I visited Rio Rico with my family in Arizona recently. I was not excited about the place when we arrived because my family is drawn to mediocre Mexican-American restaurants. I figured this would be another in a long list of similar places we'd been to.
We were a group of seven. We were seated right away at a long table. The service was excellent in this family-run restaurant. The server, who is the owner's son, called my brother and his whole family by name, and was gracious and welcoming to my elderly traveling companions and me.
The menu is nothing special--just what you'd expect to find. From my meal, here's what stood out:
I ordered chile verde. The green sauce was excellent. It was as good as mine from home, perhaps a little better! It had a sharp herbal taste and was thin, bright and flavorful with no thickeners or fillers. Very nice. the pork was tender and flavorful and perfectly paired with the interesting sauce.
The other standout was the flan. Absolutely delicious and much better than the flan I make at home. It was tender, fragile and creamy (more milk, fewer eggs) in a nice caramelized sugar sauce. Deeeee-licious. I always use too many eggs and often overcook it (when you get the bubbles), so this flan was a treat.
The rest of the table ordered the usual numbered combos and and didn't have much to say about any of them.
The bottom line: Come here for the friendly, attentive service and try the chile verde and the flan.