Fine Dining - Casa Bonita Is My New Favorite Restaurant feat. Ify Nwadiwe [Part Two]

Episode Date: November 13, 2024

10 months on the waitlist, and well worth it! Casa Bonita is the definition of a dining "experience" with its hodgepodge collection of oddball acts and entertainment, but is it worth flying out of state to grab dinner? I break down this kitschy paradise with my guest, the hilarious Ify Nwadiwe (Dropout TV, Um Actually, Maximum Film) in this week's review episode! The Good: Cliff divers are tremendous fun, the puppet show is expertly entertaining, the magician is a pro, the merch is unrivaled, the food is way better than its reputation would have you believe, a Love Tester machine tells me I'm "burning" with passion, and much more! The Not Good: Manbearpigrilla's handler snubbed us out of a photo op, there's too much to do in one visit, the service pace is overwhelmingly fast, a food assembly line, and there's a lack of clarity on the best way to experience the show The Just There: Rice & beans were whatever What We Ate: Horchata, the Wooly Bully, Chips & Salsa, Mole, Carnitas, Rice, Beans, Enchiladas, & Sopaipillas Ify details his worst & best restaurant experiences in The Calibration Station The second highest score in the history of the podcast! "Fine" Dining is now on video! Head on over to my YouTube to watch this episode! Music by: James McEnelly (@Ramshackle_Music) Theme Song by: Gabe Alvarez (@spooky.gabe) Segment Transitions Voiced by: Sandy Rose "Fine" Dining is on Patreon! Get an extra episode every month (My October Patreon exclusive episode about Mr. Chow came out on Halloween! Go check out the episode about a place that is expensive for expensive's sake), extended Yelp from Strangers segments every other week, merch discounts, download access to our music including the 7 singles from our Olive Garden musical, and more! Patreon Producers: Joyce Van, & Sue Ornelas   Get the 5 Survival Tips for Casual Dining at www.finediningpodcast.com!   Send in your Casa Bonita stories at [e-mail].   Follow the show on TikTok and Instagram @finediningpodcast Follow Ify on Instagram @ifynwadiwe   Let me know where I should go next by leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, PodcastAddict, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. I read every one!   Next week on "Fine" Dining: The History of Dining at Strip Clubs! Adult film star Ryan Keely and her I Seduce The Dragon podcast costar Dana Scarborough join me to learn about the development of strip clubs as restaurants, and dive into a few Yelp reviews that are all over the place. Ever work at a strip club buffet? Send your stories to [e-mail].

It's a majestic pink castle, but the whole place smells of chlorine. You can have mole, but there's a splash zone. A jovial root beer bar where you can literally saddle up, but a man-bear-pig-rilla mascot whose handler is incredibly selective. Casa Bonita. Is it the most mediocre restaurant in America, or is it worth the trip to Denver? They are the focus of tonight's episode as we pit the good against the not good in search of

the perfectly average dining experience. This is Fine Dining. Your table is ready, take a seat The flavor of the day is mediocrity Wouldn't you like to try a bite? Guarantee it'll be the perfect bite Fine dining Better than you thought, worse than you hoped Fine dining We don't treat mediocre as a joke. Breaking every single place we've been.

Looking for the perfect five out of ten. This is the second half of my Season 3 premiere, and I didn't mention it last week because we weren't talking about the food, but in honor of this month, I'm doing no Nut November. I'm not eating any food with nuts for the entirety of this month. You had me scared in the first half. I'm glad. I'm glad.

Yeah, keep your food nut-free. And I am joined by comedian, host of the dropout show, Um, Actually, prolific podcaster, iffywaddyway, and just all around wonderful man, great company. Thanks for flying to Denver with me to experience Casa Bonita. Today we're going to talk all about the atmosphere, the service, the food, and we're going to put it together, the good versus the not good.

And we'll talk about what was just there as well. And we're gonna have those elements kind of battle against each other to determine a score that calibrates it to the rest of my scale on the Chachki of Mediocrity in search for the perfect 5.00 dining experience out of 10, because that's what I'm looking for on this podcast.

And currently, Cracker Barrel has a 5.01 out of 10. So it is the most mediocre restaurant that I've found, but I feel like I can do better. If it was a 5.00, the show would have ended. So I'm glad that it didn't. But Iffy, thanks so much for being here. I kind of want to just get into it. It's super fun to talk about this place in particular.

This was a dining experience, unlike anything I've ever had in my life. So if we were going to just start with talking about all the good that this place had to offer, we can talk about it in any order, but I want to hit every single thing about this restaurant that we enjoyed. I guess let's just start outside. Yes. I mean, yeah, the big pink castle that's in the middle of just a strip mall. Like, I think I did not clock better just be sitting in a mist near a boba shop that we did go check out. There's like an Earl of Sandwich in that, like, like just kind of like a crappy sandwich shop or whatever.

And you pull up and it's like my comparison that I made was it's like the cartel mansion in the Brendan Frazier movie, but dazzle. Oh, my God. Those were the vibes that I got where I was like, this is literally majestic. Yes. Like that is the word that I would use for Casa Bonita. Majestic. Like, that is the word that I would use for Casa Bonita.

Well, what made it so majestic, too, when I think about it, because I'm very much in tune with, like, every element. Like, I, you know, I'm a professional liker of things, in many ways. And I'm very much in tune with, like, all the things that I've liked throughout my life. And I think back to when your parents were like, we're going to go somewhere.

And he's like, where are you going to go? I was like, no, we're not going to tell you. And then you would see the Chuck E cheese logo and you were like, did you do Chuck E cheese a lot as a kid? Oh yeah. Well, it was Chuck E cheese. I don't think I went as a kid ever. If not, maybe I went once.

Chuck E cheese was not a big part of my childhood. Have you done it for here? I've done it once for the show. Yeah. I took my, my niece was 13 and came with me. It was, it's one of my favorite episodes because she was my guest. Yes.

Yes. 5.48. Damn, I thought it was gonna get closer to mediocre, but hell yeah. All right. Yeah. That's what I think of when I see this big pink castle is thinking of all the like kids in Colorado

whose parents are like We're gonna go somewhere. I ain't gonna tell you yet. Yeah, I mean not for the next probably year or so something I wanted to ask you last episode, but I'm gonna ask now How long do you think it's gonna be till like you're just able to roll freely? I think it'll be a couple more years Look how packed it was and it just feels like the demand is there, the word of mouth is there, that it might start tapering off once they're open lunch and dinner all seven days of the week.

Yes. But I don't know, man. I mean, influencers are still going and making videos on it. Yes. It's still a big deal right now. So until that place isn't filled up, because it was filled up when we went. Yeah. I don't know if I see it dying down. Yeah. Selfishly, I hope it does. I mean, like, you know, and since South Park is just such this cultural phenomenon, they kind of accidentally

made it a Mecca for the fans of the show. Which oddly enough is funny because besides a few things, it really is just what it was. You know, like they really did kind of keep it pretty like close to the original. We'll get into the things that added, but I think that makes it great because I feel like that is the combo where you have the

the, you know, fandom kind of alluring it. But then you the new generation of kids in Colorado who are just going to be able to grow up on this. And then like, yeah, the locals who it's like, oh, I went there as a kid. I don't care about the South Park part of it. I just this is a place I grew up with. So I want to go. Yes. It hits you when you pull up and also like nice, well tended to big blue fountain. Look, I am a such a fan of bright blue, clear water. I don't care if it's in a pool and it's chlorinated to shit. I don't care. I just love the vibe of just like crystalline see-through water.

Yeah. It was like the bright blue. It's just, there's like a romanticismthrough water. Yes. With like the bright blue. It's just, there's like a romanticism to it. Yes. Yeah. Looks like the water of life. Yeah. And then you go through a metal detector,

which I'm also putting in the good. Yeah. I genuinely, I love the idea of I feel safe. Yeah. And it wasn't a hassle for us. I did read Yelp reviews that if you had a nighttime reservation, that the line does back up and it takes a hassle for us. I did read Yelp reviews that if you had a nighttime reservation, that the line does back up and it takes a while for security to process people.

But we had the earliest dinner reservation possible. It switches. The last lunch spot is 2.45 and then dinner's at 3. So we had a 3 p.m. reservation. We stayed until about 5.20, 5.30. And we did actually go in about 15 minutes early. So we got roughly three hours in there. And then we had a ride scheduled to the airport because we literally

flew in and out the same day. Yeah. It was, that was a wild ride, but well worth it. I talk about it fondly nonstop. So it was, it was, it was a special day. Look, I don't want to like, I do like the idea of building suspense, but I'll go so far as to say, this was my favorite dining experience of the show. And like one of my favorite in my life. Like it was just so neat.

Yeah. Is it like I'm someone like what, what is your. I was going to say how much do you like Kish someone like what, what is your, I was going to say, how much do you like Kish? And then I looked at your Chachki. I do like Kish, but I mean, it does need to be well executed. Yes, definitely. Yeah. Like when it's forced, it's bad. But I say all that to say, like, they really nailed it.

