Rio Blanco Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Auburn

TLDR/ Price: Good, Cleanliness: Spot On, Food: Delectable, Verdict: Must go!

If you have ever had the experience of going home again, that’s what this place felt like. There was a restaurant near my house growing up, and the familial atmosphere and kind service made me feel like I was eating at the restaurant of my youth. Our server Felipe, was courteous, quick, and attentive.

In less than 10 minutes the queso dip we ordered was at our table piping hot! However, their chips and salsa alone would make me come back again! The salsa is lit, like best in Auburn, hands down. Seriously, I ended up getting two to-go portions.

Our meals came out quickly too, they have their food expediting down to a science, this place must be a solid lunch option! My hubby ordered the Pollo a la crema and I ordered the three enchilada plate. His succulent chicken, sat amidst sliced green peppers, quartered button mushrooms and chopped onions in a bath of mildly spiced creama. My enchiladas were filled with a well-seasoned picadillo, ensconced in sauced-corn-tortillas and crowned with melted cheese. In all, a glorious meal, filled with joy, and seasoned with love. Río Blanco is well cared for, and the people who work here seem to genuinely value and love their customers.

What really made this place shine though was their attention to detail. Felipe made sure our beverages were refilled several times and that we didn't have to wait to ask for anything. He checked in with us and made sure we were happy at every step of the meal.

For dessert, flan and fried ice cream. The petite bowl of flan-custard was topped with hand whipped cream and a cherry, the surround of liquid caramel that usually gets left on the plate, was waiting at the bottom of the cup to be scooped up, bite by bite, with a spoon. The same whipped cream was gently cascading down the cornflake-crusted pint-sized scoop of ice cream and was covered in rivulets of chocolate and strawberry drizzle. Rather than being too melty inside (a common problem with fried ice cream), it stayed mostly frozen (probably due to its size) until we were finished.

We will be back, for salsa, for Felipe, for dinner and dessert. Do your tastebuds and your pocketbook a favor, make this your go-to Mexican...

On a whim my brother and I had decided to eat out to lunch, and he lives in another town entirely, so with a bit of random chance, we decided to visit Rio Blanco.

Upon entering we were greeted immediately and with a bright smile. We were seated in the booth alcove near the entrance. After being given our menus, barely a minute had passed and we were given fresh (hot) tortilla chips and salsa made el fresco. (Fresh). We both could taste the fresh herbs in it, and we demolished the salsa and chips rather quickly. We ordered our food. I had the #31, which was a large plate, enchilada and chimichanga with guacamole, sour cream and shredded beef, and a Roy Rogers. (I have a sweet tooth.) He had the Carne Asada fajitas, and a strawberry lemonade, with a chicken quesadilla that he ordered for both of us to share.

Inquiring on what the difference between the shredded and normal beef, I was told that normally they are served with ground beef, which is good to know, as I do like my food with a bit of bite.

My Roy Rogers came quickly as did the quesadilla. To which that it was truly very good, though from the taste I could tell that they had used shredded cheese, though the chicken was definitely made in house as it was seasoned pretty well. Took about 6-9 minutes to have it brought out, and just as we finished it off, our mains arrived.

My order was definitely quite large, and I'm quite the food loving lady, everything was seasoned wonderfully, and the portions were quite large, so if you are of a decent size then you'll have leftovers for sure. My brother's asada was seasoned and grilled pretty well, tortillas were warmed and given (choice of corn, or flour) and ehe said his lemonade was pretty good. Not to sweet and not too sour.

Our waitress Becky was incredibly attentive, and we had our bill paid quickly and out the door within minutes.

Overall it was a pleasant experience, wait staff was on point, food was filling, and the atmosphere was comfortable. Definitely would...

To preface this: I was hoping I could find an email or way to message the company, instead of posting a review but was unsuccessful doing so(and if you’re the owner, please feel free to respond with a contact email and I’ll delete this). My bf and I have been to this restaurant 3x prior and we’ve enjoyed it hence the remaining stars but unfortunately me and my bf went for dinner last night and before we even got to the car we started experiencing horrible cramps. We ended up having to pull over a few min later to vomit. I have never experienced instant food(or alcohol) poisoning like that ever and we spent the rest of the night back and forth on the toilet. I don’t want this to speak to the quality of the restaurant, as we definitely have enjoyed ourselves at prior visits, so I hope management just sees this as a reason to do an immediate food and alcohol check for expiration dates, spoiling food, etc. I work in compliance and I know sometimes things slip through the cracks, so please take an extra look at your produce, liquor, meats, etc. bc something definitely was wrong with the food(or alcohol) we were given. For review purposes, we ate: enchiladas(one in crema) with the sides of beans, rice and salad and of course the complimentary tortilla chips and the amazing salsa(that I love). He had a margarita and I had a...