didnt have layer of lard. Rio Adobe is enjoyable mexican food with a healthier hint. Id easily make a return visit to try something.
|
| |
| |
RETURN VISIT for Jason! 4/4/2006 - 8.5 Rating: Made a return visit and the De Gallo burrito holds very strong. Nice sized burrito with fresh ingrediants. Im raising my score since the amount of chicken was plentiful, Jim the owner was actually working in the kitchen, salsas have improved, and plate presentations were beautiful.
I do have a minor complaint, both times I got the De Gallo, I can swear there was no guacamole to be found or tasted. The menu says its one of the ingredients but it was non-existant.
Other than that, Rio Adobe is on a roll, keep up the great work.
|
| |
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 2/1/2005
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery
|
It was a pleasant change, actually, to try a fresh-mex taqueria. It seems we've been to countless hole-in-the-wall taquerias, looking for the place that will unseat La Bamba. And Rio Adobe comes along and I find myself really liking this place.
The place looks very clean and nice, something I've seen in many foo-foo places that I quickly dismissed. I almost got the feeling that it was part of a chain of restaurants. Happily it is not.
The menu boasted a nice selection of healthful foods for the mexican food enthusiast. As I surely am. I opted for the Del Mar burrito which consisted of Marinated char-grilled Mahi Mahi, flour tortilla, rice, pico de gallo salsa, salsa blanca, cheese, and gauc. Doesn't that just sound mouth watering. The Mahi Mahi melted in my mouth. The salsa was pleasant and not spicy it all. I rectified that by loading up at their nicely-outfitted salsa bar. The chips that came with my burrito were among the best I have had and went equally well with the selection of salsas. I devoured the whole thing quickly. And for $5.95 it was not a bad deal at all.
While Rio Adobe will not take on the traditional powerhouses you'll see at the top of the rankings at Jatbar, if you are into quality ingredients and a burrito thats a little different, you will be pleasantly surprised at the offerings here. It may look like one of those mediocre fresh-mex chain places (which I can't stand - I keep trying to like them, but can't bring myself to) you will be in for a rare treat upon your first taste. Way to go Rio Adobe, I'll be returning for sure.
|
| |
|
|
Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 187
Reviewed: 2/9/2006
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery |
Summary
Popular family gathering. Healthier Mexican food. Unique desert that is popular with the young and old. Good salad dressing. Excessive slaw. Longer waits than Una Mas or Baja Fresh. No labels for the salsas. Friendly service.
Whole 10 Yards
I arrive at Rio Adobe around 7:15 and the place is full except for two small tables. The person behind the register greets me. I already knew what I wanted as I had looked at the menu earlier on during the day. I order one taco Del Mar (2.75), which consists or marinated and grilled Mahi-Mahi with southwest slaw on soft corn tortilla and their special chicken Burrito Majado (6.95), which consists of chicken, steak, or rice and beans, topped with red sauce and baked cheese. When I ordered the taco, I assumed I was getting two for 2.75, but the cashier asked me how many I wanted and I said just one and he rang me up for 2.75. I was thinking to myself “the taco better be damn good for 2.75.”
I figured my order would take 5 or 6 minutes tops but instead it took more like 10 to 15 minutes. While I waited for my order, there was a consistent stream of customers coming in to order. I also observed one person serving all the orders. He seemed to know who ordered what and would bring out the order, when he did not know he called out their name. He was very efficient and courteous. One couple asked him to kindly clean a table for four and he went in the back to grab a bin and cleaned off the table right away for them. There were about three other people in the back cooking food and running around trying to get the orders out.
I saw them stick my burrito into the oven and I finally saw them preparing my order. I do not think I got many chips as I would have had I decided to dine in. The condiments sections had variety of salsas but they were not labeled so I could not tell which ones were spicy and which ones were mild. They rang out some of their salsa and it did not seem like they would be filled. I did not want to take a chance so I went with the fresh salsa but even that was on empty and I was barely able to fill the small salsa cup.
By the time I get home, I am starving. I take out all the items. The taco is small. The tortilla is smaller than most soft taco shells I have seen. The soft taco looked more like a veggie item than a meat item. I thought the Mahi-Mahi would be sliced and placed in the taco with some slaw on top. My taco was covered in slaw and I could not even see the Mahi-Mahi at first until I started eating it. They gave me a huge chunk of Mahi-Mahi. This was not a good deal for 2.75. The Mahi-Mahi was good and the sauce they had on it was good but there was just excessive slaw. The slaw was unique in that it added crunch to the taco and balanced out with the grilled flakey fish. Honest I would have paid 3 more dollars and just gotten the Mahi-Mahi burrito instead.
When I bit into the burrito I was expecting the typical sliced grilled chicken, instead Rio Adobe uses chunks of breast meat from roasted whole chickens. I was impressed with their meat selection. Inside the burrito were several chunks of roasted chicken with skin, fresh salsa and guacamole. The outside layer was covered in red sauce and cheese baked in an oven. By the time I got home the top was already crispy but warm. I think the cheese and sauce would have been bubbly had I dined in, but the burrito was still superb!