Like they, they and in a way that didn't feel overdone and in a way that didn't feel overdone and in a way that I can appreciate. I actually disagree, but I think the overdone was what made it work. Well, yeah. It was kind of like, we are forcing so many disparate, like look, the theming here is inconsistent at best.

It's borderline random. Oh yeah. I would say, I didn't say it wasn't overdone. I said it didn't feel overdone. Oh, okay, okay. There's a difference, because you're right. There's so much, you're right, where when you really think about it, you're like, yeah.

It had nothing to do with it. Yes, yes, like from the magic show to the puppet show, but that's kind of part of the charm. And, you know, if we take a step inside, if you don't mind, and you just kind of see the kind of part of the charm. And if we take a step inside, if you don't mind, and you just kind of see the kind of like Mexican shop areas once you go in, you're kind of like held before you kind of get your table,

and you're just able to look around and it shows some of the history of the place. You really kind of feel tapped into something special. Well, and also, yeah, and it's like murals of the villa. it's not like a real physical villa, but it does feel like you're walking through those tight streets in Mexico. But I don't want to get too far ahead. The thing I noticed right before all of that, that is worth mentioning, because I fricking loved it was a sign that said, please know Healy's.

Oh, yeah. To have a specific no Heelys sign is like an extra full point on this place's rating. What's amazing is I don't know if that was added before or after the rendition. You know. You do know. Signs are not made preemptively. Yeah.

But yeah, I just know it's just like bumping on the like, because there's like a cobblestone element at like, yeah, so like I'm just like someone's like I'm healing through that villa. Yeah, yeah, they're like put the sign up, put the sign up, they don't get the sign, commission it ASAP, we need this. Yeah, no healies. Too many kids are healing into Man Bear Pig Rilla. Yeah, no heelys. Too many kids are heelying into Man Bear Pig-rilla. Yeah. Yeah, and you know how selective we are with who gets to be near him. Yeah. And then, so you're going through like this tight corridor, and then you kind of make a right turn, and they're like, have fun.

And it's like perfectly timed, and then you hear like, da-da-da, da-da. It's like Jurassic Park opens up, you see the dinosaurs for the first time, you see the interior of this place, and from literally the ceiling to the floor, every element is a well thought out theme park-esque experience. Oh yeah. You hear the rushing waters of the waterfall.

You hear the, you have to, we have to walk past the mariachi band. Yeah. You see the people like walking up with coming down from the root beer bar. There's just so much. And there's levels. It's like you walk into like an MC Escher

where it's just like, there's people up there. There's like, it just, it's alive. Truly, because it is just breathing. And you know, yeah, it really, there was a moment where we just kind of stopped for a second just to take in everything because it is like a 360. Like panoramic experience. Well panoramic implies one level.

This had a Z axis to it. Oh yeah, everyone everywhere. And I could not wait to just get to our seat and just get the party started. But it was funny because they're like, yeah, you sit down and eat, and then there's all these things, and you're like, I don't want to already do all the stuff.

Right. It's a literal kid in a candy store. It's just like, oh my gosh, there's so many things, and I can't wait to explore. And I think the exploration element is a big part of, not just the appeal, but the charm of it's like, what am I going to find? Yes. And, you know, we were only there less than three hours. We did not manage to explore

everything. And I guess I'll get into that in the not good when we get there. Yeah. But like a lot of the lot, the not good for me is circumstantial. It's not even really the place. So we'll get into that more. Now jumping away from atmosphere for a second, and we'll get back into those elements, but the staff seemed happy. And I think that that's what $30 an hour does. Like everyone seemed, I hope you have a good time and I mean it. That's the vibe I got. Yeah, everyone seemed like they were having a blast.

They were just, you know, they were happy to help and serve and like show off this place. And it makes you want to explore even more because you're like, well, you seem so excited. I want to learn more about what's going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that wasn't even just limited to like, you know, our waitress, I think,

like even when I was watching the, you know, cliff divers, which like, you know. Oh, God, the cliff divers. Yeah, we had the cliff side, and so we were able to look at the cliff divers. I'm pretty good at, as a, you know, as a former, you know, Knott's Berry farm and Disney employee

I'm pretty good at detecting like the the off moment before they before it turns on like where I exhale and Put that smile on it. Exactly and I didn't catch that. Yeah. Yeah. No, I didn't either it I haven't worked at a place where I'm like Yeah gun to my head. There's a red dot on me if I stop smiling. But yeah, I mean, I felt it. And it wasn't just the person that walked us through the villa.

It wasn't just the service team. It was, let's jump to the root beer bar, for example. Oh yeah. They have an arcade upstairs and then a bar where you can get like three different artisan root beers that they make. It comes in that mug. Yes.

Yeah, my daughter actually used the mug for her juice this morning. Oh, nice. It's like such a fun little like sippy cup, Casa Bonita souvenir mug, and you get to take it home. Yeah, and I am someone who loves a souvenir cup, a souvenir mug. That is like one of the things that just I light up for.

So the moment she whipped out the mug, it was like, and you get to keep it, I was like locked in. Done. Locked in, I'm ready. And the lady that like, you were talking, were you talking magic, the gathering with her? Oh yeah, yeah, we were talking about magic,

the gathering and it's so funny, I didn't even like consider that. Then she was just, yeah, having a good time, just chatting with me and it wasn't, you know how sometimes you chat with someone at work and it feels like, oh, thank God I can talk to somebody, I'm more out of my mind. And it's very much felt like the conversation

kind of started because of how bubbly and fun she was. And we were sitting on these, the seats were horses. Yeah, they're saddles. You literally saddle up here. And I have a picture of you and you're just like, your legs are just swinging. It's such a great touch. Yeah.

Like they could have just put bar stools there and they were like, what else can we do? And I love that like full exploration of the idea of this saloon. Yes. And they, and they are a kid size, but you know, I fit just fine. So if I fit, most people should fit. Yeah. But you know, she was so, it seemed like she enjoyed how much we enjoyed it, and then it sparked a conversation, and then we started talking about Magic the Gathering. And then she was telling us more things to check out.

Everyone was always excited to be like, oh, make sure you check this out, make sure you see this, and make sure it's this. It felt like when you're watching a Western theme like TV show, like, let's say in like a cartoon, a Rick and Morty or a Futurama, and they walk into like a theme like TV show, like let's say in like a cartoon, a Rick and Morty or a Futurama, and they walk into like a saloon.

It felt like that stereotype of like the bartender, you know, with a towel, just like rinsing out the inside of a cup. How may I help you? Like it just felt like that kind of immediately, not in character, because again, it didn't feel like there was any thought in authenticity to it,

but it just felt warm in the exact way that it was designed to. Yes. It was such a fun experience. Yeah. Yeah. And we are amidst the arcade, which sadly was one of the things

that we didn't get to really play with because I know, you go play a game and it's just like, I could spend two hours just like playing games. And they had a little shooting range. Like, you know, like you'd get back at old theme parks and that was the other thing that we didn't do that. Like if I had to pick one thing to go back and try

that we didn't, it'd probably be that. But apparently they also have like a sheriff character that'll like wander around and come like talk to you while you're doing that. Yeah, so there's like roles, actors, cast to be a part of the tapestry of this restaurant. But again, none of it coherently themed. Yeah.

But I don't care. Yeah, because I see the connective tissue, which makes the other things kind of stand out. Because it's like, oh, I see the hot baby, the miner, the cowboy, the via that makes sense. Where does the gorilla come in? Where does, and I don't know what the puppet show was previously about, but the one that we-

I think it was similar. I think they may have rewritten it, but from my understanding, it was always like, talking bits of food. Okay. But here they, I don't, again, I didn't see it before, but there was much more of a through line of like the story of we're all the items

that used to be on the menu and are no longer. Yes. And it was very funny and very sweet and the kids loved it. Yeah, let's like take a second to like fully talk about the puppet show. Cause like one of my favorite things you're, you're going to hear me say that often.

One of my favorite things about there were just so many things to love. Oh yeah. But like expertly executed, like the puppeteer of this, he had a lot of like different pieces of food that were like at the end of sticks. And you know, I think probably had those like triggers that you can like open their mouths or like adjust their eyebrows or whatever.

And very well designed puppets too. I really enjoyed it. And like the jokes were hitting. So like for all ages, they knew how to write jokes that not only hit for the kids, but also the adults. And also the puppeteer was working on the fly because you know, our partners went to go see the show without us.

And there were some, they told us the differences because, yeah, because, you know, our kids were a little wild. And so like when there's a moment where a certain food item is injured for a bit, not to spoil it, but like, I want, I want to talk about specifics. Okay. Well, getting the specifics, we go, go. No, but now that you say you don't want to spoil it, I'm like, I want, I want to talk about specifics. Okay. Well, getting the specifics, we go, go. No, but now that you say you don't want to spoil it, I'm like, I don't know. The way I look at it is like, yeah, I want my audience to go have this experience. But at the same time, if they sign up today, it's going to be in a year.

