The East Valley is blessed with an abundance of good Mexican restaurants, something I admittedly tend to take for granted after more than 20 years of dining here. Fortunately, a steady stream of friends and relatives visiting from other parts of the country constantly reminds me how good we have it when it comes to tasty tacos, burgeoning burritos and savory salsas.

And the list of options is always growing. Case in point: Cafe Rio, a Utah chain of fresh-Mex restaurants that opened its first out-of-state location in Gilbert last summer.

Inspired by the food of the Rio Grande Valley — southern New Mexico and Texas and northern Mexico — Cafe Rio’s menu is pretty basic: tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, burritos and quesadillas. But it’s the quality of the fresh ingredients that sets it apart from most other fast-casual Mexican eateries in the East Valley.

I recently decided to introduce a couple of co-workers to the festively decorated Cafe Rio on the southwest corner of Baseline and Gilbert roads. Like most fast-casual fresh-Mex places, we start by placing our orders at the beginning of the food assembly line. Unlike most such places, however, our tortillas are hand-rolled and cooked while we watch. The result? A flaky, tender tortilla that’ll make it difficult for us to eat store-bought varieties ever again.

And the stuff that goes inside our tortillas is just as fresh. The grilled steak or chicken tacos come with dark green lettuce and a choice of chunky pico de gallo or slightly less chunky salsa fresca. Sound a little dry? Think again. In fact, I order two tacos ($7.95) with just the juicy, well-seasoned meat and shredded lettuce. My “bare-bones” versions, which come with green chili rice and pinto or black beans, are moist and delicious.

The pork barbacoa burrito ($6.50) also comes with rice and beans, although it’s all rolled up inside the flour tortilla. Two chicken enchiladas ($6.95) are made with corn tortillas and a choice of red or green sauce, as well as rice and beans. The pork and chicken are good, but we all agree the beef is the standout.

We finish our meal with a couple of Cafe Rio’s freshly cooked desserts. The coconut caramel flan ($3.25) is dense and sweet. It’s topped with whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Our favorite dessert, though, is the tres leches (”three milks”) cake ($3.25). Made with evaporated, condensed and whole milk, it’s light in both texture and sweetness.

It’s easy to see how Cafe Rio has managed to establish itself in the East Valley’s crowded Mexican restaurant scene. Last November, they even opened another location in Ahwatukee. As my Mexican-craving, out-of-state friends would say, the rich just keep getting richer.

CAFE RIO

Where: 1939 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert (southwest corner of Baseline and Gilbert roads)

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday

Prices: Burritos $5.50-$6.95, enchiladas $4.95-$7.95, tacos $4.95-$8.95, salads $6.25-$7.95, desserts $3.25

Info: (480) 751-2000 or caferio.com

The East Valley is blessed with an abundance of good Mexican restaurants, something I admittedly tend to take for granted after more than 20 years of dining here.

Fortunately, a steady stream of friends and relatives visiting from other parts of the country constantly reminds me how good we have it when it comes to tasty tacos, burgeoning burritos and savory salsas.

And the list of options is always growing.

Case in point: Café Rio, a Utah chain of fresh-Mex restaurants that opened its first out-of-state location in Gilbert last summer.

Inspired by the food of the Rio Grande Valley — southern New Mexico and Texas and northern Mexico — Café Rio’s menu is pretty basic: tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, burritos and quesadillas.

But it’s the quality of the fresh ingredients that sets it apart from most other fast-casual Mexican eateries in the East Valley.

I recently decided to introduce a couple of co-workers to the festively decorated Café Rio on the southwest corner of Baseline and Gilbert roads.

Like most fast-casual fresh-Mex places, we start by placing our orders at the beginning of the food assembly line. Unlike most such places, however, our tortillas are hand-rolled and cooked while we watch.

The result? A flaky, tender tortilla that’ll make it difficult for us to eat store-bought varieties ever again.

And the stuff that goes inside our tortillas is just as fresh.

The grilled steak or chicken tacos come with dark green lettuce and a choice of chunky pico de gallo or slightly less chunky salsa fresca.

Sound a little dry? Think again.

In fact, I order two tacos ($7.95) with just the juicy, well-seasoned meat and shredded lettuce. My “bare-bones” versions, which come with green chili rice and pinto or black beans, are moist and delicious.

The pork barbacoa burrito ($6.50) also comes with rice and beans, although it’s all rolled up inside the flour tortilla.

Two chicken enchiladas ($6.95) are made with corn tortillas and a choice of red or green sauce, as well as rice and beans.

The pork and chicken are good, but we all agree the beef is the standout.

We finish our meal with a couple of Café Rio’s freshly cooked desserts.

The coconut caramel flan ($3.25) is dense and sweet. It’s topped with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.

Our favorite dessert, though, is the tres leches, or “three milks” cake ($3.25). Made with evaporated, condensed and whole milk, it’s light in both texture and sweetness.

It’s easy to see how Café Rio has managed to establish itself in the East Valley’s crowded Mexican restaurant scene. Last November, they even opened another location in Ahwatukee Foothills.

As my Mexican-craving, out-of-state friends would say, the rich just keep getting richer.

Café Rio
Where: 1939 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert (southwest corner of Baseline and Gilbert roads)
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
Prices: Burritos $5.50-$6.95, enchiladas $4.95-$7.95, tacos $4.95-$8.95, salads $6.25-$7.95, desserts $3.25
Info: (480) 751-2000 or caferio.com