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| - My boyfriend and I are big fans of Cafe Rio and usually go to the one on S. Eastern but since the majority of my day is spent in the University area, I decided to make a quick stop in for their Tuesday lunch special: Coconut grilled shrimp tacos with a mango sauce.
Yes, it does taste as good as it sounds.
I've actually had this special in the past, and it seems that each time I have it, they changed something about the recipe. First their shrimp tacos were about as big as their salmon tacos (which they used a tortilla size between the burrito and the regular taco, maybe something the size of a wall clock face?), but now their tortillas are the small regular taco-sized ones that are always homemade. Before, their shrimp was a coconut-incorporated batter where the shrimp were fried till crunchy, but now they're grilled with huge pieces of shredded coconut on them in a sauce I couldn't quite discern. It was mighty tasty though, and although I missed the crunch of a fried shrimp, I did prefer the up in flavor factor that these new shrimp had.
The special (and pretty much anything else you order) comes with a nice helping of rice and beans, which haven't changed much in my opinion, and they taste fine but definitely aren't my preference. The black beans are much better than the pinto, I think, but this rice reminds me more of a rice pilaf than anything else.
Among other things, I'd recommend the salmon taco, which I prefer with the cilantro-ranch dressing, or any of their salads which are huge and come laid atop a burrito-sized tortilla with melty cheese on it. The boyfriend loves their burritos as they come served "wet" with enchilada sauce on top, but I kind of think the burritos are overrated and enough to feed 2-3 people with a normal appetite. Actually, pretty much everything comes in proportions enough to serve 2-3 people with a normal appetite, but who are we kidding right? Vegas is a town where the locals love their food and tend to eat like we're practicing for a food competition. Take no shame, fellow Vegas locals. Life's too short to not enjoy food from a place as tasty as Cafe Rio.
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