So they may not remember the spoil. Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Listen now sign up now. Yeah. But yeah, when the tortilla chip tries to jump into the dip and gets injured and... Like the flashing lights of the ambulance.

Yeah, yeah. Our kids were laughing. And so the host of the show comes out and was like, what's wrong with y'all? But then I was like, oh, did the kids, were they laughing at that? And was like, they gasped. They were so... maybe a little younger. Yeah, yeah. They were so afraid for that tortilla chip. And so then they were like they then the coast came out

and did some like reassurance jokes. You know, it's very funny. It was. Yeah. And I think that was maybe my favorite moment of it. Just like the effects of it were good. There were animatronics like you would have in the old Chuck E. Cheese and like the tree. And like there were some things around. So you're not just staring at like a box.

You're like immersed. There's like a whole stage that probably extends five, 10 feet on either side of the, the, the screen, I guess screens wrong words, but yeah, I did love that. The host of the puppet show was like a taco doing like traveling comic hack, essentially. Yeah, that was such a treat for the adults because I feel like the kids don't get this concept. This type of character. There was a singing burrito on like a swinging chair.

Yes. Yeah, there were just so many involved puppetry elements that, to call it a puppet show, I think conjures an image in people's heads that isn't a fair representation of just how good of a production this is. I might be able to tap into something with some real puppet heads out there,

because I went to talk to one of the handlers. And I was like, oh, I was like, are these Bob Baker puppets? Which if you know Bob Baker is like a big kind of puppetry, almost institution out here. And he was like, no, but he was like very surprised I brought it up. And he goes, oh, are you like, where are you from? I was like, LA.

And he was like, oh, okay. He was like, yeah, no, I started there. And he's like, and like Bob Baker is kind from? I was like, LA. And he was like, oh, okay. He's like, yeah, no, I started there. And he's like, and like, Bob Baker is kind of where I live. So like, if you know of how great Bob Baker's puppet shows are, then you, that's the level of puppetry that's there. Which is... Yeah, that's like saying, you know,

USC Film School or Columbia or NYU of puppetry. I would say. Okay. There was also, I guess we've mentioned that there are cliff divers, but like they go off probably every 10, 15 minutes. Yeah, I was genuinely surprised at how often they were diving off that cliff. And they're just like making, kind of milking it a little.

I think they milked it the most the very first time we saw them. They were like kind of doing like some like dancing. Will they, won't they is the wrong word, but saw them. They were like kind of doing like some like dancing. Will they won't, is the wrong word. But like, you know, like, am I going to jump it? And then like, I think they did like a handstand or something into a dive. And it was like, yeah, they're like making a moment.

There's like drum roll before every dive. Oh, yeah, it's a it's a it's a show. And our seats, we paid a little extra and got the cliffside seats. Yeah. And we are right there. We are front row, a little bit elevated, 15 feet from the diver, 20 feet, and they're jumping off and it's not a small dive. Yeah. And there is a splash zone.

So if you go there and you're like, I want to get wet, you can. It is a restaurant you can leave wetter than you came. Which, you know, I don't think is anyone's goal. I think the same. That's what you do when you go to that salt bay restaurant. I think that closed. Yeah, I heard it wasn't. I heard it wasn't very good. Yeah.

Yeah. If only it was a chain. Oh, if only it was a chain. Yeah. Oh, and then I will say, uh, you didn't want to spoil the puppet show. They were very strict about phones. Yeah. Yeah. Which I appreciate. Sorry. No, no, go for it. I appreciate the element of like, it's not even about it getting out. I know for them it's about it getting out, but I'm very big on like,

I just like experiencing things. You don't need to record everything. I know, I am a certified, I'll get like, I feel like because of the nature of concerts, I might get a video of like a song that I really like, but for the most part, I don't. There was only one time I went to see Postal Service and Death Cab, and there was a song that like, my friend from high school, I remember we, you know, it was like there was a song that like my friend from high school,

I remember we, you know, it was like, that was a moment. But I like, yeah, and I like took that moment and sent it to him, but that's it. But it is wild to watch how often, you know, we do it. And look, I'm not trying to yuck anyone's yum, but it is funny to like watch people recording a concert and go like-

You're never gonna watch that back. Yeah, yeah. Like, when would you do that? You know, the only thing that made sense, even though it was possibly more annoying, was when I was at a Lakers game and someone was FaceTiming their family from the game. I was like, okay. Watch it on TV.

It's televised. Look, it might have been on the NBA.com network or some thing. So I was like, I get it, beat the system. But, you know, so I agree, having to sit there and actually be in the moment. And I think that's, and it's not even for the kids, because the kids were going to sit there,

I think it sets the mood for the adults, where it's like, hey, just pay attention to this. Just be present. Because I know how badly people want it. Because there was one person who got called out who didn't listen, and I can tell it wasn't because they were trying to do the puppet show, they were trying to get their kid watching it,

but it's like, yeah, some moments you're just gonna have to take a picture with your brain. Yeah. One of my favorite bands is Tool, and whenever I go to their concerts, they are very like, I don't care how big this arena is, we will have a security guard flash a flashlight in your face from all the ushers and stuff.

Really? If you have your phone out. He was like, I don't wanna see all these, I don't wanna see the reflection of light on your faces when I'm looking out at y'all, is what the singer was saying. And he'll be like, and then the last song of the night, which usually is the song Stinkfist, is always like, all right, you can pull out your dumb phones now.

He's like, you can record this one. And that's it. I love, I love someone who's like, look, I'll let you do what you want to do, but on my terms. Yeah. Yeah. And so and it's kind of a principle because like I've been going to tool concerts since I was in eighth grade before like camera phones were the norm. But like once they started becoming the norms, I noticed that policy start up at their concerts and I probably go to one every maybe every other

year and I noticed it and it really like as a philosophy stuck with me. I'm just like, oh, I just want to go experience. Oh yeah. I kind of stopped when I first when when I noticed it just kind of, it wasn't even when it was like as bad as it is now. And now I don't do it. Like I'll do, I will say I might do one to, and it's never like, like, you know, like everyone watching this knows,

the people who just have it just like, and they're not even, here's the thing, I have more respect for the people who are just like, not looking and just going, but people who are watching it through their phone. I'll say, I've done that when my view is bad and I can't see it another way. That one is valid and very good and is a hot tip,

but sometimes I'll see someone who just can't, who's like, I'm like, if you just look, you'll see it. Look down, you'll see it, yeah. Look, I'm like, if you just look, you'll see it. Look down, you'll see it, yeah. Look, I'm like, and I'm not even saying put away the phone, just at least look at the stage. Yeah, like take in what you're seeing. Yeah, I've done it as a tool to see something better,

but if I can see it well, I'm not having my phone out anyways, with like a few exceptions of like, oh, I do care about having this photo. Yeah, but usually as a video, I don't I don't need a video. Sometimes I like zooming in if I'm like not as close as I was like, let me just see what you looking like. Yeah. Let's talk about Sorcerer. Yes. There was a magic show.

This was the last thing we did. We tried to go once, which we'll talk about in the not good. But second time's the charm. We had to wait an extra hour to like, okay, we need to line up by this time. And we were like the first, second, third people. We were very close to the front of the line, got great front row seats,

closest to the exit because we had to bolt right after. And what a delightful presentation. There was like this, I've been literally looking at it since we went, but like even just like as we're waiting for the show to start, there's like an old CRT TV with like different visuals on it and the stage kind of has its own mood lighting. And there was like, I'm going to butcher whatever genre it was, but it was like, like an elevator music instrumental jazz version of Pure pure imagination from Willy Wonka.

Yeah. And I've been trying to find that version of it since we went and I can't. But like I was just vibing. And then the show comes out and it's this woman in like a blue jumpsuit and a mask with interchangeable mouth, mouthpieces to the mask to change expressions. Yes. And so she would do an act, and then she would change the expression, or she would even do it in the middle of it to indicate like, ooh, versus like, ah, smile,

or ooh, I'm mischievous. And it was such a fun element that I've never seen. And I've got a buddy who just became a magician member at the Magic Castle. His act is the great Dumdini. And he was kind of talking about how like, finding your identity as a magician is like such a big part of your act. Because like a million people can do the same trick. Yes. Or illusion. Oh yeah. I recently went to the Magic Castle and it made me appreciate Sorcero even more

because... Did you go after Castle Benin? Okay. Yeah. And because I've never been, then I went and one like, yeah, Sorcero is like a full-fledged like magic act. It's not, I think I didn't know what to expect, but I felt like in a place like this, I was like, okay, maybe it'll be like, like I didn't know the level, but like the illusions that were going down were just like wild ones. But I love how popular the put something in a lemon or citrus magic trick has been.

Oh, sure, yeah. Because I look at magic in stand-up comedy as like really cool parallels. So like when I went to the magic house, I was like, oh, this is because I look at magic and stand-up comedy as like really cool parallels So like when I went to the magic house, I was like, oh, this is the comedy store for magicians Sure, and I'm over here to workshop. Yes. Yeah, and so like seeing this move But then there they were like seeing the different kind of stuff that you know She was doing I really like the arm slicer You know bit and at this point She was doing a really like the arm slicer, you know, bit.

