Rio Del Mar Mexican Cuisine

A Hungry Guy Review -- Santa Cruz Sentinel

A Place So Good it Requires a Strategy by Bob Fenster, Features Editor

OK, the Hungry Guy confesses I haven't written about this place because I like it too much. I got selfish. Didn't want bigger crowds than they already have. So I've been debating: Am I a journalist who's got to tell all? Or am I a happy eater keeping a good thing to himself as long as possible? Obviously, the journalist won that debate (although he also had to pick up the check).

Welcome to my find: The Rio del Mar Mexican Cuisine Restaurant.

But a Hungry Guy won't stop there, with so much to choose from on a large menu, with many Mexican favorites and some exotic specials. Among their more popular dishes with a hungry clientele the burrote charro--a 12 inch flour tortilla stuffed with tender beef, chicken or pork, plus rice, beans and cheese... You've got to understand, when they say stuffed they mean stuffed the way hungry people want it stuffed, not stuffed the way PR people want to convince you it's stuffed. You can have the burrote charro dry (without sauce) or wet (with a great enchilada sauce). How big is this meal? We're talking a challenge of a dinner or a more reasonable dinner plus enough left over for lunch.

The margaritas are ...incredibly tasty, about as good as they get. The dining room is big and colorful, and there's a deck out back.

Rio del Mar is a place where you want a certain amount of elbow room to dig in, and you get it. The place has a relaxed atmosphere and the feel that most people there are regulars, or about to become so. Kid friendly? Absolutely. There's music playing, no pretensions, a kids' menu, although it's the kind of restaurant where kids graduate to better food. It is also the kind of eatery that calls for a hungry guy strategy: Go with people of modest appetite, so you can sample their food as well as your own. Then you're in for bonus heaven.

Only one request: Could you go on Tuesday night when I'll be busy and leave Saturday for me? "

And what of the end result? What do the recipes taste like brought to life here in Aptos? On my most recent trip to RDM Mexican, I had the house specialty; steak fajitas (try the chicken and SHRIMP as well). The restaurant's sign makes a bold claim: "We make the best sizzling fajitas in town." After one meal, I believe it.

Every morsel of the steak was delicious. Cooked to perfection, tender, flavorful, the meat was unlike any I've had. According to Blanca, that's because Rio Del Mar Mexican does not prepare their meat like your average taqueria. Every skillet is prepared and cooked when you order it using meat fresh from the butcher and produce fresh from local farms; there's no frozen or precooked steak in the whole place! When a "fast-food" taqueria whips up a carne asada burrito in three minutes, it's because that meat was prepared well before you ordered it. You may have to wait 10 or 15 minutes at RDM Mexican, but it's well worth it.

Blanca's menu is not limited to fajitas; in fact, she's managed to put together one of the most diverse and comprehensive Mexican menus I've ever come across. All the usual suspects are present (nachos, enchiladas, chimichangas, etc.) as are "enchiladas de jaiba" (crab), chicken mole, and prawn burritos. A super burrito from Rio Del Mar Mexican can come "wet" or "dry" - with or without a bath of homemade enchilada sauce. If you're a vegetarian, try the "enchilada de espinaca" (spinach). Warm up with a bowl of chicken or tortilla soup, and cool down with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on your homemade flan.

The atmosphere at Rio Del Mar Mexican is comfortable and inviting. Music plays softly in the background, splashes of culture adorn the walls, and the private booths are downright cozy. Coming soon a tropical garden below the deck.

On sunny days, ask to be seated out on the deck. There's nothing like a meal amongst redwoods to the tune of a gurgling creek.

So next time you're driving by Rio Del Mar Mexican Cuisine, pull over and eat! You'll be glad you did. Hours are Tues-Sun from 11:00 am to 9:00pm (9:30 pm on Friday and Saturday). Closed on Mondays.

APTOS TIMES by T.B. Hall

You've probably driven by it a hundred times, but when was the last time you stopped in for a meal at Rio Del Mar Mexican Cuisine? If you're a Rio regular, you can stop reading this right now; you already know about their homemade tamales, scrumptious skirt steak and incomparable fajitas. As for the rest of you, I highly recommend you stop by for an authentic and truly pleasant dining experience.

Rio Del Mar Mexican Cuisine is located on the Soquel Drive frontage road just north of Redwood Village and has been in business for 18 years. Owner Blanca inherited the restaurant from her parents, and has lived and breathed Mexican cuisine ever since. The foundation for Rio Del Mar Mexican's unique flavor is a host of old family recipes brought across the border by Blanca's uncle. Federico Ham. Those recipes are the same today as they were when he concocted them in a Mexicali kitchen a quarter of a century ago.