Missing Cafe Rio

Living on the east coast I go through major Cafe Rio withdrawls. Back in our Provo days John and I would sometimes do a double header: Cafe Rio then Tracy's Peanut Butter Cup at Leatherbys. The double header always sent me into a food induced coma afterwards and I would fall asleep at my computer. Please Cafe Rio people, come franchise out here. You would make BANK!!!

I have tried a bunch of copycat recipes to get my "fix" but this combo of Cafe Rio dishes is my favorite. You can make a lot of it ahead of time so it was great to eat right after John's game.

Café Rio Pork
(a mix between Sheri Denney and Martha McMullin's recipes)

7-8 lbs. pork roast (Do a 3-4 lb pork roast if you are just doing your family)
4 cups root beer
5 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
4 T molasses or honey
3 tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. salt
2 - 3 cups brown sugar
pepper to taste
4 tsp. cumin

Recipe Note: The above sauce makes a ton! So if you have a 3-4 lb pork roast, half the sauce.

Salt and pepper roast and cook in crock pot 8 hours or overnight on low in water. In the morning remove the roast from the crockpot and pull apart with fork, removing fat. Drain all the water in the crockpot. Don't overshred the pork or it will turn mushy. Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot and add shredded pork. Cook another 4 hours in crockpot on low.

Café Rio Chicken
5 lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1 sm bottle zesty italian dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken. Keep warm.

Café Rio Lime Cilantro Rice
(Double this for large crowd)

2 Tb. Butter
pepper to taste
1 ¼ rice
juice and zest 1 large or 2 small limes
2 ¼ cups chicken broth
2 Tb. chopped cilantro
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cumin

In a skillet melt butter with rice, add liquid, and other ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Pico de Gallo


5 plum tomatoes
1/2 large or small red onion
3 jalapenos (optional)
cilantro
lime juice
salt
Quantities are approximate

Chop jalapenos, onion, and tomatoes in a very small dice. Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotter pico. Adjust the amount of jalapenos for your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Disregard the long stems before chopping. Stir together. Add the juice of a half a lime and add salt to taste.

Tomatillo Dressing
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 C buttermilk
1 C Mayo
1 to 2 tomatillos
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 t lime juice
1/2 to 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed.

Blend all together in a blender or food processor and store in the refrigerator to let the flavors meld.

For salads serve in the following order:
tortillas (I warm mine in foil pans like cafe rio in the oven with cheese)
cheese
black or pinto beans
lime rice
shredded chicken or pork
red and green leaf lettuce, shredded
sprinkle crunch corn strips on top
grated Parmesan cheese

sides of:
pico de gallo
guacamole
fresh cilantro
fresh lime slice
tomatillo dressing