And at this point, I think we're old enough where we're always trying to see if we can figure out what's happening. Always. And it's like, it doesn't even matter if I can. Yeah. Like even if I do kind of figure it out, it makes me almost appreciate it more

because usually the solution is way dumber than you expect it to be. And you're like, I fell for that just because your sleight of hand is so good. Yes, exactly. Usually the solution is way dumber than you expect it to be. And you're like, I fell for that just because your sleight of hand is so good. Yes, exactly. Like there was a guy who was doing like hard tricks at Magic Castle who like,

I kind of saw a little bit of how it was going, but I was like, the dexterity you need to do that is almost more impressive than the magic of it. To me, the ones that are crazier, like the people who, not to get on too much of a tangent, but I watched Penn and Teller fool us. And there was a guy whose trick literally hinged on, he can shuffle up perfectly to where every other card riffles and can literally track where your card was.

Yeah. And he can cut, and it was just like, they And like, and he can cut per, and like, it was just like, they were like, well, you didn't fool us, but you are unreal in how talented you are. Like you just actually did that thing. Yeah. Yeah, and so I have such a love for magic. I always have.

Ooh, so are you hyped that your friend got passed so that you can hang? He took us before his test. We went and had a night there and just kind of took it in, saw some really cool things. And, you know, it's always been like a passing curiosity. I've never practiced to have the like, dexta. I can't even bridge when shuffling cards.

So like, I will not be a ma- I know a couple tricks, but like, I will not be a magician. I know a couple tricks, but I will not be a magician. So you're magic adjacent. I'm magic adjacent. Okay. I'm magic curious. Have you had the dinner there yet? Yeah.

Okay, well we're not gonna talk about that, but we'll talk about it on air. Sometime, yeah, maybe I'll do an episode on this. Because I have thoughts, and I've, yes. Yeah. Anyways, this is about Casa Bonita, but we're talking about the magic show. All things said, I'm not gonna really go into

a bunch of the tricks that she did, but it was just, it was enjoyable and just she had a clear mastery over the stage presence. And then I think, you know, I think with magic, and magic acts in general, is it's not just the illusions or the tricks themselves, it's also like the comedy of it. And I think the mask bit really was funny. And there was like the science experiment bit

was very funny because the storytelling in it, and a lot of her tricks had storytelling. Like, like, like it was kind of a plot or a whole. Yes. It wasn't just like, oh, I'm just going to come out and show you some cool things or I'm going to come out and tell jokes. It just like, oh, I'm just gonna come out and show you some cool things or I'm gonna come out and tell jokes. It's like, oh, I'm setting up a scene and something is happening within this scene

that I'm trying to use magic to do. Well, it's also like a little bit of clowning in Mime because she was nonverbal for the whole act. Yes. So it's like, you kind of need those stories, but because I can't explain to you why this trick is cool. So I need to do like a grand setup and she did a great job at making everything clear

and you followed it. Yes, I know there was a moment where there was an interaction with a guest, which silent performers always do a thing where like once they get kind of frustrated, they'll just jokingly just talk. And I was hoping it would get to that point because it always gets me when it's just like, no, stand there.

And then, because it's a perfect joke because it's like, you just wait just long enough to where you know you're losing the audience because they're not doing it. And the audience know you can't talk. And so you break that and it's just like another trick. And then you get back into it. We went to jail.

Oh yeah. And we took photos to commemorate it. They had like a little sheriff's like, ah, we gotcha. You can see, I literally put up our, uh, yeah, that's our nice framed. I think Calabozo is the something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Calabozo.

That's what it was. Yeah. They had like a nice framed photo of us that we took, but like you basically go into a jail cell and they snap a few pics and like rubber bars and you can kind of pose with them how you want. You can put on a silly hat. But iffy this one for you to take home, this is our photo. It can go up, take up all your fridge real estate. Yeah, I do love that they're like, we're giving you full size.

Yeah. And then look, we really committed to this bit. We look, we, we, like, I like, like we really wanted to be sad. Thank you so much. Hell yeah. So such a fun time. I know.

And everything about this place was silly. Oh yeah. And joyous and like magic, not literal magic other than sorcerer, but just like it had a magic to it that I'm honestly shocked I felt as an adult. Well, and there's just three layers to it, right? There's the layer, the first layer where if you're imagining what this must be like

to experience as a kid, and then you're imagining what it might be like if you're like an adult with Wimsy, you're not over the idea of something like this and having fun. That's me. I have such an inner child still. Same, I think is very important. And then there's a third thing where I think

if you're a fan of South Park and this episode and knowing that this is the Holy Grail, that, like, you almost kind of leave going like, oh, I can see why Cartman did all that. Yeah. Yeah. This is worth kidnapping somebody over. Yeah, like it adds a layer to the joke where you're like, oh, okay, I can see why a kid

like Cartman would want to do all that for this. Yeah, I get it. So there was a museum, so I'm in a weird spot where I don't wanna put it in good, but it's because of myself, so therefore I will put it in good. Because what I looked at seemed pretty cool and it looked like you and Em took it in a little bit more, but I felt like I had to speed run it.

Very similar to Cartman's experience, like oh God, we have to get in line for Sorcero and then jet right after. We've got five minutes, I still want to hit the gift shop. And so I'm just like going like, you know, tableau to tableau and just like, okay, what's here, what's here? And what I ended up doing, and I should have looked at it

because I've had a month since we went, I took pictures of everything and I was like, I should go through and read all this so that I'm versed for the podcast. Yeah. But we don't need this to be like another 20 minutes longer of me reciting. Yeah. And plus last week I went over the whole history of the place. You got all the deets. Basically everything you heard last week was on the walls.

Yeah. But it was a cool little like, uh, almost love letter to everything that the place has been and has become. Yeah. And it looked like it celebrated those things equally. Oh, a hundred percent. And they had Chiquita's old mask. Yes.

Yeah. Did you see anything in the museum specifically that you were like, oh, I'm into this? Well, they have that wall of like, uh, employees who have ever worked, like, as long as like, I think it was like five or 10 years from like, its opening. So like, if you worked there for 10 years, you were just immortalized in that restaurant. And I love that they kept that even with the new management.

Yeah, I like that. I didn't, I actually, no, I did notice that. That was like the thing in the hallway on the way to the gift shop, right? Yeah. And then, yeah, let's talk about the gift shop. I splurged a little. Oh yeah.

I got a really like nice fridge magnet, like that, like peely material, but like it's like everything here felt high quality, which like, I feel like I'm a shill for their gift shop now, but like, look, it's not a guarantee that you're going to get high quality wares. Yeah. I like their hat options. They had really good. I love a hat.

I did not get one, but I love a hat. Yeah, this bandana was really nice. And then I got, you know, Em is a keychain girl. We got her a keychain. And my daughter has been loving wearing keychains on her backpack. So I got her a keychain, got a bunch of stickers, and everyone's in love with all their products. But I feel like the creme de la creme,

a Casa Bonita snow globe, which, you know, Denver, they do get snow, so it's not totally an applicable gift. And like how often are you gonna find something that's like, looks like a Mexican villa but also has snow because like, I don't hear about much snow in Mexico. So it is kind of like a weird like little mix.

I'd be curious to go in the winter and see what that's like. But it's just a very clean, crisp, you know, nice base product. I really do feel like QVC right now but you but you're you know that we're reviewing products so it's gonna sound like yeah sales pitch yeah gift shop was fun they had a few gift shops they had some shirts they had either salsas yes that I think there was in the sopa pia flour yeah yeah which remember is a special recipe for their high

altitude so I'm very interested in how would cook in Yeah, well, you know what? We're mentioning food. I would say more of the food goes in good than not good So why don't we talk about the food? Oh, yeah, and we can start with I guess drinks what we got first But for me, so I got a like a fruity like virgin drink called the Wooly Bully. Yeah. And it was like a pineapple based like juice. So sweet. But like I have an insatiable sweet tooth. So me too. I went seven out of 10. I don't think you tasted mine, right? No, I didn't get to taste it, but I had the horchata. That's right. Yes. And it was and like, you know, I'm a, you know,

as a Angelino, and you probably have thoughts as a Texan, I love my horchatas, I think it's great. I think the best horchata in LA still is this little Mexican restaurant in Koreatown off of Vermont right before you get to James and Wood Boulevard. Okay. Because I think if you can get an horchata with like a slight viscosity, like a slight

thickness, a slight craniness where you can kind of taste the rice but not too much, it's good. That's your sweet spot. Oh yeah, because it means that they used real rice to make it, not just a powder, which I understand is much easier. Even though I did grow up on rica orchata, those three machines, you had orange bang, rica orchata, and the jamaica one.