The free chips is home made but it is just OK. By the time I ate them the chips were cold. Same goes for the free slaw. The dressing is good but I am not down with the slaw. Actually, after finishing off the taco I had plenty of slaw from my taco that I just dumped into the free slaw them provided. (OK, that was just a pointless comment).
One thing I noticed while standing around was that people ordered the house made desert. The deserts are Sopaipillas for 2.95 for about 4 slices or with ala mode for a dollar more. It is pizza shaped soft dough with some sort of sweet filling with powdered sugar on top served with honey. The honey is served on the side in those syrup jars you see at IHOP where you can pour on as much or as little as you like.
I would defiantly come back again and get their desert as well as burrito. I believe their burrito is the best value. It is tasty with plenty of flavor and huge.
One thing I did not like was there was not really a waiting area for people ordering to go. The place is somewhat small so it seemed like I was always in the way of someone getting a refill on his or her drink or from the waiter bringing the food out from the kitchen.
Pluses: Popular family hang out, Great chicken burritos, friendly service, accepts credit cards.
Minuses: Crowded, packed parking lot, expensive taco, excessive slaw, no labels for degree of spiciness for their salsas.
*** Update 7/9/2006 ***
Increasing Rating to 8.5/10.
After watching Italy win the world cup from penalty kicks, my friend and I were famished. I suggested we eat at Rio Adobe as he has never been there and has not had a burrito in a long time.
We arrive around 2:30pm and the lunch crowd is mostly gone with a few tables remaining. I order the Chicken Burrito Mojado, same as my previous order except now the price has gone up a dollar to $7.95. My friend orders a steak burrito with rice, beans, cheese, guacamole, and salsa for $6.95.
Our waiter brings us some fresh and crispy tortilla chips to share. I like how their salsa bar is clean, stocked and offer 8 choices of salsa but unfortunately there are no labels indicating which is which and the level of spiciness.
Shortly our meals arrive on a plate consisting of slaw with some creamy dressing, a handful of tortilla chips and our humungous burrito. These burritos are well worth the price as they are huge and just stuffed with meat. Even though my burrito should include rice and beans, it seemed my burrito consisted of 90% grilled chicken and a thin layer of flavored guacamole spread onto the tortilla. I am not even sure if I tasted any rice or beans. Compared to my last trip here, my chicken this time was grilled with a charred flavor. My friend mentioned the amount of steak he got in his burrito was the most he's ever had. |
| |
Reviewer: pyunnyhana
Total Reviews: 47
Reviewed: 2/13/2007
Rating: 7.5
My photo gallery |
We were at Rio Adobe around 2:30 and it was empty. No one was at the cashier initially until about 5 minutes later. I usually don't eat Mexican food at all, and if I do, it's usually at La Vic's (who can beat a huge 3.95 burrito? Someone tell me).
I ordered the Carne Adovada and my friend bought the De Gallo.
Carne Adovada: Comes with chips and salsa was at a bar. The burrito was certainly big and had a good spicy kick to it. Lots of meat in this one. I was just a little down about having to eat the burrito with a fork and knife because there was no way I could pick it up without having the contents spill on my lap. The chips were just okay, but I wasn't too thrilled to see the dried oil patches on them. Salsas were good. I especially like the bean/corn variety.
De Gallo: Unfortunately, I did not like this one too much. My friend who ordered this one only finished half of her burrito and kept trying to mooch off of mine. This had the usual avocado, chicken, rice, salsa and the such, but no depth of flavor compared to the La Vic's burritos, in my opinion.
My meal rang up to over 7 dollars for one burrito and it was satisfying. However, I think I'd stick to the little taquerias. I would come back and try the mahi mahi dishes. |
| |
Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 148
Reviewed: 6/11/2007
Rating: 8
My photo gallery |
I have not been this excited about 'mexican' food since I've discovered La Vic's orange sauce.
I wanted a burrito and overshot Chipotle one afternoon so I decided to give Rio Adobe on the next block down a try. It's been in the same location for the better part of 3 years I believe, and have succeeded in a location where other restaurants could not. How bad could it be? This was probably one of my better decisions of the year thus far.
Not quite the traditional mexican joint so I will use that term lightly. Rio Adobe is rather a Southwestern type of joint. Their ingredients are fresh, in house fried tortilla chips, perfectly grilled skirt steaks, juicy plump chicken, and most importantly tortillas that are able to hold all this in till the end of the burrito w/o tearing, soaking through, or falling apart.
I've had the adobe burrito twice now, once with steak and earlier today with chicken and a jarritos. ($9.15) I was extremely hungry the first time so I doubt I could of written an accurate review, but no it's true...this place is just-that-good. go for it. grab some rio adobe for yourself!
8/10
|
| |
|
|
| Disclaimer |
|
|
