So, Tim and I have a weird tradition of doing stupid, fun things together. Case in point #1: during the summer after our senior year of high school, we spent an entire day doing a Pizza Survey in our hometown, going around to a number of pizza restaurants, buying a slice of pizza, and then thoroughly rating the experience (quality of the cheese, crust, etc., size, taste factor, decor, service, etc.). Each pizza place received a rating of 1 to 10. We were extremely proud of ourselves when, following our very scientific research, we discovered that Giuseppe's is intrinsically the best pizza place in Lansdale (as of 1999, that is).
Case in point #2: Yesterday, Tim and I drove four hours to Las Vegas just to go to the newest Cafe Rio restaurant, which is finally within a "reasonable" drive-time of Pasadena. Like I said before, we fell in love with the Rio while in Provo, when within our first week there people were already telling us that we had to go.
So, yesterday, we decided to make a little road trip out of it. Since our car Cloud is frail and occasionally requires hundreds and hundreds of dollars of repairs, we opted to rent a car, which we picked up at 9:00 AM and had to return by 10:00 PM. Tim compiled a bunch of music CDs, and we drove into the hot, hot, 100+ degree weather that is California's I-15 corridor.
Cafe Rio is on Sahara Avenue, about 7-8 miles from the Strip, and when we finally saw it, we were just tickled pink. This restaurant is slightly larger than the Provo establishment, and it was MUCH less crowded (we waited in line and ordered our food within 5 minutes, rather than 35 minutes). It was DELICIOUS. Let me go so far as to say that it was even SCRUMTRILLESCENT. We both got salads for lunch, and oh! That creamy tomatillo dressing... how we have missed you.
Afterwards, we decided to visit the Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandalay Bay, which was really interesting and well-designed (it was sort of like a Disney aquarium, rather than a science aquarium, so that was fun). Finally, in the late afternoon, we returned to Cafe Rio to get two more meals (which we devoured for lunch today), and then drove back home. It was splendid.
So, here's the final breakdown of our visit to Cafe Rio:
1-day car rental: $24.65
Diet Coke for the road: $1.56
Gasoline: $27.89
2 meals at Cafe Rio (eat in): $16.27
2 tickets to Shark Reef: $31.90
2 Blizzards at the DQ: $9.14
Water bottles and Diet Mountain Dew: $3.97
2 more meals at Cafe Rio (take out): $16.54
Gasoline: $27.41
Visiting Cafe Rio again after a full year of withdrawal: PRICELESS
And here are some fun photos from the adventure:
8 comments:
I love the thorough pizza research.
Casey would greatly appreciate that.
And your Rio trip does sound priceless. Good show Andersons! Good show!
I am assuming that crocodile was at the Mandalay Bay, not Cafe Rio, right?
So so jealous. Yum. Those pictures make me drool.
I have a recipe for a very close imitation of the Cafe Rio dressing. Let me know if you want it.
ROAD TRIP!! WHOOO HOO!
You've inspired me. I think we'll have to follow your example and take a trip to Vegas to go to our favorite Italian restaurant, Carraba's. Yummy...I can't wait. AND we can drop off the kiddos at my parents since it's on the way. Free babysitting AND a fabulous meal? Sounds good to me!
Liz:
HECK YES!!! That sounds awesome.
Isn't Cafe Rio the best? We were just in Utah last week and, of course, HAD to eat there. Even though we are only able to eat there about once a year, we still keep our frequent diner cards and get them stamped. Remember when I would call on Fridays from the Counseling Center to order meals for me and Dave? Cafe Rio has my undying devotion forever.
Got your link from dana's site...I love the pizza experiment! So creative! And Cafe Rio...mmm mmm mmm! You guys are great!
What can you really say about goobers on the road!???????
Uncle Joe
That is such a great story about Cafe Rio. Wish we could have gone with ya!
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