I have not had a lot of orchata in my life. I've had maybe five, and I took a sip of Joyce's. Yeah. And I thought that it was very coconut-forward. Yeah, it was a very, which I liked because you either have okay horchata, you have good horchata, you have great horchata. Yeah, yeah. And I think the great more often than not has elements that makes it stand out from all good ones,

which is like having that, like using real rice and having that graininess or having... I like a rim of cinnamon. Yeah, oh, yeah. Give me a rim of cinnamon. Yeah, oh yeah. Give me a rim of cinnamon and I'm into that horchata. But like the coconut base, I liked. I know it might've been weird for some people, but for me, that gave it a...

I'm also an eight on mine. You're an eight on the horchata? Yeah. I went seven as well on the horchata for me. So both the drinks I had, I was like, yeah, these are tasty, these are good. But I didn't wanna just do like a soda. I wanted to do like a Casa Bonita specialty drink and then chips and salsa.

Yes. The chips with like a comment was made of like, this is what a, you know how you can get like original lays? Like, you know, there's no actual flavor. This was like what an original Dorito would be. Yes. It kind of had like that Doritos seasoning. It wasn't quite cool ranch. It wasn't quite the salsa verde. It was its own, uh, I guess dialed back thing, but like. For a place who, I mean, I talked about it in the intro last week.

The food is infamous. A lot of the people really dig at the food. Yeah. I'm not gonna call this like one of the best meals I've had. This is one of the best dining experiences I've had. But that said, I enjoyed quite a bit, both the salsa, which was like an orangish, almost like Diablo salsa, and these chips.

Yeah, that's what I was gonna get into, where it's like, there are salsas at Mexican restaurants, like the chips that are in them range so vastly. Some are just like out the bag. Some you can tell they like cut up the tortillas and make them fresh. Some like they range. Some it's all just broken apart crushed crumbs.

I'm like, what is this? Yeah, but at the end of the day, none of that really matters Some, it's all just broken apart crushed crumbs. I'm like, what is this? Yeah. But at the end of the day, none of that really matters, because that is just a vehicle for getting the salsa in your mouth. You and I differ on that. Really? I'm not saying that the chip matters more,

but I would put them in equal parts. And it's because if you ever, not that you're going to like in a voyeuristic way watch me eat chips and salsa, but if you ever see me eat chips and salsa, I don't put nearly as much salsa as most people do. To me, the salsa is an accent for the flavor of the chip and not the other way around. Oh, see, yeah, you're going with accent.

I'm going with vehicle, and I'm talking about this is a built for tough pickup truck, and we filled that bed with salsa. I am shoving, when I scoop a salsa, 5% of my chip is dry. Like I do a full dip, cause I'm like, this is the vehicle, like the tortilla,

like the same way that I look at like a taco as a vehicle for the meats, like the tortilla. But I will point out, you are right though, that the chip does matter. But for me, it matters so little, but I understand why it would matter more with how much you put on yours.

But with every tortilla chip, I'm always almost full dunking it, almost like I'm dunking an Oreo into milk. So I'll do a full dunk if it's like kind of a more watery salsa. Yeah. Just to like- Interesting, yes. But like if it's a chunky,

I don't want a mountain of chunks. Like if I have a chip that's like that much real estate, I'm grabbing it by the pointy end and I'm putting about as much salsa on there to make it almost look like a slice of pizza. So like the crust to pizza ratio is about my salsa to chip ratio. Oh good. That's a decent ratio Yeah, and and like, you know a good chunking, you know, but but like I don't want it over the whole thing Yeah with me. I'm eating salsa with this chip. Yeah, and the salsa I thought was great. I think as far as

Like chips and salsa at Mexican restaurants can be so hit or miss. And I don't think that has anything to do with the restaurant. Right. Because this is, this is just like the bread that you get before your Italian meal. Which I also, I have, I have so many opinions on like table breads. Oh, we got a hierarchy. Okay.

We, it seems like we are so aligned in lots of ways. But I can remember the first time I went to like, I think it was, which makes it kind of funny, just an acapulco, but you get warm chips because you know, they have them. And that changed my life because at home, you wouldn't put the chips in the microwave. At home, you wouldn't think to do that. At least my household.

So having that for the first time, I was like, oh. The game has been changed. Yeah. And I like a nice, like, grainy salsa. And grainy, I just mean, like you said, like, good chunk to it. I don't like a full pico de gallo. Like, I don't mind it.

I like a pico de gallo if it's in like a burrito Yeah, it's not my favorite for like it's so yeah, and if there is a pico de gallo I would prefer there's another salsa option as well. Like I would never want like just that pico de gallo Yeah, but like this was like a nice smoky Like like full bodied salsa. This was like stylistically the type of salsa I tend to prefer. Yeah. It was like that perfect thickness. Because of that, I was already in.

Cause you know, the salsa is your opening act for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. And for what we saw and enjoyed mind you, but for what we saw, I was like, okay, this food may or may not be good because this is a lot. There's Cliff Divers, I saw a mariachi band, you told me about a root beer bar over here, you said there's a puppet show,

you said there's a magic show. When you went to Chuck E. Cheese, that pizza is barely pizza, but it's good because I think it's nostalgic for me. And there's something too, like I've been like as a parent, I think once maybe, and I don't even think as a parent, I think I've been as like an older, like as an adult who was going to a kid's thing,

but like that pizza, tasting it now, I'm like, I know in my brain, this is not good pizza, but the synapsis of that is firing off. It's probably not the right part. I've been using. I'm gonna push back a little and just say, Chuck E. Cheese's pizza is decent. You think it's decent.

That's the thing, I don't think it is that it is objectively bad and your bias is there. I think it's better than you're giving it credit because I had no bias towards the Chuck E. Cheese pizza, and I was like, you know what? While I, like, it felt cheap, and I think that's maybe where you're coming from. Yeah, I think it's just that the, you know,

in the law of pizza, there's no such thing as a bad pizza. Of course, of course. So, like, Decent puts it on the bottom of that totem pole because Decent is like just the baseline. Every pizza, and please don't point me to a bad pizza because I'm sure there is one, but for the most part. I've had bad pizza. Yeah, for the most, I've seen pictures of bad pizza.

I've been lucky to have not had to experience one. But because of that, but yeah, I think you're right. Any pizza that's like white when it should be like a golden. Oh God, yeah. When it's just like, oh, this is sad. Yeah. Yeah. So that was my mindset.

It was like, okay, we're gonna get Chuck E. Cheese grade food. And then I had that salsa and I was like, hold up. Yeah. We might be in for a treat. We're in for something. Okay, so I went eight out of 10 on the chips and salsa. Oh yeah, I'm with you on that. Eight out of 10, I'll rock with you.

So now our entrees. I got the carnitas, which basically like tacos, they serve soft tortillas on the side. I thought it was really tender. And I did have low expectations. Like kind of what you're saying is expecting the Chuck E. Cheese of food. It was really tender and I did have low expectations. Kind of what you're saying is expecting the Chuck E. Cheese of food.

That was my expectation, but it's not what I got. Seven out of 10 on these as well, which I really expected like a four. Ooh, yeah. Yeah, I would say. And like warm tortillas. Yeah. Yeah. No, I thought it was great.

Carnitas, yeah, is a very plain dish too. Like, just in general. It's my favorite taco or burrito meat. 100 out of 10. Carnitas is pure top. So, but it was interesting to me that they're like, we're just gonna give it to you and you just do that. Cause I'm like, yeah, at a taco stand,

I'm gonna put, like I want you to throw the carnitas in there for me, sitting there, but it still was pretty damn good. I really fucked with it. Yeah, and then you tried the enchiladas. Yes. And you had the mole. Yes, and I had the mole.

Would you put them in good? Oh, I'd put them in good for sure. But I am, I gotta say, I'm biased. I am, I love a mole. I love everything about it, every take on a mole. I'm so mad that Town Pizza in Highland Park took away their mole pizza. I don't know what happened.

I remember when I first heard about mole and I was intrigued by it and I've liked it ever since. Tell people what it is. Yes, mole is usually using cocoa, but like not, it's not a sweet dish. This one was sweeter, I think, than a lot of mole I've had before, but still was really good.

But it's like, yeah, imagine like adobo chicken, but the sauce is like a chocolatey kind of salsa. And I, yeah, I just truly can always eat that. So for the mole, I'd say I would give it an 8.5. Really? Yeah. I'm gonna talk about your mole when we get to the not good section for me. Okay. And then to close it all out, I'm gonna talk about your mole when we get to the not good section for me. Okay, and

Then to close it all out first We got not just an order of so papillas, but I asked a waiter like oh Can we get the soap of P is like I know that they're coming Can we get them brought over and there was a miscommunication because I guess at that moment there were already some on the way Yeah, so we got double soaked up Double soaked up and what a treat that was. What a treat. It's just like hot fried dough. Yes.

I think I had like a little dusting of something. Yeah, like powdered sugar. Powdered sugar. Yeah. And then like a honey dip, which is the traditional way you do sopapias. Yeah. And my God.

What a, like I said it last week, what a delight, but that undersells it and I don't have the vocabulary to. And it's such a subtle dessert. It's not gonna rock you. Yeah, yeah. And I mean that in a complimentary way, where I think a lot of desserts try and swing in with the sweetness and things like that.

But the likeness of it and the like, accent of the sweetness kind of complements the whole meal. It's like a perfect ending to your meal. Yeah. I'm gonna swing all the way up to a nine out of 10 on these. I'm with you, I'll ride that train. Yeah, I'm not going perfection, this isn't the best dessert I've ever had.

But for something so simple to achieve a nine is something to be proud of. I mean, I can confidently say it's the best sopapia I've ever had. Yeah. Because it's the only sopapia I've had. Now, another thing that I would call good, Black Bart's Cave.

Oh, my God, yes. Essentially like a haunted house type thing in the middle of this restaurant. Yes, and as a certified scaredy cat, I was actually afraid. Was it hitting with you in that regard? Oh, I was trying to like be real goofy at the back, but I was kind of spooked up because I was just expecting a hand to like kind of be like,

ah, and I'll be like, ah. They did have like a little, they had a bunch of holes, almost like a whack-a-mole, and it says, caution rattlesnakes, and you put your hand in, and it kind of like z have like a little, uh, they had a bunch of holes, almost like a whack a mole and it says caution rattlesnakes and you put your hand in and it kind of like zips you a little bit. I know people's hands moved out too fast for me to try it because I didn't try it either. Yeah. Cause I was like, it seems like y'all are getting zapped.

And I don't want that. Just come. Yeah. Yeah. I'm down to get tickled. I'm down to get like air shot at, but I do don't want to get zapped. Which luckily they did have like the tickling portion of Black Bart. But like you go, it's very tight quarters, like as a chubby guy and a swole guy. Yeah. You know, I'm sure we were both feeling like the hug of Black Bart's cave, but like real tight quarters you're going through. There's like skulls and treasure and pirates.

Yes. All this stuff. And it was kind of nonsensical, but the moment you're walking into a giant open skulls mouth into like a red lit room, I was like, OK, this feels like Goonies. This feels like it's tickling something in my brain that like I like it. Yes, it's so good.

And then the puppet at the end, which is Black Bart, is, you're looking down, is like one of the puppets that were kind of like the puppets they used in Team America. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like it was that style of puppet. And I don't know if that puppet existed there or after Because it was in that style It was in that style because if it was there before I can only think to think it

Implanted something in the back of their mind and go like And then if it isn't it came after then it's cool that right probably obviously use the same puppet Designer and then the last thing I want to talk about in good iffy. They had a love tester. I got to bring up the love test. Oh, I got to bring up the love. So we did some exploring and we're going through the caves where other people who didn't pay for the cliffside dining are seated

and they're kind of in their own zone. And we come across one of these like you grab it by the handle, you squeeze, and it tells you how good of a lover you are. Based on the grip. Based on the grip. And you did this three times. I did it once. And we were in front of our ladies

that were there with us. And you do the first one, and like, I don't remember the whole hierarchy, but literally second one, you know, the higher, the better, right? The second one is sweet. Yeah. And you got sweet. Yeah.

Twice. Cause you were like, oh, maybe I'm just, you know, maybe it's like grip or temperature. And you're like trying to warm up your hands and like you're trying to change the variables. But if you're just a sweet dude, yeah. Until your third time when it deemed you jealous. Yeah.

Which I was like, okay, I guess I should have just stuck with sweet. But it says jealous is one better. Yeah, I know. Which I was like, no, I'll stick to sweet if that's the one I get. But if he, we're not talking about this just because of your scores. Of course not. One and done for me. I grab that stick, I just get the right amount of grip.

It goes all the way up to burning. Yeah, your burning lover. Your boy is a burning lover. Yes. So goes the love tester. And I have never felt an ego boost like I did in that moment where I can just like, you know, look at Joyce and like wink and she's like, do not do that. Like I feel strange in this moment.

Yeah. Yeah. Like you're burning. Look, look, the love tester showed you what's up and you're burning. Hey, here at the Nerdy Reads Podcast, we read nerdy stuff such as sci-fi, fantasy, horror books, manga, comics, and all other things. We are a weekly podcast,

so whether you listen to five books or 10 or 100 books a year, there is something for you on the Nerdy Reads Podcast. You can find us on YouTube or wherever you prefer to listen. Join us in the New Stuff Cafe, where we review a new food or beverage item each week. You can also expect some of the latest and greatest news from across the nerd verse and a sighting of the week. And the best part of the show always happens at the end when we get some advice from our very own sweet baby Dylan. Listen.

I'm Shane. I'm Beau. We are your Kentucky Fried Critics. We're here to let you guys know about what we do here. This is our podcast. We like to watch movies. Video games. Comic books. TV shows. Generally pop culture. Art?

No, not art. It's going maybe too far. No, not art. Maybe not art. Mostly just movies. Yeah. We like to pair it with an adult beverage. Just come in, hang out with us, drink some beer, watch some movies,

maybe pop some popcorn. We're going to have a great time here on Kentucky Fried Critics. We're just here to have a good time and talk about some great entertainment. That is all the good. Look, we have spent so much time talking about the good at Casa Bonita because there is so much good at Casa Bonita. I loved it here. Yes.

But we got to talk about the things that were not good. So play the soundbite. We're going to do that. could have known without it. Something brings down the mood. This is just not very good. There's not a lot here, and some of the stuff I included is a reach. Some of the stuff I included is self-imposed

or time-imposed. What would you feel you would say is a not-good element of this experience? I mean, my not-good is something that just reflects back to the good when I feel like you're gonna touch on it in some way. The not good is that you need more than like one trip

to I think fully experience and appreciate it. I think there's a lot of dishes to try. There's a lot of drinks to try. There's a lot of places to explore. And unfortunately, we can't just go back. Like, you know, it's not easy. Like we couldn't, if we wanted to, we couldn't just be like, we're just going to spend the night out here and then go back again tomorrow. We couldn't go, let's try the lunch and try the dinner. It is so exclusive right now that you have to hop on a waitlist and just hope that you can

go. A waitlist that isn't even in order. It's a lottery still. Yeah, so. 10 months it took me to get the call and you know, an additional two months to even go. And something that like I went to and we had a blast. And if I knew what I knew now going in, I might've just brought Nomi with me and it'd be me, you, your girlfriend, and Naomi just hanging out.

Just because it really, I wanted to see, kind of like with your Chuck E. Cheese episode, I wanted to get her eyes and stuff that would weigh on mine because there might be something that I'm like, that's cool for a kid, and she's like, oh, you know shit about that. You know, but like, I can't help but think of like, dorky parents like me

who find out about this place and be like, oh, here's a thing that there's something for me and something for them that are stuck behind a wait list. It is so, yeah, and it is so often that the experience is definitely better for a kid or better for an adult. So to find something like this where it does seem well balanced, at least to quote you, if you're an adult with whimsy,

you know, you're gonna have that great bonding experience too. And that being said, my second thing I'd put as not good is that I do wish, like this is like such a fun, whimsy, kid-friendly place, and I get that it has always been, but I also feel like this is a place that could benefit from like Dave and Buster's treatment,

where it's like after a certain period of time. Get out kids. Yeah, adults only. Like you have like alcohol, you have stuff like that. I'm a big fan of something like Dave and Busters because I do think it is very important for adults to be in touch with their inner child. And I don't think that one, there's enough places to do it

and there's not enough encouragement to do that. I do think it is very good for your mental health. It takes you out of your head. It allows yourself to loosen up. It relieves that stress. And not to kick the kids out of the thing that I enjoy, I was like, it would be nice, and it doesn't even have to be a nightly thing,

but if there was like adults only Friday nights type situation. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, I don't think that would be a thing that would hurt their bottom line. In fact, it may improve it, but again, it may need to wait until it's not a waitlist place where you can just kind of roll in.

Yeah. So for me, for the not good, I'm gonna say, so I mentioned you walk in and you experience the Jurassic Park opening magic where it's just like, oh, it's all here. You hear like a choir of angels in your own mind. And then you sit down and you order and within two minutes your food is there

and it's very clear they're trying to process people through. And there is something about too fast a pace and getting your food too quickly before you can really take it in. Especially a place like this where there is so much to take in. It did, bum me out is not the word I'm going to use about this experience,

but I would measure that differently if I were them crafting the perfect experience for someone. Yes. But I also I get it. Yes. But the reason that they're able to do that that quickly is because and this is another negative. Their food is essentially an assembly line and only if you get the cliffside dining, do you have it served to you. Everyone else goes and waits in a line with like a cafeteria tray and say, I

want that and I want that. And yeah, I did not know that. I don't know if it's a cafeteria tray, but yeah, you, you go get your food. Part of me was going to think, wonder if that's a negative, but then have you been to Clifton's? Oh, it's downtown. It's, I think it's worth checking out. I think we're very, we like a lot of the same kind of dining experience.

It's worth it. There's a lot of taxidermy and this is pre-pandemic that I went, I have been post-pandemic, but it was like, it's kind of the same. Imagine an adult version of Casa Bonita, but they have way more variety than Casa Bonita. So like you go to a cafeteria- You mean food variety, right?

Yeah, yeah, food variety. You go into the cafeteria and they have different like, entrees and you pick different sides and then you pay at the end. And then you can sit and eat and there's a bar and there's a big tree in the middle of this bar. So I, when I did that at Clifton's, kind of really enjoyed that.

So I feel like I might- You're not bothered by a cafeteria line? Yeah, I feel like I might not. But that also depends on how long that line is. I'm also not saying it is like a negative meaning like that I expect it to be lower quality or unclean or anything like that. It is literally just a, it's unsexy.

It's not like, yeah, when I'm thinking like the bet, like imagine you go to a Mastro's and it's just like, here's the line. Yeah, it would feel weird, especially if they're not a buffet. Definitely. So it's it's mostly just like a aesthetic preference. Yeah, I don't glorify a line and therefore it goes in not good, but it's like, it's not a hindrance. I don't hate it. Yes.

So I guess this is me complaining just for the sake of it. There was a lack of clarity on like the magic show. Like they announced like magic show at this time. And so I think, oh, you go at that time, but no, we went and it was like, oh, you should have lined up 20 minutes ago. Yeah. We just filled up the theater.

I know, and that I would side with you only for the reason that that's not information that we just kind of read somewhere or something. That was someone giving us information. So, and this isn't like a knock on that person, but I feel like if your show loads in before the time and that time is when it starts, I feel like everyone should know to be like,

oh, get there a little bit. Yeah, get there before it because you'll miss it. And then, yeah, I'm, look, I'm really scraping for negatives. These are not passionate negatives. Man Bear Pig Rilla. You hear legend that Man Bear Pig roams Casa Bonita. And then when you see it from like 10 feet away,

he's taking pictures of someone, you get up to try and go take a picture and the security guards like, I'm like, he doesn't have a show that he has to get to. It was wild because, and I'm gonna back you up on this because I'm gonna give the full color to the situation. Because he stopped for photos right next to where we were sitting.

So we can confirm it wasn't like he was standing there a long time and that's why, like we just missed it. No, he probably popped a squat, took maybe two or three pictures and got out of there Yeah, and I'm and it's like Chuck E. Cheese goes around dances with kids, but you get ten minutes with Chuck Yeah, you know and this felt like two minutes with Man Bear Pig Rilla hard to say every time um and It was just kind of like oh man

Like I'd love to get this photo and I guess I wasn't to, but it's like such an attraction of the place to like, but it almost feels like finding a shiny Pokemon. Like if you're lucky, man bear, pig gorilla. Yeah, if you're lucky and man bear, pig gorilla feels like it. Yeah. So that does go in the not good, unfortunately. I wanted it to be in the good. And like the fact that he's there is a good thing,

but like, you know, if I'm feeling snubbed, feeling snubbed, I'm not, I feel like a map would be nice. Ooh, baby. That was Joyce's note. She was like, yeah, just like if exploration is what's encouraged here, it would, a map of like we missed, they have like a like an overlook where you can just be at a table with Cartman. Cartman, there's like a Cartman statue at a table. And I just, I knew it was in the restaurant, but I had no idea where to go to find it.

We also missed a tarot card reader. We missed- Well, I saw the tarot card reader. I saw them, but we didn't do it. The line was so long. And the one thing I wanted to do, especially knowing that we had a flight afterwards, is I really wanted face paint. They had a face painter, but like it's all for kids and I'm not like, I'm not

here to cut kids or even take up a spot from them. We should have paid them off. Here you go. And then like just the scheduling of everything amid meals. It does feel weird to get up and be like, you two hold down the fort. We're gonna go check out the puppet show. You're that, that is actually something I'm gonna ride with you hard on too,

is I think with, especially with like the kind of strict ongoing scheduling, it makes it harder to kind of plan for things where if it was like that you get a ticket for this one or if they were like, by the time you finish your meal, these are the shows that are available to you. Yes. You know, I think that would be great

because then we're not worried because I think because we're on a time crunch, but it's not like we did any less time than the average person. So I do think there needs to be a little clarity on like grabbing the food and what shows to see, especially with something like the magic show, because it was once an hour.

So I feel like it would have been worth being like, oh, the magic show is gonna start right now. You can line up for that and get your food after. Right. And then it's like, I mean, I guess closing out, like paying for drinks and stuff, we did have a tab open, which did make me feel a little bit more secure

leaving the table behind, but still at no point did we all leave the table. Yes. Just because I'm worried of like a preemptive busing situation or something like that Which honestly one of the most tragic faux pas that can happen in dining like the premature, but I went to the bathroom I was gonna finish that nothing deflates you more gosh. Yeah the only thing worse than that is I think of the moment where I

And I know it's a canon moment because it's in my head. Yeah. I like had a butter finger and I was getting ready to take the last bite and it fell out of my hand before it made it to my mouth and onto the ground. Yeah. That's what your table being busted bust before you can finish. Yeah. It's like, uh, and then lastly, I, I made this promise for for me the mole goes in the not good. Not good? I thought it was gonna be just there.

No, I didn't care for it, but I haven't had mole before. Really? This is my first time trying mole. Oh, so you might, there might be a, you might not like mole thing. That or it might be an acquired taste. We'll try like a good mole to be sure, Seth. But like, it was bitter in a way that like,

I'm just not really into bitter tastes very much interesting I know you've locked in a dinner date for us just because now I want to crack. I'll try it. Yeah Yeah, but like yeah, I just I had it It wasn't like I'm gonna spit it out or whatever like I had it And it just it didn't do it for me and I would give it a four out of ten Okay for me, which I mean to me that's the, if five's perfect center, it's like low end of average, but enough for me to call it not good. Yes.

Yeah. But like really that's us reaching to fill up this not good list. Do you have anything else that you call not good? Not at all. All right. Yeah. Let's, let's move into just there. This is a weird one. I'm not quite sure what to say about it. Uh, yeah.

This is for the stuff that is just there. All right. This is gonna be the shortest segment ever. For me, the rice and beans were just there. Five out of 10. I'll agree with that and that's where I stopped too. Yeah, like that was it. Yeah.

Everything else got an emotion out of me, either good or bad. And the reason I know you're right is because I was taking the mole sauce and enchilada sauce and flipping it on it. And normally rice and beans, you can just pound that on its own strength. So.

I tend to like find rice and beans that I don't like end up being a taco ingredient. And if I do like them, they're their own strength. So I, I tend to like find rice and beans that I don't like, end up being a taco ingredient. And if I do like them, they're their own thing. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. 100%. And so that is all of the elements of Casa Bonita. It's time to like, figure out what wins out the good or the bad. We got to put a score to it, but before we do, Ify, this is your first time on the Fine Dining Podcast. You haven't been to like the 90 restaurants with me. So your scale's a little different than mine. We need to calibrate you. So we're gonna take a stop at the calibration station. Calibration Station Comparing this meal to the best or the worst

Calibration Station Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, choo choo Okay, the Calibration Station, I need to know on a scale of 0 to 10, what is your 0, what is your 10? So I'm going to ask you briefly, tell me about the worst restaurant you've ever been to and the best restaurant you've ever been to. Ooh wee, okay.

Oh man, I feel like. And this is like a single experience. You can be like, oh, it's a place that's normally okay, but this one time. Yeah, this might be the case, and I really feel bad for turning my back on my people. But when I was in Nigeria, for the most part, I fucked with Mr. Big, which is a Nigerian

kind of like burger stand there. But I had a- In Nigeria? In Nigeria. I had the worst burger there one time where it was like, there weren't pickles, there were cucumbers. They used red onions. It was like the fixings for a good burger, but not quite hitting it

there. And I will say American food overseas, no matter where you go is always such a gamble because it's like, or like getting Mexican food where it's like, oh, they use tomato sauce, I guess ketchup will do. It's like, I do not put ketchup on my tacos. Yeah. Yeah. So, so that's a close one, but the patty was cool.

It was really just them missing the mark on the parts of the- The glue. The glue of the burger. And there wasn't cheese on it too. And I am a staunch hamburger hater. It has to be a cheeseburger. I literally do a hamburger tournament

because I don't like cheese. Yes, we went into that. And by the way, you'll notice, listeners, I'm no longer bleeping the word cheese on the show because I'm an adult who can have complex conversations about things I don't like with people. So starting with this season, I'm not bleeping the word cheese anymore. Yeah. We, I, I didn't even bring it up, but yeah, we learned that at dinner that you

just simply don't like cheese and I am a cheese guy. So that's going to be interesting that we said that at dinner that you just simply don't like cheese. And I am a cheese guy. So that's gonna be interesting that we said that and then we're about to go to In-N-Out and I'm gonna see your order, which is usually my daughter's order, which I always roll my eyes at. Because like- Look, here's the thing.

If they're ever low on cheese and you and I go, you're getting all the cheese. There's no rationing needed. Yeah, that's great. But yeah, no, my daughter hamburger, keeping it kosher, the cheese. There's no rationing needed. Yeah, that's great. But yeah, no, my daughter hamburger, keeping it kosher, no cheese. But yeah, so that was a tough one for me. And if I had to try and think of something worse than that

would might be a negative, would have to be this gas station taco shop I went to. I don't even remember because I was finessed into it. I was on my way to a Childish Gambino concert and the driver was like, you're gonna be at a concert? That's a long time. You should really eat. Because he wanted to eat it

and he like drove me to this gas station. He was like, this is gonna be really good. And I ate it and threw it up before I saw Childish Gambino say this. They might've been the wheat chocolates, but I'm gonna blame the burrito all the time. So those are the, yeah. So that's your low end.

What's the best restaurant experience you've ever had? I think it's probably gonna be in Naka, which is Nikki Nakayama. Sorry if I messed her last name up. She was on Chef's Table and it's in Culver City. It's about as hard as it is getting a Casa Bonita reservation, it's that hard there. It opens up every Sunday at talk in the morning

and it just goes like wildfire. But I was able to go twice and it is, and the reason it goes isn't because of anything other than it is a very small dining area. I think the most people I've seen in there at one time, it's been like 20, um, 20 folks, including like me and my date. And so like it's like usually two other people to a table and it is a, um, Kaiiseki, like, you know, multi-courced sushi, fish, and they all have the,

it's straight fine dining where it all has the story. They come out, they tell you the thought process behind it. You do the small bites, you do that. You go through all of that, I think it's like 13 courses. Then at the end, the waiter or waitress comes out and goes, we're about to enter your dessert course, but if you still think you're hungry, we will offer you a hand roll.

And so you get a hand roll on top of that, because you're always going to say yes. You're like, I can mess that up. Yeah, and then you get like your two courses of dessert, and then they send you home with like a tea and like breakfast pastry to have the next day. It is so good.

It's like how Maggiano's gives you a whole second lunch of the pasta you order. Oh, no, I did not. When you go to Maggiano's, at least the way it used to be, I haven't been there in a long time, but it's like if you order a pasta entree, we give you a full second pasta entree to have as your lunch tomorrow. Whoa. Yeah, that's great. Awesome. So you are calibrated, zero to ten. We need to, I guess, talk about all these elements.

Does the disorganized randomness to the theming outweigh how majestic this experience is? Does the good food outweigh the, you know, jumble of the line for the magic show? What wins out? Is this place good or is it not good? Let's discuss. I'm just gonna come out and say it's good. It's good. It's good. There really isn't much of a debate. Yeah, it's so good. We just talked about good things for like 40 minutes, bad things for like five. Yeah, it's everything, like that specific place, like a place like that, it is what that should be.

You know, like it's delivering on all the fronts that it needs to. It's cohesive, or actually that's not even true. It is not cohesively, but like every element of it is, it's well executed. That's what I mean. But like, I felt like I was able to get out of the boat at Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland

and eat in that world inside of Casa Bonita. And that is such a unique, I mean, hopefully not just once in a lifetime experience, but like if it is, I'm so glad I got to do it. So to me, this is definitely gonna be good versus not good. Will it be great? Will it be excellent? We gotta see as we head into our final rating. Final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score, final score So we got to put a number to this.

Iffy, you're my guest. Talk through your thought process. You know, we've spent an hour doing so, but like, and then give me a number. Yeah. So, you know, like I said, this place does everything that, you know, it needs to do. I am someone of the philosophy that you have to meet,

not even just restaurants, but most things where they're meeting you. I'm not gonna rate this against Inaka. I'm not gonna rate this, I'm rating this as like, what is a family friendly restaurant that I might be dragged to with my daughter, but as an adult with whimsy may still enjoy.

Like medieval times, I'm thinking of, whimsy, may still enjoy. I like medieval times. I'm thinking of Chuck E. Cheese. I'm thinking of like a Shakey's. I'm thinking of like, this is like the, the, if we're looking at the genre, that's the genre of restaurant. So if I may push back a little, you are rating this against Inaka, but to me, because that's the reason for the calibration, but I will say there are forks, there's fine dining, and then there is like the pinnacle of kitsch.

Yeah, by not rating this against, I don't mean that it's not the same scale. Okay, okay. I'm saying like, you can't be like, why did- You don't have the expectation. A thumbs up to Despicable Me and a thumbs down a hacksaw ridge. It's like, no, they're both like Despicable Me is a good movie. It is a good movie.

Yeah. But what, because they set out what they accomplished to do. Right. And intention is where execution matters. Exactly. And because of that, it's an 8.85 for me. 8.85. Almost a nine. That's an 8.85 for me. 8.85. Almost a nine.

That's crazy, iffy. That is a crazy number to give for a place where, again, it is infamous for its food. But Casa Bonita hammers home the point of this show where it is not just the food, it is the dining experience. It is the full-fledged atmosphere service food coming together to create a situation that you find yourself in. It is not just, I went to Applebee's and I had this and it was nasty.

No, because that's not always the story of Applebee's. The story of Applebee's is I went to Applebee's, I had this, it was nasty, I was with friends and I felt comfortable. Yeah. And I think that second half of it matters immensely. And this is a place where the experience is, honestly, you can't recreate it. Yeah. This is an experience you can only have here. I fricking loved it. I went higher than you.

Ha ha ha! I'm in the nines. I'm at a 9.10 for Casa Bonita. Wow. The experience matters. Yes. And this gave it to, and it was worth a trip to Denver. Yes.

And a stressful three hours. It was worth it. Yes. And I'm with you there. And that's why I think we're locked in. It's like, yes, the experience matters. That's the subtext of this episode, the subtitle. So when we put our scores together, Casa Bonita goes up on the tchotchke of mediocrity at an 8.98.

Ooh! Look at that. Just below Mastro's, it's the second highest score on this show's history. And I don't disagree with that sentiment. Me either. I'm looking at it and I'm not, I'm not, I know there's history behind Rainforest Cafe and I'm so freaking glad that we beat it. That we beat it.

Yes. Yeah. This is Rainforest Cafe on steroids. Yes. Like it really was in every way so appropriate and it is definitively better than mediocre. Better than mediocre. It's better than a cracker barrel. Yeah.

But what it was not was the perfect 5.00, which means next week I got to go somewhere else. Yes. And look, last time I didn't choose from the You Must Bowl, I just flat out announced that I was going to Casa Bonita for my season three premiere. I didn't pick it out of a thing. Yes. And usually I would never break protocol two times in a row. But I'm not trying to figure out where I'm going next time, because next restaurant marks a very special occasion in the show's history. It's episode 69.

Ooh. And for episode 69, I think there is only one appropriate place to go. I'm gonna review a strip club. So I'm going to a strip club next time, and we'll see if it is the most mediocre dining experience. Do you already have it picked? I do.

So next week, to continue no-nut November, I am headed to a strip club with some guests from the I Seduce the Dragon podcast, Dana Scarborough, an adult film actress, Ryan Keighley, coming with me. So, yeah, that'll be a blast. And that'll be the last episode I film in the old format of this show.

I actually filmed it before this. Wow. But I had to save it for episode 69. But from here on out, we're just gonna be pitting the good against the bad to figure out which one is definitively fine, the most mediocre restaurant in America. Ify, thanks so much for joining me on this journey,

on this trip out of state. You didn't even know me. I met you for like 30 seconds at SF SketchFest. Doubt you remember it. And you took a chance, and we had a very one-of-a-kind experience. Look, here's one thing you need to know about me. Yeah.

I'm a certified eater. A certified eater. And the energy you came with in that email, I was like, I don't need to meet you. Yeah. I know I'll fuck with you. He knows what's up. And let's go eat.

Awesome. Any plugs, any socials? Yes. How's it going? When this is dropping next week, I will be in yet another state. I will be in Oregon performing in Salem and Portland. Make sure you check my social media for all those details.

I'm iffywaddyway on all social media accounts. And yeah, let's get something to eat out there. And you can follow me on Instagram and TikTok at Fine Dining Podcast. I have a Patreon. I do an exclusive restaurant every month. That's patreon.com slash Fine Dining Podcast. Visit my website, fine dining podcast dot com. I have patreon.com slash fine dining podcast. Visit my website, fine dining podcast.com.

I have merch, I have t-shirts, I've got fun stuff. And I have like a good amount of t-shirts. It's not just like one and done. Yeah, that's it for us. We didn't find the most mediocre restaurant in America. The search does in fact continue. We'll see you next time. Have a fine day.

Search continues. We still need you next time. Have a fine day! The search continues We still need the perfect file The search continues Like and subscribe The search continues Our journey did not conclude The mother of the search continues write us an iTunes review And I conclude the mother-eating search continues. Raddison I-2's review.

And hey, while you're at it, why don't you go ahead and make it five stars, huh? Come on. Follow us on TikTok, the same on Instagram. All the socials, at Find Dining Podcast we have a website FindDiningPodcast.com buy our t-shirts then put them on and don't forget you can always suggest where we go next Okay We're going to find it

Mediocrity the search continues See you next week See you next week!